When people have asked me, “How was your Christmas?” My response has been, “Heaven came down to earth!” We did not attend a large church gathering with thousands in attendance like other places in Juba, but instead accepted the invitation from Yagub, a former student at Nile Theological College, to come to the small church he pastors on the edge of Juba, near the Nile. I agreed to preach, baptize, and then to lead in the Lord’s Supper. It was a full day.
Worship on Christmas morning!
As Kristi and I arrived a bit early and waited for others, we engaged Palam and Akir, two boys sitting behind us. They were active, playing with the large balloons above, dressed in their new Christmas gear. I asked them if they knew whose birthday it was today. In limited English but without hesitation, Palam responded, “Today is God’s Birthday!” Wow. What a great response! Yes, today is God’s birthday. God was born to us in the person of Jesus Christ. I do not think a more astute theological description could be made.
More people came, slowly. The chapel began to fill, mostly with children and women. I have always been impressed with the value Yagub gives to children, centering them and giving them attention. It feels like this church is a place of “welcome” for children in the neighborhood. The church is a safe place for them. Some of their mothers and other women from the neighborhood, both young and old, attend. Most speak Arabic, and some speak only their mother tongue, Dinka. One Dinka woman came over to speak with us in her limited Arabic. It was a nice moment of connection. I often feel convicted in spirit when I witness my African counterparts sit down in church; the very first thing they do is offer a quiet, humble, and unobtrusive prayer. One woman, upon arrival, immediately went to the side of the church building and leaned her head against the wall as she sat in her chair. I could see her lips moving in quiet prayer. She had come with a heart of worship and the desire to commune with God. I admired her, giving thanks for her gentle witness. Later, she would be one of the thirty-nine people baptized.
This Advent Season God has impressed on me the role of the shepherds in the Nativity story. These were humble people living on the margins of Jewish culture and society. They were not given much value. Yet, God gave them ultimate value when the angel came and delivered the message to them about a savior being born at that very moment in Bethlehem, even giving them a sign of what they would find (see Luke 2: 8 – 20). God also chose to work in and through young Mary and her husband Joseph, neither of them noteworthy by the standards of the world. And so, as I stood there on Christmas day in this humble church building on the edge of the city, reading this story in the local Arabic and then proclaiming the Good News, the Gospel truth that God centers those on the margins, I shared how though we may feel “small,” God sees us as “big,” as important.
Bob shares from God's Word
Gospel of Luke 2: 8 - 20
Our response to God’s Word on Christmas morning could not have been more poignant and meaningful. Heaven came down to earth. Women wept as I liberally placed water on their heads three times, baptizing them “fi isim ta Abu Allah, fi isim ta Yesu El Missih, fi isim ta Ruh El Kudus” (in the name of Father God, in the name of Jesus the Messiah, and in the name of the Holy Spirit). Children received this rite, supported by parents, adults, and pastors. I became physically tired, but not tired in spirit. I willed myself to continue. Pastor Matta, from war-torn Abyei which straddles Sudan, exhorted parents to pray for their children each morning and to instruct them in the faith. Given my role in worship that morning, I had not planned to lead us in the Lord’s Supper, but I prepared myself, just in case, for that possibility. Standing again before the congregation, I recounted the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and one-day return of the Lord, I visibly presented the elements of bread and juice; I was supported by Pastor Matta and an elder as we shared the elements with all gathered. One woman standing in the front row, the most dignified and well-dressed woman in attendance, burst into sobs as she received the elements of Christ’s Body.
Pastor Yagub asks questions to those to be baptized
Bob baptizes...
Kristi and I arrived home that afternoon tired, but full of God’s grace, peace, contentment, and joy. Truly, there is no greater thrill and joy in life than serving our Lord Jesus Christ together with members of His Body. No money or possession will ever match this matchless joy. God is pure existence, and we exist in Him. God is Love, and we love in Him. We are born of God, for others. May His Name forever be praised!
