We did some traveling this holiday weekend. Of course we’re back home now – safe and sound…
When we were drifting off to sleep in the motel, there were faint sounds of a baby in the room above us…then the more subtle sounds turned into crying, bursting through the stillness. At home we usually have white noise playing in the background – to drown out the quiet, I suppose. In this motel room, however, even the little windowside heater only came on occasionally. So it was extremely quiet…except for…
A crying baby. Ordinarily, it might have frustrated me. A strange place, a bed we weren’t used to, different smells… The room was darkened by blackout drapes that wouldn’t even let the lights from the parking lot break in. We were at least trying to get to sleep. Trying. And yet, this time, the crying baby actually made me smile. It was Christmas Eve, the night celebrated by Christians as the night before Jesus’ birth. A crying baby. It somehow made sense, and I allowed myself to drift into slumberland, visualizing baby Jesus so many years ago.
The next morning, Christmas morning, we were again awoken by the sounds of a baby. Again, my thoughts floated to baby Jesus, in his Mother Mary’s arms, being comforted, welcomed with love and compassion into a confused, confusing world. Oh my, what the next couple of thousand years were to bring. My, oh my.
Dear baby Jesus, what you sought to teach us... What others have tried years before to teach us – simple messages actually - to love God, to love one another, to love ourselves...to treat each other as you yourself would like to be treated. Simple messages. And yet, we still struggle to really get the message. Teachers come and we only listen with one ear. Prophets come and we nod, only half-agreeing to their guidance.
Whether Christian or of another faith, living that faith is what brings with it the potential for changing this world into a much better place. Little baby Jesus, we listen to your tears in the night. May we welcome you into this confusing world. May we finally learn the lessons you and others have tried to teach us! And who knows? Maybe disturbing our sleep is a good way to get our attention!