I invite you, before reading the rest of this post to read the story of Christmas, according to the author of St. Luke:
Luke 2:1-14, New Revised Standard Version
I don’t have a nativity set in my house. My lack of clarity and decisiveness on the matter of buying one is the subject of some amount stress for my wife. I will occasionally find the perfect set and tell Alisha I am going to buy it and then I don’t. When she asks me why, I usually say, “Because it misses the point.”
When I decide to buy one, I am thinking about one of two things.
One is that looking at a beautifully crafted set reminds me of the joy and mystery of the gift of Jesus. When I see one that is handcrafted, I am moved by the gifts of the artist and how she used those gifts to lovingly craft this re-presentation of this wondrous scene.
I also think about the fact that people are learn differently and are moved differently. While some may begin to understand the grace of God through words of scripture or the words of a sermon, some may get the message of grace much more clearly by looking at the scene of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus.
When I was a child, my only hearing of the Christmas story was setting up the nativity scene and asking my Mother what all the pieces meant.
When I decide
not to buy the nativity scene, I am thinking about something else.
When I consider not just the birth of Jesus, but the life of Jesus and the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus and the ascension of Jesus and the promised return of Jesus, can I imagine that Jesus would wish me to respond by buying an expensive collection of plastic, wood, resin or clay?
I am caught in the tension between celebrating and sharing the gift or just trying to simply live it out.
Perhaps I will buy a nativity set this year, but perhaps instead of being made of plaster and wood, it will be made out of insecticide treated bed nets that will help Africans prevent the spread of Malaria or maybe it will be made out of food to feed refugees of the latest earthquake.
Perhaps it won’t be on my mantle reminding me about the meaning of Christmas, it will be out in the world showing others God’s love through simple acts of human love.
In reflecting on the story of Christmas, Ted Wardlaw, president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary recently wrote, “We often want to spray shellac over this story and treat it like an artifact that we place on our shelves with all the other curios and memorabilia. But if this story becomes too timeless—too hermetically sealed, too untouchable—then it loses its ability to surprise us, and thus to invade our lives until it touches each one of us.”
Whether we have a nativity set or not, whether it is new and represents another way to remember and celebrate or it is old and holds with it memories of Christmases past, I think it is important to remember what it is and consider why we have it.
And as we share the stories of Christmas, I think it is important to not see them as artifacts, but as living words that shape not just our holiday decorating, but our very lives.
I invite you to pause for a moment and read again Luke’s Christmas story, this time from Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Let it come alive in you and then, in the silence, think about how it may be alive for you this year.
Luke 2:1-14, The Message
peace,
will
4 comments:
My nativity: A very simple, unpainted, handmade wooden nativity. Nothing fancy, no bells & whistles. I love unwrapping it and putting it on my piano every December. It reminds me of the simple, plain First Christmas.
Sometimes you philosophize too much, Will. But I know you're just trying to make us think, instead of going through the motions. Thank you.
Will, just buy a nativity! It will bring to each who sees it a special joy. My favorite nativity in our house is plastic and Mary has blue hands. I know it sounds odd but I bought it when our older son was a toddler. It has always been within each of the boys' reach. Over the years Joseph has traveled in the back of the tractor, down the slide, in their pockets etc. The "boys" are now 23 & 16 and they still fight over who reads the Christmas story on Christmas Eve and the same little nativity is still within the boys' reach.
A nativity is not particularly special when you buy it. It becomes special over the years with use. That's why it doesn't matter how much it costs. What matters is the love you put into it.
My mother bought a nativity from the Poor Clare Nuns when they used to have a booth at the YWCA craft shows downtown in the Coliseum. She bought it because it was beautiful and handmade and the proceeds were going to a good cause. Now it doesn't seem like Christmas unless that nativity is on display and it will be a family heirloom.
I hope others share their nativity stories.
The nativity set at my house growing up was the white plaster kind from a craft store that you are supposed to paint. We never painted ours. The donkey's ear was broken off and we didn't have a manger. It was always just set up on the piano.
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