Winding it's way
creatively through the story of "A Ragamuffin Christmas" very subtly is
the secret knowledge that most of the visitors have of what is going to
happen to Jesus at the end of His life on earth. Mary doesn't know.
Joseph doesn't know. But most of the visitors' lives are firmly in the
time after Calvary...so they know. It's not a recurring theme,
but a few of the characters are confronted with the fact that in that
mystical moment, holding the newborn Savior of the world, they know more
about his fate than his mother or his father Joseph. One of the more
heart-rending scenes is one that repeats itself 3 or 4 times during the
telling of the tale. A visitor will hold the baby son of God and look at
his hands and shudder to think of the Roman spikes that will one day
tear their way through this beautiful, perfect flesh. The draw him near
to kiss his forehead and they stop to remember the gruesome thorns that
will drill themselves into this precious brow.
They look at the face of his teenaged mom and wave after wave of pity make great effort to roll out of them at the thoughts of what her mother's heart will one day endure. They have to bite their tongue and hold their silence and they can't scream "NO!" like every fiber in their body longs to do.
Imagine going to the hospital to see your best friend and her newborn baby boy and somewhere along the way God revealing to you in perfect detail that this child will die a horrible death. How could you look at your friend and not break down into pained and anguished weeping?
Such is the dilemma of many of the visitors who come back to the beginning of the great plan of redemption having already seen it's end.
Somehow we manage to separate the beautiful, dark-eyed baby of Christmas Eve from the mangled, bloodied, writhing Savior of Good Friday. But here in the cave of Bethlehem...they are one and the same.
The painful burden placed on some of the characters is keeping this Christmas Secret from Mary and Joseph.
...and dealing with the pain it causes our own hearts
They look at the face of his teenaged mom and wave after wave of pity make great effort to roll out of them at the thoughts of what her mother's heart will one day endure. They have to bite their tongue and hold their silence and they can't scream "NO!" like every fiber in their body longs to do.
Imagine going to the hospital to see your best friend and her newborn baby boy and somewhere along the way God revealing to you in perfect detail that this child will die a horrible death. How could you look at your friend and not break down into pained and anguished weeping?
Such is the dilemma of many of the visitors who come back to the beginning of the great plan of redemption having already seen it's end.
Somehow we manage to separate the beautiful, dark-eyed baby of Christmas Eve from the mangled, bloodied, writhing Savior of Good Friday. But here in the cave of Bethlehem...they are one and the same.
The painful burden placed on some of the characters is keeping this Christmas Secret from Mary and Joseph.
...and dealing with the pain it causes our own hearts
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