My friend Jeff always gets asked to play the part of Jesus in our church. If there was anyone who looked like Jesus from all of the pictures that are around, it’s Jeff. A few years ago we bought a white robe for him and it was a perfect fit—no alterations necessary. He’s lean, he can grow a beard on command, and he’s got one of the kindest faces you’ve ever seen. Yes, Jeff is always the first person that comes to mind whenever we need a “Jesus.” This past Christmas Jeff was asked to play the role of Isaiah the prophet in our cantata and although he was honored, he was a little nervous to do so. Come to find out, this was his first “speaking part.” I was amazed because, after all he’d been on stage many times; he’s carried a cross on Good Friday, danced on Easter Sunday, and sat across the table from a man with many prayer requests in the video, “Coffee with Jesus.” But Jesus had never had a speaking part!
I immediately felt bad about this, thinking we’ve made a huge mistake here having all of those dramas and never giving Jesus a speaking part. Jeff had never even spoken into a microphone! I started to pull together some life lessons with this realization—lessons like; that’s our problem, we always want Jesus around, but we don’t want to hear what He has to say. I was already planning on the next drama/video where we definitely would give Jesus something to say.
But I kept thinking . . . and pondering . . . and even listening perhaps for Him to speak. We were driving down the freeway in Grand Rapids when I saw a billboard that said, “I miss it when you don’t say ‘Merry Christmas,’” signed, Jesus. Wow—seriously, a message from Jesus right there on the freeway? It caught me off guard and I started to ask myself some question. If Jesus rented a billboard, is that really what He would write on it? I tried to imagine what He would really say: “Watch for me—I’m here;” “Love each other as I have loved you;” “My peace I leave with you . . . not as the world gives.” Yeah, if Jesus was into renting billboards, I think He’d say things like that.
But is a billboard really His style? There are those who might believe it is, but I don’t think so. When Jesus was on earth, he certainly spoke, but when people didn’t hear what He said, He acted; He healed the sick, touched the unclean, respected the outcasts, cleansed the temple, and washed feet.
And this all started with the action we just celebrated—His birth. Jesus as God willingly submitted himself to being born. I took my grandson Jack to an outdoor nativity scene a few nights ago and watched as he walked up to the doll in the manger and touched it gently; Jesus as a baby--a non-speaking role. On Christmas Eve my infant granddaughter Piper played the part of Jesus in a live nativity at her church. She didn’t make a sound; Jesus as a baby—a non-speaking role.
So I’ve kind of come full-circle. In the “Coffee with Jesus” video, Jesus wanted to speak, but He couldn’t because the gentleman he was with wouldn’t stop talking. The noisier we get, the less we’re able to hear. At one point He did reach out His hand in a gesture of reassurance, but it went unnoticed. Even when we don’t listen, or when we out-talk Jesus, He still communicates by his actions in our lives. Maybe that's the best way to get our attention. He still heals us, touches us when we’re unclean, respects us when others don’t, and cleanses those places in our lives that need it.
I think that's why this is my favorite Christmas Carol ever:
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.
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.
