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Christmas story reveals extraordinary often comes from the ordinary

United Methodist Bishop Robert Hayes Jr. reflects on simplicity and the miracle of the Christmas story.

BY ROBERT HAYES JR. | Published: December 11, 2010 Comment on this article

Reflect on where Jesus was born. Five miles north of Bethlehem was the finest religious center of that time: Jerusalem. Why not there? Could it be that Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecy? And Jesus was born in a barn. What place could be less desirable for the birth of a person? Circumstances dictated this birth, for the Gospels report there was â€œno room for them in the inn.â€ Despite what our songs and legends declare, a manger is a dirty, crusty trough for feeding livestock. Surely the God of Heaven and Earth could have selected a better place. But He didn't.

Who other than God could have written, directed and produced such a beautiful story? Could it be God is reminding us there is no situation from which God cannot bring joy?

Advent and Christmas remind us that God comes into our midst in ways we least expect, even now.

Robert Hayes Jr. is bishop of the Oklahoma Conference United Methodist Church and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.

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