Day 6: Hold tight
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19)
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
Almighty God, who has poured upon us the new light of your Incarnate Word; Grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Book of Common Prayer
Mary did not merely listen to the Christmas message and then forget it. We read in plain, one-syllable words, that after Jesus was born she "kept all these things," the startling promises concerning the Holy Child, "in her heart!"
We likewise must hold tight to the Christmas blessing even after the evergreen and decorations have been removed. The benedictions of our Savior's birth are far too great to be restricted by the short span of twenty-four hours. You cannot put the Atlantic into a drinking glass; even less can you crowd the glories of His incarnation into a single day.
When Paula, a fifth-century Christian, came to Bethlehem, she knelt at the reputed site of the manger and exclaimed: "I see the divine Infant wrapped in His swaddling clothes. I hear my Lord crying in His cradle." Then, quoting in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, as the verses came to her mind, she recalled all the prophetic passages which dealt with His coming and concluded: "Have I, a miserable sinner, been permitted to kiss the cradle where my Savior uttered His first cry? Have I been counted worthy to offer my prayers in this cave, where the Virgin Mary brought forth my Lord? Here shall be my rest, for it is the country of my Lord. Here will I dwell, since my Savior chose it."
While it is neither possible nor advisable for you now to make a pilgrimage to Palestine, by faith you can constantly keep close to the Christ Child. Accept Him as your Redeemer now! Take Him with you tomorrow when you go to work, when you march or drill, when you who must travel begin your journey!
Let every day re-echo the rejoicing of the first Christmas: "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 Savior, which is Christ the Lord"!
— Walter Maier — Hold Tight to Christmas!
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