The Stable of Bethlehem

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O come Lord Jesus, tiny, frail, weak, helpless infant, come and remind me of why I adore you, lead me to the stable, welcome me to the manger! There allow me the humility to hear the very Word of God, spoken out of love, clothed in the flesh of the new born baby Jesus!
The stable scene is at the heart of the Christmas season. I have put my stable up in the sitting room of the presbytery. The baby is not in the manger yet but the scene is one of tranquillity, one of peace, of blessed serenity. That is how it should be. Despite the turmoil, the panic, the upset, the clamour and clatter of living; despite the rush and the hustle and bustle of the nature of modern living there the stable scene stands, offering peace, displaying utter peace. Why? Because he has come, the Word has been made flesh, the love of God once invisible is now visible, nothing in time will ever be the same again!
I spend hours each Christmas adoring at the stable, lovingly gazing upon the beauty I see before me. Is there anything more wondrous, more magical, more magnificent than the scene at the stable? The gift of God to his people is designed in the poverty and simplicity of the scene. The sheer humility of the surroundings allow us to enter into the mystery of the love that God has for us and that fills us with certainty, renews hope too!
Christmas is for the children I hear sometimes said glibly, as if as an adult the mystery becomes lost to our senses. But Christmas reminds me I am a child of God, an heir to the life of grace, and I am loved from the moment of my conception, from the womb, through childhood, into adulthood, beyond old age and after the grave claims my body, I am loved!
So as I contemplate the glory of God and marvel at the mystery of the nativity, I thank the Lord of all for the gift of his Son and pray to be a humble servant and a grateful child.

Taken from my blog at Humblepiety.

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