Day 2

MEEK SOULS

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

            who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

            one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

            from ancient days.”

(Micah 5:2)

In an insignificant town, in a far flung despised province of the Roman Empire, the greatest birth in human history occurred.  God chose this lowly village and crowned it with glory by giving it the privilege of being the birth place of his Son.  Humbly this hamlet received the child born in it.

The third stanza of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” reads:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

God has crowned the human heart with the same opportunity for glory as that little town of Bethlehem.  You and I have the opportunity to receive into our hearts the blessed Son of God.  There is certainly nothing special about you and I that we should be afforded such a great honor.  Yet this wondrous gift is given to us.  It is a gift received not because we deserve it or because we are entitled to it.  This gift must be, and can only be, received by a heart that is meek.  “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  (John 1:12-13)

With humble heart, welcome Christ in to you heart this Advent season!

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

by Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God, the King,
And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sins and enter in,
Be born to us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell:
Oh, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!