The Sounds of Christmas

Listen for a moment to the sounds around you. It might be the sounds of others engaged in conversations or the background sounds of some television show. Perhaps there is a radio playing somewhere with songs of Christmas filling the air. There are so many sounds around us that quite often our mind ignores most of them so that we can focus on the task at hand. 

When we think back on that very first Christmas, we can easily imagine the sounds that Mary had swirling around her. Depending on the time of day when Jesus was born, there may have been sounds of people going about their day as they walked by that simple stable. Perhaps it was the sounds of someone preparing a meal or children laughing as they chased each other through the streets. Or perhaps there was only the lone barking of a dog somewhere in the distance that broke the silence in the still of a quiet night. That, and the gentle cry of a newly born baby. Regardless of whatever sounds there were, there is little doubt that the only sounds that Mary heard were the sounds of her infant child.

Imagine the thoughts that must have been going through Mary’s mind as she looks closely at her newly born miracle. She recalls the words of the angel Gabriel as he told her about this moment. “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:30-33)

We can easily imagine what she must have been thinking. Was this child truly the Son of the Most High? Was he really destined to receive the throne of David and reign over a kingdom forever? How could this miracle of miracles actually be here, wrapped in a blanket and looking up at her as she held him tenderly in her arms? Every sound that surrounded her at that moment on that very first Christmas was gone from her mind. The only sound she heard were the sounds of her precious child.

Let our prayers today be those of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for sending His only Son to live among us. Let our thoughts be filled with the sounds of that first Christmas as we reach out to God with prayers of thanksgiving.

As we listen to the many sounds of Christmas throughout this season, let our thoughts also turn to the sounds of that First Christmas. The sounds of a new born child taking his first breaths and announcing to the world, “I am here!”