BETHLEHEM 2:

 

The little town of Bethlehem was historically known as a fertile region that grew ancient grain and provided bread for the whole of Judea including nearby Jerusalem. The town’s Hebrew name “Beit-Lechem” directly translates to “House of Bread”. Another symbolic significance of Christ’s birth for out of the House of Bread came The Bread of Life.

Through my research I discovered that unlike the genetically modified wheat today, ancient grain was a highly nutrient-rich superfood. It was higher in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. It basically contained every nutrient to sustain life which makes it understandable why Jesus would have applied the title of The Bread of Life to himself (John 6:35; 48)

With the exception of the Atonement, there is no sadder time of Jesus’ mortal life than the time He declared Himself to be The Bread of Life. Up to that moment, the Saviour’s popularity amongst the common people was immense and people thronged Him everywhere He went (Matthew 8:1,15:30; Mark 3:8,7:24,8:1; Luke 6:17,12:1) but finding this doctrine too hard to ‘bear’, many of His disciples ‘walked no more with him’ (John 6:66). From the time of this sermon, He was headed for the cross.

The sermon on The Bread of Life came on the heels of five loaves and two fishes. By this extraordinary miracle the Saviour ignited the fire of the Messianic prophecy. Hungry for freedom from bondage and oppression suffered for over 700 years, the Jewish nation was ready for deliverance. They did not expect to be told to ‘eat’ His flesh and ‘drink’ His blood (John 6:32-35; 51-58).  And so even the baptised and most converted to the Saviour abandoned Him and thus began the rejection of the common people easily manipulated by the leadership to propel Him to the cross.

This is the sad point. The reality of ‘eating and drinking’ the Saviour’s flesh and blood which they questioned was far more easily understood than it appears: “The process of eating and drinking were figures in every-day use by the rabbis of that time. Their failure to comprehend the symbolism of Christ’s doctrine was an act of will, not the natural consequence of innocent ignorance. To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ was and is to believe in and accept Him as the literal Son of God and Saviour of the world, and to obey His commandments.” (James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 342)

One cannot but wonder why the baptised and most converted were so easily swayed by the Jewish leadership to reject Christ as The Bread of Life. I think it’s a matter of being enlightened. Just as we eat bread on daily basis, we should be ‘eating’ Christ’s word every day to keep the fire of our conviction burning. That’s enlightenement. The spiritually enlightened will also see here the connection to the Sacrament.

The enlightened should see themselves in Peter’s response to Jesus when asked if the twelve will also go away: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”

Maybe Bethlehem didn’t give birth to The Bread of Life but to The Bread of Eternal Life…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Nativity by Eileen Whitehead)

REDEEMER

 

“The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge made plain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some of His children would succeed and others would fail; some would be faithful, others false; some would choose the good, others the evil; some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the road to destruction.

“He further foresaw that death would enter the world, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of but brief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograde rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens.

“It was necessary that a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and eventual exaltation in the eternal worlds…..It was not His design that the souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work and glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

“The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own ministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself, through labour, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was accepted and made the foreordained plan of man’s redemption from death, of his eventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible exaltation through righteous achievement.”

-          (James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 18)

FATHER’S CHARGE:

Long ago,

When you lived in my arms

You wanted to fly

In the vast expanse of the skies.

I gifted you wings,

And promised I would

Teach you to fly.

Just remember, I am here, but

It is your turn now,

To rise.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: All Is Calm by Gabriel Heaton)

BETHLEHEM

 

Bethlehem, the City of David, holds more importance symbolically than most of us know. That importance came through a noble woman named Ruth.

It is said by oral tradition that women in ancient Israel lived with a hope that the Messiah would come through their line. Ruth from Moab had no blood of Israel running through her veins.  She was a convert to the Lord, God of Israel ‘under whose wings she had come to trust’ (Ruth 2:12). When her Israelite husband died and left her with no children, Ruth became one of the lowliest of the earth, devoid of security or livelihood.

Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi also became destitute losing her husband and both of her sons. When Naomi encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their kin and their ‘gods’, they wept. Orpah left but Ruth remained with these words on her tongue: “….whither thou goest, I will go; and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) Makes you want to weep…..

Ruth and Naomi left Moab and returned to Judea….to a small town called Bethlehem, no less.  Once there, Ruth consented to a ‘levirate’  marriage with Naomi’s next of kin, as was the custom in Israel. Through a levirate marriage, the woman was provided with children and restored to security and society.

Here is where things become interesting. The Hebrew word for a man who would step up to this responsibility was GO’EL. The King James Version of the Bible translates it as simply ‘kinsman’ but the proper and literal meaning of GO’EL is ‘redeemer’ (Rasmussen, “Introduction to the Old Testament”, 1:157)

This is how Ruth, a lowly woman of Moab became the symbol of Christ’s redemption: Her GO’EL was Boaz, an Israelite kinsman of Naomi. Boaz became Ruth’s redeemer and restorer of all she had lost. Boaz and Ruth had a son whose name was Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, who was a progenitor of Mary, who was the mother of Christ……

This is why the importance of Bethlehem…..and righteous Ruth through whose line came Christ the King. Consider for a moment how Christ redeems us from our fallen state and restores us to the presence of the Father, AND grants us eternal posterity through His power of exaltation. The Saviour himself affirms His role as the GO’EL when He refers to himself as the bridegroom and us, Israel, as the bride (Matthew 25:1-13; D&C 33:17; 65:3; 88:92; 133:10).

He is the greatest GO’EL of all….. the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Hope of Israel, the Rock of our Salvation, the Son of God who will one day sit on the throne of His ‘father’ David (Luke 1:32).

And it all started in a little town called Bethlehem…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Birth by Dan Burr)

A SHEPHERD AND A LAMB

 

How very fitting it is that the birth of the One who would proclaim himself to be both a Shepherd and the Sacrificial Lamb would grace the green pastures of a little town called Bethlehem.

But not only sheep were cared for in Bethlehem but also special blemish free lambs ‘because they were destined for sacrifice on the great altar in the Lord’s House, in similitude of the eternal sacrifice of Him who would atone for the sins of the world. (see Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, 347).

And so the greatest lamb without blemish was born as the sheep grazed and the shepherds watched in the stillness of that Meridian night. It was as if He had come among His own.

When Jesus was born, an angel appeared to these shepherds and announced the birth of the Saviour ‘which is Christ the Lord’. He told them they would find ‘the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:9-12). This the shepherds would understand for they had lovingly wrapped many lambs in swaddling cloths and placed them in a manger until they were taken to the Temple for sacrifice. They knew that the baby they would find in there would be the perfect Lamb of God.

There are many teachings and scriptural references to the Saviour’s role as our Shepherd. What is worthy of notice here is this. Every lamb has a shepherd…..a lamb cannot survive without the care of a shepherd. The Saviour is called the Lamb of God because God the Father is His Shepherd and has been from the beginning of time.

The Father is the perfect Shepherd and the Son is the spotless lamb who follows. He does this in perfect obedience because He is the perfect Son (John 8:29; 10:17-18). Where did the Saviour learn to be a shepherd? He learnt it from His Shepherd because ‘He does nothing but what He has seen the Father do’ (John 8:26,28,38)

The Saviour made 163 references to the Father during His visit to the Americas and 15 references of His obedience to Him, the greatest being ‘the cross’ to which the Father sent Him that He might draw all men unto Him….so that all His sheep might follow…..(3 Nephi 27:14)

Be still my soul

And know that He leads you

By the voice of His heart.

He beckons and He calls

Your spirit to ignite

To truth and godly path.

 

His love will find you,

He will lead you and save your soul,

He is the Shepherd

Who will answer your call.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Sweet Sleep In the Manger Lowly by Greg Collins)

LITTLE LAMB

 

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:7

Some years ago, the artist Jenedy Paige, felt that she needed to do a painting of baby Jesus. In her extensive research she discovered that the manger would have most likely been carved out of white limestone and that it was also unlikely that Jesus was “asleep on the hay” as grass was available on the hills surrounding Judea year round. They really would have had no need to store hay, and the mangers were most likely used for water.

She also learnt that “swaddling cloths” were not scraps of fabric indicating poverty but were actually a big part of the Israelite culture. They were in reality 5-6” wide strips of linen which were embroidered with symbols of the ancestry of the bride and groom symbolising the coming together of two families. These bands were wrapped around the hands of the couple at the wedding ceremony. The swaddling bands Jenedy Paige painted suggest that the bands the Savior was swaddled in may have included the Lion of Judah and the stem of Jesse.

Her feelings about the painting touched me the most:

“As I sketched and worked, my heart was so full as I uncovered this image. For when you take away the Hollywood drama, the traditions of centuries, the wood and the hay, all you’re really left with is a babe in white linen on white stone. And my mind immediately went to the purpose of the Savior’s life:

“He was born to die. He came as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind; so how fitting that He would begin his life on a stone altar of sorts, and be wrapped in white linen, like he would after His death. And of course he would be placed in a trough for water, for He would be Living Water, and would bring life to all. I also found myself weeping for the Father, and how it must have felt to see His Son begin life foreshadowing His death. My heart was so full of gratitude that He would send His Only Begotten to be the Savior for us all. That He would send His Son, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to die so that we all might live. What good news, what comfort and joy, what a gift was given to us all. O come, let us adore Him!”  (JENEDY PAIGE)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Little Lamb by Jenedy Paige)

 https://jenedypaige.com/products/little-lamb-prints

HOPE OF ISRAEL

 

“He was not an ordinary man. He was the great Creator housed in a tabernacle of clay. He was the Eternal Jehovah ministering among men. He was God’s Almighty Son doing the things his Father sent him to do. He inherited from the Father of his mortal body the powers and characteristics of his Perfect Parent. He was placed in a position to excel all men. He was the God of Israel taking his place and receiving his lot and inheritance among that chosen people.”

-       Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1” p 30

The Saviour made it clear during His ministry that He was sent to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24). The Kingdom of Judah had lost its way and by 70 AD it would be scattered throughout the world. The Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom had already been lost. The House of Israel had one hope and that was the arrival of the Messiah.

And so the Messiah was sent to save the spiritual fabric of the chosen people of God who rejected Him. On all accounts it seemed as it was all lost except for one thing. The Saviour had sworn He will never forget His covenant with Israel (Deut 4:31; Lev 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).

What the Saviour accomplished during His earthly ministry, by organizing His Church, propelled the chosen generation of royal priesthood to take the purity of His Gospel to the nations of the earth in fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant (Matthew 28:19,20). And thus nothing was lost but everything gained. The sacrifice exacted, the Gospel given to the world for their adoption into the favoured House of Israel, the promise to Father Abraham kept.

By virtue of our discipleship, we are privileged to join in the Saviour’s role as the Hope of Israel. Consider President Nelson’s explanation of our significant role within this Hope after he quoted Nephi saying the Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled in the latter days by all of the House of Israel (1 Nephi 15:18):

“When we know who we are and what God expects of us, we are filled with hope and made aware of our significant role in His great plan of happiness. The day in which we now live was foreseen even before Jesus Christ was born…These are the latter days. We are the ones foredetermined and foreordained to fulfill that promise.

“We are, in fact, the hope of Israel. We are God’s treasure, reserved for our particular place and time.”   (Quotes from President Russell M. Nelson, “Daily Joy”)

 

 Hope of Israel

Who would not see us lost,

Who rescued our souls

Never counting the cost. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: All Is Calm by Gabriel Heaton)

THE FAVOURED ONE

 

“How almost unthinkable it is that a God should become a man; that the Creator of all things from the beginning should come down and be himself created from the dust of the earth; that he being infinite forever should become finite for a season; that the Maker of men should become subject to them; that he who has ascended above all things should now descend below them all; that he who knows all things and has all might, power, and dominion should begin anew, as it were, and go himself from grace to grace until the eternal fulness was his once again.

“And yet how normal and right such a process is! How could it be otherwise? If the plan of salvation, ordained by the Father, was to enable all of his spirit children to advance and progress and become like him, then Jehovah also was subject to its terms and conditions. And how better could he be favoured above all others than to be born, not of mortality only but of Immortality, not of man only but of God, not of the earth only but of Heaven?!”

-          Bruce R. McConkie, “The Promised Messiah”, p 454-5

I have always felt that the Saviour was favoured of the Father. One year, in connection with a personal revelation I received, I came to understand that the Father loves Him the most, for what He has done for the rest of His children, for His perfect obedience and for being His only child in mortality. I had opposition to that theory but I would not be convinced otherwise. I would never dare to expect the same level of entitlement for anything that is due to the Saviour. There is only one “My Beloved Son”.

I looked up to You

When in my beginning.

I saw Your strength,

Your care, Your undying love,

And I knew only YOU

Could make up for what

I alone could not do.

 

You are our Deliverer,

You are our King,

You are our holy grail,

You are our everything.

 

We will never follow

  the footsteps of any other,

You will ever be

our Beloved Brother.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Mary and Son by Rose Datoc Dall)

MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered,

Will soon deliver you.

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby

You kiss the face of God.

 

The blind will see, the deaf will hear

The dead will live again

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb.

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you’re holding

Is the great, I am.

 

-      Written by: lyrics by Mark Lowry and music by Buddy Greene

-      Art: Mother of God by Lester Yocum

THE VEIL

 

“The ability of man to be at one with God in both location and in likeness is possible only because the Saviour first became at one with man in location, through His mortal birth, and at one with man in likeness, through His assumption of man’s frailties – without ever abandoning His godlike character. Paul observed that the Saviour became “like unto his brethren” (Hebrews 2:17). There was something in the Saviour’s descent that made possible man’s ascent.” 

-          Tad R. Callister, “The Infinite Atonement” p 28

I stood at the veil

As You were about to leave

Sorrowing that not all would believe.

 

I prayed for Father’s power

To protect Your gentle heart

From the blow that might tear You apart.

 

I knew my soul You would save

And all Your promises You would fulfil

I stood at the veil, unable to leave,

Holding Your crown for You to receive.

 

I stood and waited that fateful day

In awe of what You did to pave the way.

I could scarcely comprehend

Your godly enduring might

I stood at the veil and gave You my heart.

 

-          CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Away In A Manger by Jay Bryant Ward)

CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL

 

By the time Jesus was born, the Jewish nation was knee deep in apostasy and their religion had evolved into 613 rabbinical interpretations of the Mosaic Law, and tradition of the elders, that the nation was expected to observe. They ‘turned the truth of heaven into a system that led them to hell’ (“The Mosaic Law and Conflict Resolution, ww.eajournals.org; Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 238).

“Among the righteous and devout Israelites were some who, in spite of traditionalism, rabbinism, and priestly corruption, still lived in righteous expectation of inspired confidence, awaiting patiently ‘the consolation of Israel’ (Luke 2:25;38; Mark 15:43)” (James Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 96).

One of these righteous people was Simeon to whom had been revealed by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen 'the Lord's Christ' (Luke 2:26). Simeon waited a long time and was well stricken in age when the Spirit led him to the temple the day that Mary and Joseph were there with the Christ child to offer sacrifice for his birth as was the Mosaic law of the day (Luke 2:22-24).

Simeon took the Christ child into his arms and pronounced Him to be the awaited Messiah, the glory of Israel and the light to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32). He was the consolation of salvation in a spiritually lost nation. And then he told Mary of the anguish that she would be called to endure because of Him akin to ‘a sword piercing her soul’ (v35).

Another privileged godly Israelite of great age was also at the temple, a prophetess called Anna, who devoted herself exclusively to temple service, and she too being inspired of God, recognised ‘the consolation of Israel’ she longed for and testified of Him to all about her (Luke 2:36-38).

I have many times imagined what it would have been like for these devout Jews who lived in a spiritually barren society to see the Christ child and know that salvation has finally come to Israel.

One thing worthy of notice. The consolation that came to these two good people happened in the temple. It reminds me of Elder Vaugn J. Featherstone’s prophecy of April 1987 at the re-dedication of the Manti Temple:

“Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls.

“In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death….we will abide in places of refuge from the storm, we will mount up as on eagles’ wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun and clear as the moon.”

And all because of the most significant birth in the history of this earth.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Anna Greets the Christ Child by Lester Yocum)

A GOD IN MORTALITY

 

“He came here to dwell as a mortal, subject to the testing experiences that are common lot of all mankind. He lived and breathed as all men do; he ate and drank as his needs required; he wielded the carpenter’s saw, toiled in the fields of grain, and slept on the barren Palestinian soil. His experiences were like those of his Israelite kinsmen. Upon him the rains fell; around him the snows swirled.

“He was hungry, cold, tired, sick, and afflicted, as all men are; and when he died, his eternal spirit left its tenement of clay, as is the case with all of Adam’s race. He was a man, a mortal man, a son of Adam, and God his Father saw fit to let him live as other men live, experience as they experience, sorrow and suffer as they do, and overcome as they must, if they are ever to return to the Divine Presence where joy and peace and eternal glory abound.”

-          Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1”  p 6

 

Every Christmas,

the mother in me

Longs to hold

the baby You became.

 

To hold all that You were,

To smell the babyhood on You.

Just one hug, just one embrace,

And to kiss Your sweet little face.

 

Were You a baby like all the rest?

Did You cry out in the night

Longing to hear the beating

Of Your mother’s heart?

 

Were You glad to be here

Were Your angels still near?

Did You long for Your Father

And His mighty arm

And all those You left behind?

 

Did You remember who You were?

And did You know You would

One day make all things new?

Did You rejoice even then

In my salvation too?

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Babe in Bethlehem by Liz Lemon Swindle)

A VISIONARY MAN

 

It is not easy being a visionary man. Things of the spirit such a man is privy to is difficult to make others see and believe. Lehi from the Book of Mormon is proof of this. His rebellious sons used this description of their father in an accusatory manner (1 Nephi 2:11). Even his wife joined in using this title for her husband with negative connotations after a prolonged absence of her sons who were attempting to secure the brass plates.

I don’t know if Sarai was reluctant to see her sons return to Jerusalem that they had fled from but it would seem her nerves got the better of her and she accused her husband of leading the family into the wilderness to die, because he was ‘a visionary man’ (1 Nephi 5:2). Lehi’s answer was classic. He basically said to her: “I know I am a visionary man and thank goodness for that because now I am able to preserve my family in a land of promise.” (1 Nephi 5:5)

I thought of Joseph and Mary, as I re-visited Lehi’s story this week, and wondered if their flight in the middle of the night to Egypt was not only for protection from Herod but also from possible pressure of their families who would not understand why Joseph was taking them all the way to Egypt or if they would have been dissuaded by unbelievers or stopped in some way (Matthew 2:13,14). When Lehi's family fled from Jerusalem they also told no one (Hugh Nibley, "An Approach to the Book of Mormon", p 139).

Maybe Joseph never told anyone else but Mary of his visits by an angel for fear he might be called ‘a visionary man’ and his actions become discredited. How could he tell a wayward people of the visits he was having from angels? Nobody believed in angels anymore (see Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 322).  

Imagine if he failed to act because someone well meaning in the family aborted the whole flight to Egypt and the plan failed. Imagine the remorse and feelings of failure in his appointed guardianship. But Joseph was a visionary man and an obedient man.

And now on to us. There is a scripture in the book of Joel which says that the Lord will pour out His spirit in the last days ‘upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions’ (Joel 2:28).  

And now the warning: “Remember that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit…for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls unto swine, lest they trample them under their feet.” (D&C 63:64; JST Matthew 7:10)

If you are a ‘visionary man or woman’ hold your pearls close to your heart and be careful who you show them to. In this too we can turn to Mary who ‘kept all these things and pondered them in her heart’ (Luke 2:19)….and I might add, ‘cherished’ them…..

Your truth pierces my soul

And binds me to Your loving heart.

Your sacred teaching moments

Find my hungry mind

And feed me like a bird in flight.

My faith is laid at Your feet

And I, I come to you Father

Clutching these riches

that are only mine to keep.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Young Prince in Egypt by Rose Datoc Dall)

THE LAMB

 

“In the fields of Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem and the Temple of Jehovah, there were shepherds watching their flocks by night. These were no ordinary shepherds nor ordinary flocks. The sheep there watched over, cared for with love and devotion – were destined for sacrifice on the great altar in the Lord’s House, in similitude of the eternal sacrifice of Him who that wondrous night lay in a stable….”

-          Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 347)

 

On that fateful night

when shepherds watched the sacrificial lambs,

There was a shepherd child keeping watch

But one had gone astray.

He searched in vain the rich pasture of hay

And found Him peaceful

In the manger where He lay.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Tender Shepherd by Eva Koleva Timothy)

A HUMBLE WITNESS

 

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them…..and the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord…..And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:8-14)”

“The trustful and unsophisticated keepers of sheep had not asked for sign or confirmation….they waited not, but went in haste, for in their hearts they believed….They found the Babe in the manger…and having seen they went out and testified to the truth concerning the Child.

“Tidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel or received by man – good tidings of great joy, given to but few and those among the humblest of earth….” 

-          James Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 93,94

The humblest of births produced the most humble witnesses of the born Christ, who testified to the people of Judea. No kings, not even Jewish rulers, were privileged to see the newborn Messiah……so anxiously awaited by common man, for it is the common man that would believe and honour the most significant birth in history.

So it is with us, the common people, that our testimony of Christ will bring others to the fold of God. May we let our light shine this coming Christmas and make it known that WE believe…..

 

I watched in awe from our home above

Your descent to the threshold of the stable

And wondered if my soul’s worth

Would make Your mortal task divinely able.

 

Then I heard the angels in the field

Singing praises to Your name;

And I sorrowed knowing, like holy water,

Your love would spill on sacrificial altar.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Fear Not by Liz Lemon Swindle)

JOSEPH THE PROTECTOR

 

We don’t know much about Joseph, but we know this. He was a just man (Matthew 1:19). He was also an obedient son of God who took Mary for his wife under instruction from God, not fearing any man (Matthew 1:24).

To say that Joseph took his responsibility as Jesus’ guardian seriously would be an understatement. He followed every instruction he received, without question. When instructed to protect Jesus from Herod’s edict, he took the family to Egypt to fulfill this prophecy: “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Matthew 2:12-15).

But why all the way to Egypt? So that “whenever Israel remembers how God had delivered them with a mighty hand from the bondage of Egypt, they will think also that the Son of God was called out of Egypt to deliver them from the bondage of sin” (Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1” p 364)

The third time an angel appeared to Joseph, he advised him that Herod was dead and that he should take Jesus back to Israel. Joseph was not only obedient but over-cautious in protecting his charge, and instead of Judea, he took his family to Galilee, to a city called Nazareth, to fulfill yet another prophecy: “He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:21-23).

This is why I think Joseph obeyed all the instructions he received so readily.  He was converted to the prophecy of the long-awaited Messiah. When he heard from the angel that Mary will bring forth a son who shall save his people from their sins (Matt 1:20) he joyed in the realisation that the long predicted coming of the Messiah was at hand, and ‘a virgin, and she the one in the world most dear to him, had conceived, and in due time would bring forth that blessed Son, Emmanuel, which name by interpretation means “God with us” (James Talmage, “Jesus the Christ”, p 84)

Joseph reminds me of his fore-father David who dared to slay Goliath with this conviction on his lips: “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29).  David lived for the cause of Israel and Joseph, who had the right to David’s throne through lineage, had a greater cause, to raise the Redeemer of Israel. The Saviour was sent to the royal line to which He belonged, to one day sit on the throne of his father David to rule over Israel forever (Luke 1:32; see James Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 85,89,90).

ODE TO JOSEPH:

As a tender plant , I grew

In the shadow of your wings

Never knowing danger was so near;

Your protection and your love

Dispelling all my fear.

 

When God called,

So willing was your tender heart

No forces of hell could sever you

from your appointed path.

 

The guardian of my youth,

The obedient servant of the Lord,

Thou art Joseph

The valiant son of God.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: On To Egypt by Rose Datoc Dall)