IN THE BEGINNING, Pt. III

SPEAKER:
In the beginning was the Word.
God spoke into the darkness, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

MARY:
Light, in the form of a Man.
Eternal light, clothed in robes and sandals, walking from town to town proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of God.

JOSEPH:
He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; He preached good news to the poor and cast out demons, setting captives free! How can it be

SPEAKER:
that even in these joyful days, these times of freedom, relief and release the beast was there…

MARY:
There, stirring the religious leaders to spurn the Messiah and seek His demise.

JOSEPH:
There, waylaying the wayward heart of Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, to betray the very Son of God for thirty pieces of silver.

TOWN MAN:
There, inciting the Jews to discontentment, exciting their minds until they cried out, Crucify Him!
(ALL: CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!)

(UNDER THE FOLLOWING, ALL whisper together: Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Etc.)
JOSEPH:
I lift my Child in my arms, feeling pride and humble joy.
SPEAKER:
They lift my Son on the cross, I cry for my suffering boy.
MARY:
I look up into his face, wondering what His life will be.
SPEAKER:
She looks upon his mangled body, wondering, “God, how can this be?”
TOWN MAN:
We welcome Him into our city, shouting praises to His name!

SPEAKER:
They spit upon him, mock Him, beat Him, clothing Him with hate and shame.

MARY:
The one Man able to save us from our sins, who Himself had no sin…
Was falsely tried and crucified. He died at our hands.

SPEAKER:
The Light of the world was extinguished, His body taken down and sealed up in the darkness of a tomb. The beast had won…or so he thought.

JOSEPH:
Three days go by, Mary cries till her eyes run dry—three days go by…

TOWN MAN:
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

SPEAKER:
Light, in the form of an empty tomb.
Eternal light, founded in creation, resounded in the incarnation; redounded to the crucifixion, and rebounded in the resurrection!

JOSEPH:
Stop a minute.
Breathe the air and let it sit a minute.
In a minute God had rocked the earth and rolled the rock that sealed His Son within the earth, and with it too he rocked the curse that held us bound within the earth, imprisoned in a tomb of sin and death, and when He did away with this He left His Son alive and standing in the sun to breathe the air and let it sit a minute.

Let it sit, how in a minute sin had lost its grip on lost humanity, insanity and vanity had given way to sanity and satisfaction deeper than the poisoned wells of vanity and sin.

In the span of a moment God threw open the gates to heaven, inviting everyone to come and drink of everlasting life exclusively upon the merit of His perfect resurrected Son, not by our own good works or good intentions, not at all by man’s invention but by the intervention of amazing grace. How sweet the sound, that reached into our darkness and offered us the Light, if only we would trust in Him again, as once we’d done… in Eden.

TOWN MAN:
So.
Have you heard the news?
Jesus died to save you from your sins.
(ALL: Praise God—Praise God—Praise God—Praise God—Praise God!) (Yes!)
It’s tried and true:
He gives new life to all who believe and confess that the best they can do still falls short of the glory of God, and that they need a Savior.

MARY:
He’s calling you. He wants to share His goodness and glory if you’ll only receive Him as lord of your life. He’s offering the best gift you can ever receive—
(ALL: New life!)
JOSEPH:
So what should you do? It seems pretty obvious from where we’re standing but in the end the choice is yours to make…

TOWN MAN:
Now take this meditation home with you.
MARY:
See Him there in the manger—it’s all for you
JOSEPH:
Consider all that He went through, all that He’s been through
All that He fought for and overthrew
(ALL: FOR YOU!)

SPEAKER:
We call Him Jesus, it means salvation, but there’s another name our Father gave Him:
Immanuel, it means God with us. Cuz God is with us, in the dirt and the dust, yes God is with us in the rain and the rust, God is with us in the hard times we must push through—

ALL:
Immanuel! God with us!

JOSEPH:
How’s that for a merry Christmas?