Starting from today till the last Sunday of the month, we will shift our attention to Christmas-themed messages.  I give the title of our new series, “His Name is Jesus.” I hope these messages will speak to us as we celebrate the first coming of Our Lord Jesus to the world. As I write this, my heart is heavy thinking about a colleague in the Bible school that I teach who is now in the hospital for Stage 4 lung cancer.  He was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer over five years ago but by the grace of God he’s remained relatively healthy.  The last time Santy and I were in Malang in October, we still could have lunch together.  In fact, it’s he who took us to the restaurant in his car.  But now his condition is worsening and he’s in a lot of pain.

As I think about him and the Christmas message for today, I find a parallel theme.  In His birth, Jesus the Son of God was reduced to a stable; in his sickness my colleague is reduced to a hospital room.  God the Son who was free to roam the heavens was confined to a manger, fully dependent on His earthly mother, Mary, to care for Him.  My colleague who’s free to travel to give lectures is tied to a hospital bed, completely reliant on medical staff to care for him. As Jesus was in the arms of Mary, His Blessed Mother, my colleague is in the arms of Jesus, His Blessed Lord, both helpless but secure.

We do not know how long Jesus stayed in the stable but each night He was there, He was with no one else but His mother and father. Each night became a silent night, but also a holy night, as the song says.  It’s holy because the Son of God was there, lying in a manger.  Each night when we are alone, when life becomes silent, remember the Son of God.  Call on Him and ask Him to be in that stable with us, and to make that night a holy night.  Life is not always swirling in a house; sometimes it puts us in a stable.  When that happens, don’t push Him away; invite Him.  He wouldn’t mind sharing a stable.

Pastor Paul