Hello,
Here’s a Christmas story that I wrote some years ago….at least the first half, this week.
To look at him, you wouldn’t have guessed, but strapping and strong Russell O’Brian was “sore afraid”, sore afraid because this year he was to be Joseph in the Christmas story that the high schoolers were portraying, and this was his source of fear: he’d never held a baby before.
Normally, that wouldn’t have mattered for someone playing Joseph, but this year the script had been changed and instead of baby Jesus resting in Mary’s lap, he would be held in Joseph’s arms. The Pastor thought it would be an interesting take on the birth story. In all the manger scenes that he had seen, never was Jesus being held in Joseph’s arms, but surely….surely as his father, Joseph must have scooped Jesus up and cradled him just like Mary did. So, this year, that was what was going to happen. Instead of Mary holding baby Jesus, Russell…or Joseph would hold him as the Christmas story was acted out….and that is what Russell O’Brian sore afraid.
He had never held a baby before, and this would be a real baby. No fake doll, but a real baby portraying the baby Jesus. How do you hold a baby? What if it started fussing and kicking? Should he hold it tighter or looser? What if it got hungry and started crying and screaming? What if it spat up? What if it…well, you know….what if it….? He’d never held a baby before, and the thought of holding one for at least 10 minutes in front of the whole congregation was absolutely terrifying. Russell O’Brian was sore afraid.
As Christmas Eve neared things didn’t get any better for Russell. As a matter of fact, things got worse. It was his senior year in high school, and he was feeling the pressure of decision that needed to be made and plans that needed to be set. He really didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, and everyone kept on asking him what he was planning to do. Further, the news of layoffs and shutdowns kept his folks on edge, and there was a level of tension at home that could be cut with a knife. Also, his aging grandfather had fallen and broken a hip, and everyone was worrying about what to do for him. His girlfriend told him that she was going to college in California, thousands of miles away. And the speeding ticket that he just got, didn’t help out. The last thing he needed was to have his insurance go up. It was turning out to be a rough Christmas, and Russell was trying to hold everything together…and to add coals to the fire….this Christmas he would have to be holding a baby….Russell O’Brian was sore afraid.
So, Christmas Eve came and Russell found himself in front of a packed church, feeling awkward, dressed in a robe and his head covered with a piece of cloth that felt like it would fall off any minute. It seemed like the eyes of all the world were upon him. He could feel his knees locking up, and his hands began to sweat. Then it happened.
Mary, who was really Stephanie Wilkins, stretched out her arms that held baby Jesus, and placed baby Jesus in Russell’s arms. Like one of those things at a fair that measured your strength by sending a ringer up a pole with the strike of a sledge hammer, Russell could feel the fear go right up his spine. The moment of truth had arrived.
So, with trembling arms and sweaty palms, Russell O’Brian, who had never held a baby before in his life, took hold of the baby Jesus…….
To be continued next week!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
Oh, continued, that's not fair!
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