There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings caught up with cords of fine marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl and precious stones.
A banquet set up fit for a king! I have never attended such a grand and festive banquet. Wow! I really have a hard time getting past the image painted in that verse. It almost puts me in a dreamy mood. There I am in a fancy dress with my hair just so as I sip some coffee in what surely must be an elegant china cup, all while enjoying a gorgeous silver couch as my heels rest on precious stones. All of this to celebrate the king!
But, oh, my meditations bring me back to another King. THE KING. The birth of the long awaited Messiah did not assume such beauty, not to the naked eye, anyway. Look closer, though.
The stable. Perfectly prepared. Mary probably didn't expect to bring her son into the world in a place that smelled like dirt, manure, animals and hay. Yet, there is something quite comforting about a warm, cozy barn. Among the first visitors to see the newborn baby were shepherds. Would they have dared enter the banquet described above? Would I? Imagine, a King who could have chosen where He wanted to be born humbling Himself and entering the world in an environment that welcomed unclean outcasts. How beautiful!
The manger. Animals dropped their tired heads and slurped away at the precious liquid found there. I imagine some weary shepherds here and there stooped to the animals' level and splashed some cool refreshing water on their weathered faces. A King set in a rough box meant to hold murky water? Ah, the beauty of the contradiction. This baby, lying in a manger was himself the only true keeper of Living Water. Offered to me not in a fragile china coffee cup, but in a humble, approachable vessel. The dirty, the exhausted, the ones who simply had no where else to go could approach this vessel and refresh themselves. Who was I when I approached the King, but one of those same dirty, exhausted beings? Precious water!
King Ahasuerus' banquet or a lowly stable filled with hay? I choose the stable...fit for a King.
A banquet set up fit for a king! I have never attended such a grand and festive banquet. Wow! I really have a hard time getting past the image painted in that verse. It almost puts me in a dreamy mood. There I am in a fancy dress with my hair just so as I sip some coffee in what surely must be an elegant china cup, all while enjoying a gorgeous silver couch as my heels rest on precious stones. All of this to celebrate the king!
But, oh, my meditations bring me back to another King. THE KING. The birth of the long awaited Messiah did not assume such beauty, not to the naked eye, anyway. Look closer, though.
The stable. Perfectly prepared. Mary probably didn't expect to bring her son into the world in a place that smelled like dirt, manure, animals and hay. Yet, there is something quite comforting about a warm, cozy barn. Among the first visitors to see the newborn baby were shepherds. Would they have dared enter the banquet described above? Would I? Imagine, a King who could have chosen where He wanted to be born humbling Himself and entering the world in an environment that welcomed unclean outcasts. How beautiful!
The manger. Animals dropped their tired heads and slurped away at the precious liquid found there. I imagine some weary shepherds here and there stooped to the animals' level and splashed some cool refreshing water on their weathered faces. A King set in a rough box meant to hold murky water? Ah, the beauty of the contradiction. This baby, lying in a manger was himself the only true keeper of Living Water. Offered to me not in a fragile china coffee cup, but in a humble, approachable vessel. The dirty, the exhausted, the ones who simply had no where else to go could approach this vessel and refresh themselves. Who was I when I approached the King, but one of those same dirty, exhausted beings? Precious water!
King Ahasuerus' banquet or a lowly stable filled with hay? I choose the stable...fit for a King.
2 comments:
Wow. What a great visual contradiction.
Greta,
I love your china cup/manger contrast.
I feel like one could even sit on the edge of the manger as they took a long draught of water.
Not so in Ahasuerus' dainty espresso cups and regal party!
One invites realness. The other one demands you watch your P's and Q's.
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