the irony of the Christmas story - the wise men

He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, 

but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. 

The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.

No silk. No ivory. No hype. No party. No hoopla.

Were it not for the shepherds, there would have been no reception. 

And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts.

 Max Lucado 

the irony of the Christmas story ~ the shepherds

I want to share two (2) thoughts with you that I find rather ironic, surprising if you will,  about the shepherds and the Christmas story.  I love God’s sense of humor. 

Did you know that Bethlehem was right ‘under the nose’ of King Herod?   I didn’t, until a few years ago. 

The Herodian, the largest fortress-palace of the ancient world was built on the highest point of the Judean Desert.  It literally looked down on Bethlehem.  The Herodian could be seen from anywhere in Bethlehem.  It would have been a rather formidable symbol of King Herod’s power hanging over the city.  It has been said that the shadow of the Herodian moves across Bethlehem as the sun sets. 

"Let there be light

. . . and there was light.  God saw that the light was good"   (Genesis 1:3-4)

I put up the tree last evening and as I plugged in the lights, I said “Let there be light”!  

Beautiful

Soothing

peaceful

All the lights of the holidays 

• the lights on the tree
• the star on the top of the tree
• the candles flickering
• the twinkling beams radiating from the wreaths
• the glow from the garlands
• the radiance from the candles of the menorahs

remind me that it was our God who created LIGHT

Have you ever noticed how many times or ways that LIGHT is involved in the Christmas story? 

I've been blessed

I was so excited and blessed today when I discovered that I had been awarded the neat Liebster award from Grace InAz.   Thank you, Grace.  You made my day.  

She had stopped by my blog recently and liked it.   

Check our Grace's  blog at:  Growing-old-with-grace

I know you will like it as much as I do.