One night, one moment
The night that changed the course of history forever, went largely unnoticed. For most people it was hardly remarkable that a very young woman should be giving birth. It's midnight and the quietness is broken by the first wailing breath of a new born baby. A traveller, asleep, stirs and turns over, pulling his blanket around his shoulders. A dog sits up and barks. A child calls for a drink of water. Just another baby crying.
We will never know what happened that night, other than the fact that a baby was born, who would change everything.
On a hillside outside the town, only the sheep dogs heard the cry in the night. The shepherds sat around their campfire, talking, laughing and drinking. They were tired and gradually their talking died down and the hillside became quiet. Still, like the town.
What was hidden from the rich and powerful, was instead revealed to those on the margins of society. What we are told is that messengers of God Himself were sent but not to the home of the wealthy.
The silence is broken by a very different voice.
"Don't be afraid" the voice says. As you can imagine the shepherds, suddenly roused from their sleep by this voice. Don't be afraid! Don't be ridiculous! Their sleep has been rudely disturbed and the voice tells them not to be afraid! The angel announces to them,
"I have good news for you and everyone else. Today the Saviour has been born."
"Here is how you will know this is true. Go into town and look for a cowshed, look for a manger, there you will find the baby."
The next moment the sky was full of more angels, more light, more sounds and songs the world won't hear the like of again. All this shows the favour the shepherds had found with God, that He should reveal the birth of this baby in the dark of the night. The shepherds rush to the town. Innkeepers are awakened, people are stopped and questioned until the shepherds are finally directed to the place that they have been looking for.
The angels are right. There he is - the baby, the sign. As they excitedly tell their story of what had happened, people begin to take notice. The shepherds didn't truly understand. But one thing they were sure of, things happen, God calls forth a brand new day.
Throughout the story of the birth of Jesus, a Saviour has come, bringing hope. God gives the lowest of all something to be excited about.
The song of the angels announces that a Saviour is born, born for all those who haven't got it all together, to give joy and peace.
Right at the centre of human reality and daily struggles of life, Jesus is here. God with us. In the middle of the chaos, the mess, the laughter, the complexity of life, the wars and talk of wars - God is here.
The unexpected takes centre stage and everything changes.
One night, one moment and everything's changed and who we are is changing within our hearts.
One night and one moment, and everything's has changed forever,
One night, one moment. (words from Nativity. One night one moment)
Briony Clinch, 18/11/2023