A sound of Christmas that is often overlooked is the crying of the Christ Child. Because Jesus was a normal baby we must assume He cried. It is natural and healthy for a newborn to cry. Lungs are developed, air passages are opened, and early communication is established. It was not a silent child who occupied that manger bed. He was most likely kicking and crying and vibrant with life. We must not overly romanticize the stable setting with suggestions that baby Jesus was abnormally quiet. Because He came to be one of us, He was like one of us in His birth. As the angels sang, the shepherds talked, and the cattle made their noise, the Christ Child added to the sounds of Christmas. Let us likewise hear this sound as we ponder Bethlehem's most celebrated birth.

Not only was crying a part of the young child's entrance into human life, it was symbolic of His ministry. The prophet described Him well when he wrote, "He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." A brief review of His earthly sojourn helps us see that weeping was a part of His world. The vicious act of Herod in killing young boys of Bethlehem gave those post-Christmas days a sound of sorrow. The quiet yet audible sobs of a mother seeing her Son leave home to be an unwelcome Messiah gave Nazareth a not of sadness. How often during His quiet moments with the Father He must have wept over Jerusalem and expressed regret that they were not ready for the Annointed One. Even His disciples and those closest to Him created occasions for disappointment. He came to heal the brokenhearted and yet He wept beside Lazarus' grave. The grief in the Garden of Gethsemane was punctuated by sweat like great drops of blood. What a sound of sadness we hear from the cross when He cried, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

Therefore, amid all the other noises of Christmas, let us not forget the crying because it was His grief that gives us a reason for joy. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to our own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." A normal baby cries, but the heavely Father weeps because so many of us will not allow Christ to be born anew in our hearts this Christmas.