A Great Surprise

Luke 2:8-9 (NIV)

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

As a group journeyed to Israel the tour guide announced "I have a surprise for you,".

Just as evening was closing in, the bus stopped, and entered a kibbutz, where they loaded onto the elevator travelling to the sixth floor. They exited, crossed the wide hall, and passed through a doorway onto the roof. Then they entered into a room something like a tower enclosed on all four sides by glass. As each entered, they were handed a lighted candle.

The guide called out, "This is your surprise." They all looked over to the east of the building where the shepherds' fields lay. The huge glass windows were opened like doors. They all looked in awe and silence across the fields -- where once the shepherds heard the announcement by the angels on the night Christ was born.

As they took a few pictures,  one in the group started to sing "Silent Night", and all joined in. One carol led into another, and so, with candles held high, they all sang glory to His name as they looked across the shepherds' fields, where now the night drew nigh. It was a surprise that none of them would ever forget.

But imagine the surprise the shepherds experienced when the angels came across the fields with the announcement of the birth of our Savior, Jesus. What a surprise to learn that God could come in human form as a baby -- and not just a physical gift, but a spiritual gift from God!

Let us open the glass doors of our hearts and let Jesus come in. Only then can we experience the surprise of having our hearts be filled with joy.

Dear Lord, thank You the for the surprise You gave for us all that first Christmas morning. Help us share that great gift to all those we meet today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  

The Story of The Candy Cane Maker.

Luke 2:15 (New International Version)

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

There once was a candy maker who wanted to make a candy that would be very special for Christmas. He decided to make a candy cane because he knew he could include a lot of signs and symbols to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

            He began with a stick of pure white hard candy. He used white as a symbol that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary who was always so pure and holy. He made it hard and crunchy to symbolize the solid rock on which the church is founded.

            He bent over the top of the candy cane to make a hook like a shepherd’s staff. He remembered that Jesus called himself “The Good Shepherd” The candy maker remembered too that the first people who come to worship Jesus at the manger after he was born were shepherds. Then the candy maker looked at his candy cane and thought it looked a little plain. “It needs some color,” he said. Something red,” he thought. “That will give it Christmas look!” So, he began to stain the white candy cane with red stripes. First, he put on three thin red stripes. You see, he remembered that Jesus went through terrible torture before he died and was whipped across his back. The candy maker decided that the red stripes on the candy cane would remind everybody that Jesus shed his blood for us when he died on the cross on Good Friday.

            The candy maker was doing well with his candy cane. He had a lot signs of Jesus in there but he wasn’t satisfied. Then he began to pray, “Dear Jesus, help me to make my candy cane show the true meaning of Christmas.” Then suddenly the candy cane slipped from his hands. It fell upside down on the floor. When he looked, he noticed that the candy cane was no longer a candy cane, but it was the letter “J”. It stands for “Jesus.” Jesus is really what Christmas is all about.

Dear Lord we pray this Christmas season we won’t forget the True meaning of Christmas. In Jesus’ name, Amen.