Several years ago, I interviewed for a part time job to keep me out of mischief in our new home here in Banner Elk. I went to the employer with my resume and application form in hand. Turning in the required paperwork, I was led into an interview room right then and there. I have always loved interviews (maybe it's because of the subject matter!) We went though the usual questions that get asked in these meetings. However, I was caught a bit off guard with one of the questions in an otherwise normal interview. "So Mr. Corn," he continued with his list of questions, "if you had a time machine and could go back anywhere in time, where would you go?" "To Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born," I said surprising both me and the interviewer. With the perfect poker face, he responded, "And why is that?" Sometimes I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but the answer to that question seemed pretty straight forward. I am not sure if I was more surprised by my answer than I was to his reaction.
"Why would I like to be there . . . hmmm? Well, I would like to witness the event that altered the way that calendars work . . . that was kind of a big deal. I have always loved star gazing, so it would be pretty cool to see a celestial event like no other in recorded history.
Or, maybe it would be so that I could see the heavens burst open and hosts of angels in a blinding light sing to shepherds and deliver a message from God in person.
Then again, maybe it would be so I could follow the shepherds and try to find the manger in which the Prince of Peace was laid after he was born. I think that I would have liked to have seen that. I would like to witness the night that fundamentally changed everything about how we see the world and the God that created us. Yep...I think that is why I would like to go to Bethlehem."
He made notes and asked another question. Strangely enough, I got the job.
Every December, I do spend quite a bit of time imagining what that night must have been like. I read and re-read Luke 2 and try to envision the enormity of that evening. I am not sure that I can wrap my mind around it or even if I should be able to. What did the shepherds, wise men and locals think? What a night it must have been for them. What a night it was for us!
I am going to continue to think about that night and give the "physics folks' more time to work out the whole time travel thing. But when they are ready, I will be too.