When I was a little girl, I went to a small church where my oldest sister Dolly taught my Sunday School class and directed the annual Christmas play. One year she assigned me a speaking part. I was chosen to be the angel and my lines were not just any lines. It was my first gospel presentation. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger...Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:12-14 KJV). Moving up from shepherd status to an angel with a speaking part was a big deal, especially to a seven year old.
My brother Bob was also given a speaking part. For weeks, my mom worked with us to memorize our lines. Bob wasn’t as interested as me. I worked diligently. He goofed around continuously. We would spend ten minutes on my part and then Mom spent the rest of the time drilling Bob on his. Memorization always came easy to me. As I listened to Bob recite his part night after night, I also learned his lines. Like any self-respecting, annoying little sister, I taunted him by helping (aka mocking) him. My taunting came back to haunt me the night of dress rehearsal.
We had almost as many parents watching the dress rehearsal as we had for the actual performance. It was a little nerve-racking, but I proudly walked onto the stage in my angel costume with my halo and wings perfectly in place. When I opened my mouth, the lines that came out were my brother’s lines, not mine. Everyone started laughing and I ran off the stage crying. My sister made me go back to the stage and say the correct lines. The next evening, my performance went off without a hitch, or so I think. I don’t remember anything after the humiliating experience at dress rehearsal. It was a moment frozen in time that sometimes still haunts me when I speak in front of others. If you ever see me passed out on a stage, it is probably due to a flashback from the Christmas play.
The irony hasn’t escaped me that my fear and anxiety got triggered when I recited the angel’s message about Jesus, who brings peace to the earth. As a little girl, I didn’t know how to process the shame and humiliation I felt at the dress rehearsal. The adults were busy. No one thought much about how I was feeling. I picked myself up and walked back on the stage and did what I was told. But I have to wonder now how Jesus would have responded to me if I had been able to turn to him in my shame. Would he have rebuked me or shamed me by telling me that I got what I deserved? After all, I had been making fun of my brother for weeks. Would he have told me that I needed to get over it and to move on? Would he have said, “It’s no big deal. Who cares what other people think?” and left me feeling like a failure?
Based on what I know of Jesus personally and biblically, the answer to those questions would be a resounding No. There would be no rebuking, shaming, punishing, or ignoring the issue. As the Prince of Peace, he would have entered into the pain of that experience. How do I know this? Because in a Bethlehem stable, he entered into a broken world offering peace to all on earth. The stable and manger we know so well eventually gave way to a cross where Jesus offered his life for ours. With arms opened wide, he offered us peace as he was being broken. Born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law(Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus came to give us peace and to take our shame, to endure the rebukes that should have been ours, to be punished for our sin, and to take the judgment of God’s wrath so we would not have to.
Twenty twenty has reminded us that we live in a very broken world. Peace seems to be slipping through our fingers. In reality, our peace with God was nailed down two thousand years ago. For those who know Jesus Christ, we walk in that peace each second of every day. But on those days when our daily circumstances mock the truth, we can hold on to either the manger or the cross because both point to the true purpose of Christmas--salvation through Christ and peace with God.
One day Christ will return again, and there will not be a discrepancy between what our circumstances claim and our true reality. Until then, we will find ourselves in situations where our broken world falls short in offering us the peace we long for. When that happens, we only need to stop and consider the angel’s message. If we see Jesus as doing anything or acting in any way contrary to peace, we have forgotten the purpose of Christmas – a Savior came that we might have peace on Earth.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord...Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:12-14 KJV).
Merry Christmas!
Pamela Hall
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