It was tumultuous times – the wicked
king was dead and his son, who was worse, had ascended the throne.
Herod the Great had thought
nothing of murdering members of his own family. His son, another Herod, was
just as cruel and jealous of any possible rivals as his father.
In the midst of the political
uncertainty, I still went to the temple as I hoped that God would speak to us
in our situation. There had been 400 years since the last time God had given
His words to us. It seemed a hopeless possibility that He would talk to His
people after such a long time, but I was expectant that He would.
I was dedicated in my
attendance at the temple as God might turn up and I would not be there. It was
be a tragedy if that was to happen. The
Holy Spirit had told me that I would not die until I saw the Anointed One, the
child who would come to rescue mankind.
As weeks progressed, I was
moved by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple as I usually do; but, on this
occasion, I observed an ordinary man and woman trundle across the courtyard,
tenderly carrying a small bundle. They were almost anonymous, indistinguishable
from any of the other couples who were milling around Jerusalem at the time. The
Holy Spirit within me prompted me to move in their direction – it was a
sensation that I could not explain as it had not happened before. I was sure
that I was an observer of history being changed and, more importantly, that I
would be transformed in the process.
They passed the new-born child
to me as an act of wanting to be blessed, an extraordinary act as they were
there to bring their offering to the priest on duty. They had brought two
pigeons to be sacrificed, the offering of poor people so that Mary could be
purified after giving birth.
As I peered into the cloths, I
saw a tiny baby with its small brown eyes looking back at me. Inexplicably, I
felt such peace and calm in the centre of the chaos, given to me by one so
young.
I couldn’t do anything but
break out in spontaneous praise to God. I knew that I could go on into the rest
of my life, full of the peace that only He could provide and given to me by
this child, Jesus. I knew that, in my arms, was the baby who would grow up to
bring God’s salvation because he is God.
I knew that it was not a
political revolution that would be the outcome, for the malaise of the world
was not removal of the tyrants but what was wrong deep down within each man,
woman and child. It was not merely for us as the Jewish people, but also for
the Gentiles. It was the privilege of God’s chosen people, the Jews, that the
salvation of the whole world would come from us.
When I had finished praising
God, I blessed the child in my arms and handed him back to his mother.
Questions:
Ø What
wholeness and peace have you experienced from Jesus?
Ø What
room have you made for God in your life?
Ø What
are you waiting for God to do in your life and in the lives of others?
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