Simple Thoughts on the Rosary: Joyful Mysteries: The Nativity
I.—This is God, our God, unto eternity, and for ever and ever.—Ps. xvii.
And it came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flocks. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the Angel said unto them: Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good-will. And it came to pass after the Angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass which the Lord hath shewed to us. And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood the word that had been spoken to them concerning this Child. And all that heard wondered: and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them (Luke 2).
See the cave stable, dark, cold, bare. See the moisture trickling down the walls. Feel the bleak wind of the December night as it rushes up the slope and sweeps in, searching its every nook. See where on one side of the unprotected place, the manger stands. On a few handfuls of straw, such as might be found in a wayside, neglected stable, the Infant lies.
II.—How hath He not with Him given us all things?—Rom. viii.
He lays Himself down on the straw in the coldest hour of the winter’s night. His little limbs are trembling, and there are tears of pain in His eyes. But He stretches out His arms to us, and the smile on His lips says:
Here I am. I am come at last. Take Me and do with Me what you will. I am come to be your little servant, to be of use to you in any way that I can.
You need a Redeemer: I will redeem you when I am old enough. I am too small to be crucified yet, but when I am grown up I will shed the last drop of My blood for you. In a week’s time I will give some to show you I am ready to give all.
You need a physician, for you are sick. I have medicine for every pain and disease; I will cure you.
You need a master. I will teach you with My words as soon as I can speak, and meantime if you come to My crib, come up close enough, look long enough, you will learn many things from Me even now.
You need a companion and a friend. That is just what I have come for—to be a companion that will never leave your side, a friend who will love you dearly, never tire of you, never weary of listening to your troubles, always be thinking of you; who will watch over you, share your joys and your sorrows; advise, warn, encourage you, provide for you in every need.
You want food. Even this I will be to you. I will come into your heart to give you strength to work out your salvation grandly; to make you grow up like Me; to make it easy and pleasant to do even hard things, things that cost, things that hurt.
You want a brother. I have come all the way from heaven to be your Brother. I have taken your nature that I may be like you in all things. Look at Me and see. I have hands, and feet, and eyes, and heart like you, that I may feel as you feel, bear pain as you have to bear it, work as you must do, and be an example to you in working and in suffering. I am your Brother, come to take you by the hand and lead you to My Father, who will love you for My sake.
Yes, I am all yours, do with Me what you like. Will you find it in your heart to hurt Me? I know you will. I know what your sins will cost me. I know what is going to happen to My hands, and feet, and side. But I am ready for it all, if only you will let me save you, and take you back with Me to heaven. Do not turn from Me; do not disappoint Me. Listen to Me; follow Me; return Me love for love.
III.—There was no room in the inn.—Luke ii.
Bethlehem did not rise up and thrust Him out of its precincts as Nazareth did later. He had to seek outside for such shelter as a stable could give, simply because there was no room for Him in the little place. It was crowded up with other things. Is my heart a Bethlehem?
Bethlehem was His own city. Yet there was no room. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” I am His own, and He comes to me. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Do I rise and open to Him? Or do I say from behind the closed door: “There is no room”?
Some creature, some passion, some sin, perhaps, disputes my heart with Thee, O Lord! There is no room.
Thou cravest a larger space in my life, in my day—a Communion at less distant intervals, a few minutes taken from pleasure or from trifles to visit Thy neglected tabernacle in the neighbouring church. But it would not be convenient, it would interfere with my arrangements. There is no room.
How long, O Lord, how long! Remember that whilst thou waitest our consent, and wilt offer no violence to our free will, Thou art still God, and all power is given to Thee in heaven and in earth.
Make room for Thyself within my heart, O Lord! Say in the tone of authority of days gone by: “Take these things hence” (John 2). “Take the stumbling-blocks out of my way” (Isaias 57). “The place is too straight for Me, make Me room to dwell in.” (Ibid 49).
And I will make answer: “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready” (Ps. 107).
IV.—And the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass.—Luke ii.
One reason why we scarcely penetrate beneath the surface of the mysteries of our Lord’s life, is the dullness of our desires. Were we eager like the shepherds, and faithful to the leadings of grace, we should come to understand as they did. Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this word that is come to pass.... And they came in haste. And seeing, they understood. We should understand better if, like Daniel, we were men of desires, if we took some trouble to concentrate our thoughts on the truths our faith presents to us. No one ever pondered mysteries like Mary, who saw further at a glance than others have seen in a lifetime of contemplation. Her magnificent mind gave itself without distraction or interruption to the study of her Babe, and lost in His greatness, cried out unceasingly: “Who is able to declare His works? Who shall show forth the power of His majesty, or who shall be able to declare His mercy?... Neither is it possible to find out the glorious works of God. When a man hath done then shall he begin” (Ecclus. 18).
V.—She brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger.—Luke ii.
To whom does He trust Himself in His helpless infancy? To Mary. There is a lesson for us here.
It was an apparent waste of time to spend so many years in Mary’s arms, on Mary’s knee, when, had He come into the world as Adam did, He might have been teaching from the moment He began to dwell amongst us. But He was teaching by His actions from the first. We too must be nursed and cared for by Mary. Our Christian life must develop under her protection. We must run to her, cling to her, trust to her guidance. The first condition of following Jesus is to be a child of Mary. I will ask her to care for me as she cared for Him, to value and to love me for His sake.
VI.—My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways.—Isaias lv.
(1) In that tiny frame dwells the fulness of man’s intelligence and the full strength of man’s will. He knows and deliberately chooses all that He finds around him at His birth.
(2) In heaven “thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him” (Dan. 7).
(3) On earth he is treated like the very beasts. A cold damp shed is shelter good enough for Mary’s tender Babe. But earth’s provision for Him is also His own free choice.
(4) Why? His body, exquisitely fashioned, is sensitive as no other child’s could be to the hardships of His lot. Why is that lot so hard? Why does He deliberately seek out and draw to Himself such want and pain, when a single tear or prayer would have redeemed us?
(5) Because Divine Wisdom takes, not the easiest and pleasantest, but the surest, means of attaining Its end. How could our Master have taught us better the lessons He came to teach! He knows what is due to His Majesty, yet He bespeaks what to our seeming is so unworthy of Him, because it is not our redemption only that He has come to secure, but our hearts. If with all He has done for me I have so little love for Him; if with the sight of Him before me, suffering from the moment of His birth, I find it so hard to bear the least pain or inconvenience, what should I have been without the spur of His example? Poor little Infant Jesus! He knew that He could not do too much, He could not begin to suffer too early to win the love of some of us. Has He won my love yet?
(6) Bethlehem is the reversal of the world’s judgments respecting honours, riches, convenience, comforts.
(7) Bethlehem is the revelation of God’s thoughts in regard to poverty, privation, oblivion, pain.
(8) Bethlehem is a startling indication of the way in which He is going to redeem the world and lead us back to the heaven selfishness had lost.
O Babe of Bethlehem, pattern my thoughts and my ways by Thine!
VII.—Who is this?—Isaias lxiii.
Let us kneel by the young Mother and see what she saw that first Christmas night.
(1) She saw lying on straw a weak and trembling child. And she adored Him as the Lord of heaven and earth, who established the mountains, and holds the waters in the hollow of His hand.
(2) She saw His frail beauty, and knew Him to be the most mighty God. “I am, I am the Lord, and there is no Saviour besides Me” (Isaias 43).
(3) He was but an hour old, and she worshipped Him as the Ancient of Days, begotten before the eternal years.
(4) He was her Babe. He belonged to her as no child ever belonged to its mother. Yet she was His creature and depended on Him absolutely. All her graces were the gift of those tiny hands; all were purchased by the blood that flowed through those delicate veins and vivified that Heart.
(5) “I am the Lord, I am the Lord.” This was the truth ever present, ever new to her. She was lost in astonishment that the Most High should be so lowly, that One so mighty should be so sweet. She bowed herself down to adore Him. She took Him into her arms and pressed her trembling lips against His brow.
(6) When the coldness of our hearts chills even ourselves, what a resource we have in Mary’s worship and in Mary’s praise!
(7) What a consolation that she represented us in Bethlehem; that we may appropriate and offer to the Infant Jesus the treasures of His Mother’s heart.
(8) Share with us, Mother of God, thy faith and wonder, and delight beside the manger. Win and warm our hearts by the attractiveness of thy Babe. “The Lord is great and exceedingly to be praised: the Lord is little and exceedingly to be loved.”
VIII.—Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.—Luke ii, O blessed eyes that saw Him come at last, The Promised One, O happy arms that held enfolded fast The Eternal Son:
O heart that stored the memories of that night So sweet and stern, Teach me to ponder Bethlehem aright, To look and learn!
IX.—Fear not: Behold your God.—Isaias xl.
(1) Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us.... we have patiently waited for Him; we shall rejoice and be joyful in His salvation (Isaias 35).
(2) This is God, our God, unto eternity and for ever and ever (Ps. 47).
(3) In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporally (Col. 2).
(4) O God, how great are Thy works, Thy thoughts are exceeding deep (Ps. 91).
(5) Truly Thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour (Isaias 45).
(6) Thou alone art my King and my God (Ps.
(7) The eternal King of worlds (Tobias 13).
(8) Come and reign over us (Judges 9).
(9) Come and teach us what we ought to do (Judges 13).