ALIEN ENCOUNTERS!

News spread like a northeaster! She tried to hide it but the secret soon surfaced. Her pregnancy would be a stigma tagged to her for life! She knew her parents would feel the shame. Yet, her greatest fear was telling her fiance. Her explanation seemed a mockery no matter how she worded it.

Wedding plans were already in the works! They seemed so much in love. They had pledged fidelity throughout their courtship. Now she's pregnant! And, not by him either! The news was more than he could bear! Disappointment and anger created an impassable chasm. Like the initial shock when losing a loved one, his thoughts became paralyzed! He faced the only alternatives: break off the engagement or expose her to public disgrace. No one knows how long he wrestled with the consequence of this promiscuous evil but sooner or later a decision had to be made. It was his move!

The night before their meeting, he had some kind of dream or vision of an alien personage from some distant galactic sphere. The encounter was surrealistic! Frozen by fear, he was forced to listen to a strange explanation of his fiance's pregnancy: "what is conceived of her is from the Holy Spirit so don't be afraid to take her as your wife," the voice assured him. The initial response to this immaculate conception was so improbable and inconceivable that it momentarily paralyzed his thinking. Yet, that very experience corroborated with his fiance's unbelievable story of her alien encounter: "the Holy spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." His thoughts immediately raced to Isaiah's 700 year old prophecy: "therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Faith convinced him that his doubts, weighed in the light of this alien encounter, could produce this incomprehensible virgin birth.

Reconciliation was immediate and wedding plans were back on track. Soon after, Joseph and Mary were married.

Naturally, both parents found it hard to believe this indescribable tale! And, the more they tried, the more hollow their story sounded throughout their community. In fact, it was a stigma leveled against the Child that refused to go away.

As government regulations persisted, the young family was forced to move from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Mary went into labor as they approached the city. Joseph tried to get a room in one of the motels but the "no vacancy" signs forced him to scurry for alternative accommodations. Desperation forced him to plead for the use of a shed large enough to accommodate her soon to be delivered child. The Innkeeper relented because of his importunity. The animals, housed in this stable, were brushed aside as Joseph hurriedly laid his cloak over a straw filled manger and made a bed as comfortable as possible for his wife. Before long Mary gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Both parents had agreed with the angel's request that his name be called JESUS.

The same voice that spoke to Joseph and Mary, heralded the Annunciation to a group of shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night. Like some supernatural magnet, they were drawn to Bethlehem's stable. Their alien encounter, accompanied by myriads of angels, corroborated with Mary and Joseph's experience. When they saw the Christ, they fell down in worship. May His voice call us back to the central Figure of Christmas, who is the reason for this season, and in true worship acknowledge His Lordship in each of our lives.