Good News of Great Joy for ALL People: Christmas in Cambodia
I never expected that I would be at a Christmas Eve Mass in Cambodia. Yet how beautiful to get to celebrate with my brothers and sisters around the world the birth of our Savior. To sit in the only church that survived the horrible Khmer Rogue that wiped out a *quarter* (check the facts) of the population. To sit next to women who no doubt lost loved ones in the horrible regime. The church was humming in activity. Faces of all ages adorned seats on the floors, from under a year to well in their late years of life. A toddler proudly held 4 inflatible chicken balloons. A 7 year old flicked a bee toward me and the woman sitting in front of me smiled and laughed at the slight shock on my face. Behind us sat a family from Spain, travelling, yet taking time to join in on the Christmas celebration. There were wrists adorned with gold and fancy watches, and bodies in matching and worn velor track suits, the nicest outfit they owned. As I sat there on the floor and took it all in, I was humbled to think about the birth of Jesus and the people that surrounded him on the night of His birth, in the humble place He chose to be born: a manger that was home for smelly animals. The highest profession, the wise men, and the lowly, the shepherds, came to worship our Savior and King. Status and profession didn’t matter. There was no guest list only. The only requirement was a humble heart and pride laid down to recognize this baby as the Savior of the World, come to take away the sin of man. How beautiful is the cross, that it is level ground. Just like the poor and the rich, the locals and the forgeingers, the young and the old gathered together that night to celebrate the birth of Jesus in that church. We are all the same, people broken in need of a savior. As the angels spoke on that night, it’s good news of great joy to ALL PEOPLE. The doors were left open. You can come as you wish. Will you humble yourself and enter in to behold Emmanuel, God with us?
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior- yes the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”
-Luke 2:10-11
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Merry Christmas from Cambodia
