A pastor and his family in a small
village in the mountains of Java opened his home to our mission team.
Bule, white people, rarely visited this town; in fact, we were told
only one other team of bule missionaries, from Germany, had ever
spent time in this village at all. The families lived in modest homes
with little inside, but they did own cattle among other things that
they kept in stables connected to their houses. In most cases, the
stables were simply a room like all others. As we sat at the table
about to share in the bountiful meal they proudly set before us, the
cows provided the background music with a continuous song of lowing. I would soon speak at a gospel rally to hundreds of
people from villages throughout the area. At that moment, we feasted
in a humble home with cows and livestock in the next room.
As a Christian, I believe that the God
of the universe, the creator and sustainer of all, entered the world
as a baby through a young virgin girl named Mary. It is a remarkable
story and as a former atheist I understand how utterly unbelievable
the story sounds to ears not accustomed to hearing it. That said,
this post is not to defend the belief. It is actually to marvel at
that first night.
Those men I sat with woke up
early in the morning to lead their livestock to a grassy area to
graze. I realized that God chose as the witnesses and heralds of his
great coming into this world men such as these: not kings or rulers,
but odd humble people that know the love of God, their families, and
their community. It was not a palace or castle, but a stable like
theirs with animals and certainly all the odors that accompanied
that place.
Where I live, the world Jesus was born
into is as foreign as this Indonesian village was to me. As I
reflected on the short time I spent in that village, I was grateful
to God that he allowed me to work in ministry with men and women who
helped me see the world differently. A truly silent night with
none of our modern distractions. It was through that kind of culture
that God came into the world. A young simple woman betrothed to a
carpenter from the line of David gave birth. Angels announced the
event to shepherds who were keeping their sheep at night. As Luke
2:16 - 20 says:
They hurried off and found both Mary
and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. After
seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this
child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to
them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and
meditating on them.
If you have ever had the privilege of
spending time with people like these, then you know how cool it is
that God chose this way. This is the way. Jesus's way. He comes to
the humble, the meek, and the least of these and elevates them
through love and grace. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to
point of death - even to death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8
As a result, we can come to him with
all of our mess, all of our weirdness, all of our sin. He met us
where we live on a silent night and made a way.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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