Come, Jesus, Come

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
-- Matthew 1:21

When they learned that Mary was with child, Joseph did not wish for her to be made a public example, and so considered hiding her away until the child was born. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel told him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, for the baby within her was conceived by the Holy Ghost, not by man. He assured Joseph that Mary would bear a Son, who would be the Savior of mankind.

What a glorious message! What a wonderful dream! Can you imagine how the weight suddenly lifted from Joseph's shoulders, how the burden left his heart? Can you imagine the joy he must have felt? The woman about to become his wife would bear God's own Child, Whom he would raise as his own for the Lord! What a marvelous thought!

And what a wonderful time of year for Christians the world round. We know the story, we know the history, the beginning, even the ending. More importantly, we know the story actually has no end, for our Savior defeated death, arose from His grave, and rules in heaven forever. But that is getting a little ahead of the story, the wondrous story of Christ's birth. We await that birth, anxious, yet filled with hope and praise and glorious expectation because we do indeed know how the story goes.

We await the advent of our Savior. We walk alongside the burro that Mary rides to Bethlehem, keeping pace with Joseph. We plead with Joseph's voice for some small room for her to rest within. We fill the stable manger with the softest, freshest hay we can find, covering it with clean rags for the One whose birth was heralded by angelic host. We hold Mary's hand, grip Joseph's arms, as she delivers the small Child. We look in awe upon the Messiah, the Christ, the One named Jesus. We bow, with the oxen and lambs, and honor Him. We greet the shepherds who have heard of His birth, the wise kings from far off lands who have followed a star. We watch as Mary lovingly coos and comforts the small, precious baby that is our King, God in human flesh, our Lord.

For now, we simply wait. It is all we can do to patiently sit by, for we know how the story goes. Come, Holy Spirit, come. We welcome you into our hearts. Come, baby Jesus. We await you.