“Erei e lak ko bong. Nglocha diak el sorir a chobong. Ke merur, ngdiak.” Mother kept saying without looking at me. I believe she was shamed because i was
not listed. I ignored her, got myself ready and walked to school. It was the end of school year piano recital. I was a 15 year old Freshman in high school.
I was the last performer since I was not in the program. You could say I was being squeezed in ~ an after thought. I could speculate why I was excluded in the program. But it would be a waste of time. I went, I played my piece, and walked out thinking “If that’s Christianity, I don’t want any of it!”
I don’t know where that chutzpah came from. But it had helped me tell that boogeyman to leave me alone because I met a Man who let me in. He was born in a barn in Bethlehem ( a house of Bread) where cows were lowing, sheep bleating, donkey braying (hee-haw) and birds singing because there was no room for his parents at the inn. Such a weird but true story.
We all know that Jesus was not born on December 25th. But let’s not be such killjoy over a wonderful day of celebration. It could have been March 15th or August 18th. He was born in a cave where animals were kept. No blue blanket for the boy. And his first visitors were shepherds. The lowest ranking occupation of the working class hierarchy in that society. Shepherds were illiterate, poor and they smelled so bad for not bathing. However, God chose them by sending an angel with the news of a child being born nearby. He told them exactly where and how they would find him wrapped in swaddling clothes. This was to keep the baby from kicking and be bruised. They were the first to hear the angels sing “Peace on earth and good will to man” as they welcomed the birth of the Child.
Luke, a Gentile writer of the gospel was inclusive. No door is closed to anyone. There’s a room for everyone in the Kingdom of GOD (Luke 2 :14) Come, let’s move toward God with kisses.
Someday I will meet Jesus, and Mary and Joseph. I’ll visit with those shepherds and hear their stories.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Remember me loving you.