Manger Square in Bethlehem, traditional site of Jesus. Photo by: Ian and Wendy Sewell
Gifts given and received, food consumed in merriment and abundance, all the joyful greetings said, its now the day after Christmas.
I wonder what happened the day after the angels went back to heaven? Or the shepherds who are now back tending to their flocks after going to town and spreading the news about the supernatural events that they just witnessed the night before? Or the three wise men who went another way after being warned by an angel? Or to Joseph who by this time is now taking care of the baby Jesus since Mary would probably be exhausted from the delivery.
What happened next?
Well, the world did not experience the upheaval that was supposed to usher in another golden age for Israel. The earth spun around its axis, as usual, while revolving around the sun. The kingdom of heaven did not come. The seasons came and gone and Israel was still under the control of the Roman empire.
What did occur was that the plan and purposes of God was now set in motion for the salvation of the world (the plan actually started after Adam sinned). It would take another 33 years before all of it would be fulfilled–in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The night that Jesus was born was not an earthshaking event. The audience was limited only to the hosts of heaven, Mary, Joseph, the three wise men from the East and the shepherds. Probably not more that 20 human beings. It was no grand show, it was the humble beginning of the incarnation of Jesus, but something that would affect the lives of everyone up to this day and age.
The day after the first Christmas was nothing special. It was an ordinary day, nothing auspicious. Today, is the day after Christmas, over two thousand years from when it first happened. It is still the same. The difference is that hundred of millions, if not billions, have come to a personal relationship with Jesus. We have placed our faith in the God who was born in the flesh, lived an ordinary life, died a humiliating death but is now glorified and sitting at the right hand of God.
“He [Jesus] came into the very world He created, but the world didnÕt recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:10-12
