"Every Knee Shall Bow..."

by Marcus Southworth

In December 2006, I had a most remarkable and unusual experience. Early in the month, we had a Ward Christmas party. Like most ward parties, it was held in the cultural hall. There were lots of preparations in getting this party together. I could see by the decorations and all of the food, that many people were involved. We moved into the neighborhood in April so this was our first Christmas here and there were a lot of people my wife and I did not know.

When my wife, Cherine and I arrived at the chapel just a few minutes early, Amy Pierson asked me to participate in a manger scene that was going to be part of the program that evening. I reluctantly agreed. When I saw the costume she had for me, I thought to myself…oh great! She presented me with a robe and a turban. It was really too small for me, but with a little wriggling we made it work.

In this little production, I was supposed to be one of the shepherds to whom the angels appeared while they were in the fields watching over their flocks. As you recall, according to Luke, an angel appeared to them and told them to go into Bethlehem and there they would find the Christ child lying in a manger.

There were several men and boys from the Ward who were asked to do the same thing. One of those asked to dress up as a shepherd with me was Jeremy Holt, a young man with down-syndrome. I had seen him in the congregation over the few months that we had been attending. He stood out because of his unsolicited participation in leading the music. Whenever the ward sings, and no matter where he was seated, a confident and determined smile would appear on his face and his arms would wave about his head. He looks like an imitation of a trained conductor for a major symphony performance. Once I got over the initial surprise of his unusual performance and participation in Sacrament meeting, I started thinking to myself; I wonder what he is thinking and feeling that makes him come alive every time the hymns are sung?

I have always been moved by the hymns. One of the things I enjoy most about attending my Sunday meetings is the singing of hymns. I must admit, there are times that my heart is so full that sitting in my seat is also hard to do. I wonder if Jeremy feels the same way. Maybe, he too is moved in a special way. On one occasion, I asked Jeremy’s mother if he could speak, since I have never heard him say anything. She said not, but assured me that he understands most everything. I believe her. I always say hello to Jeremy. He always smiles and pauses as I compliment him for leading the singing or for some other good thing that he has done. He is usually very shy but pauses long enough for the verbal stroking. He responds the same way a puppy would from a gently stroking. He loves it!

Well, after getting dressed in our shepherd outfits, we all took our places behind the stage curtain. I was a little embarrassed and consequently light hearted about the whole situation, and joked with the others who seemed to be just as uncomfortable as I was. When the curtain opened, there before the crowd was a woman and her husband dressed in a nativity costume holding a newborn baby in their arms surrounded by cardboard animals and us, the shepherds. We all stood on the stage together as Amy Pierson and her husband read from the second chapter of Luke, (the Christmas Story).

There on the stage in front of hundreds of people, I was at first self conscious about my role and thought how corny I must look to the audience. I towered over everyone, the costume was too small and I was sure that my wife was in the audience somewhere snickering about my predicament. However, as I looked around, I sensed that everyone seemed much more focused on the narrators, and on the manger scene. I soon lost my sense of embarrassment and realized that no one was really paying any attention to me at all. Consequently, I too started listening to the narrators and gazed over at the makeshift manger.

I watched Adrienne and Joachim Schmidt who were playing the role of Mary and Joseph. I remember thinking, ‘hmmm Sister Schmidt looks a lot like I imagine Mary the mother of Jesus would look. For that matter, her husband Joachim, looks astonishingly authentic too, like an old world carpenter.’ I watched this simple looking woman holding the infant baby in her arms, while her husband comforted and cared for her and the baby, and as I did, I felt a sudden rush of emotion, a spiritual feeling, go through me accompanied with a series of wonderful thoughts. To me, it was as if, for a few moments, I was there, in Bethlehem and saw before me Christ, the savior of the world, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

I suppose a thousand other thoughts poured through my mind and soul as I thought of Jesus the Son of God born in a stall with horses, donkeys, goats and sheep. I thought of what Bethlehem would be like back then. I also considered how God had chosen the weak things of the earth to show forth his greatness. I thought how through this one child, all mankind would be able to return to their heavenly home because of the atoning sacrifice that he would make.

As these sobering ideas filled my heart and pierced my soul, without any rehearsal or prompting, Jeremy Holt, the young man with down-syndrome, fell to his knees on the hardwood floor before me and with all earnestness he clasped his hands and looked upon the child held in the arms of his mother. I looked back at the congregation to see their reaction. No one stirred, it was if they did not even notice him or what had happened. But right there in front of me was Jeremy, knelling at my feet facing the Christ child, held in the arms of his mother. Suprisingly, I was overcome by Jeremy’s reaction, for I too wanted to throw myself to the floor and bow myself before the babe and worship him. A wealth of emotion filled my soul as I held my position on stage, dressed as a shepherd, sent by angels to witness the birth of Christ the Lord. Silently and to myself, tears of joy streamed down my face, for before me, it was as if I was there and saw the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, even the redeemer of the world, the very Son of God, lying in a manger.

This was a sacred and special moment in my life, one I hope never to forget. Even now, as I write to you of what I saw and felt, I am overcome with emotion and gratitude and happiness.

The scriptures say that when He comes again, that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Christ, the Son of God.

Jeremy Holt for whatever reason is mentally handicapped and cannot do and enjoy some of the blessings that we enjoy in this life. But to me, I will always think on him and how his knees gave way as he saw the Christ child ... lying in the manger. For I know, at some future time, every living soul will also kneel and honor Christ the savior of the world. I do not believe that any mortal or immortal soul will resist the compelling reaction. For when we see him again, we shall all fall down upon our knees and worship Him and love Him as he has loved us.