Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Nativity


(The pics are from my cell phone camera - sorry they're not too good)

Growing up we had a small nativity, most of the pieces were broken or missing, and honestly I always saw it as something you put out at Christmas time ... it really had little meaning to me. As I grew older and entered into a relationship with Christ the nativity became a symbol to me - it was something I saw at Christmas ... but still I really didn't care if there was a nativity or not ... I guess for me it had been lost in the "commercial" Christmas.

All that was true for me until this year ... and everything changed. Christmas for me was different this year, and honestly - I'm glad it was. At church we did a four week series entitled "Christmas Outside the Box". We were challenged to rethink Christmas, spend less, and give to those truly in need. I took part in it and it helped to make Christmas more "simple". Throughout the month we had also been adding pieces to what would be a Nativity Scene on Christmas Eve.

Thursday (Christmas Eve) came and wow what a Nativity Scene we had and for the first time in my life the Nativity Scene was real ... it really felt like what it might have been like to be there the night Jesus was born. For starters, it was inside our building - which helped to create some interesting effects and atmosphere.

#1 - There was the smell ... inside the building there were people, animals, hay, and all the things that go along with that stuff and it was HOT ... so hot that the sheep were panting and we kept having to open the doors to cool them down. This made for an interesting aroma throughout the building ... and some of the same smells that Jesus first encountered as He entered this world.

#2 - There were the people ... remember how there was no room at the inn? Well, there was no room in the church. It was PACKED and not just for one service ... ALL 5 of them! Wall to wall people and standing room only, in fact some services had people seated in the lobby watching the service on monitors. Moving through the halls and lobby must have been like moving through Bethlehem the night Jesus was born trying to find a place to stay (or in this case ... sit!)

#3 - There were the gifts ... Jesus was sent as a gift - to redeem us and reunite us with God and on Thursday I watched as children and families offered their gifts to Jesus. What a symbolic moment as I reflected on how Jesus was a gift given to us and now we have the opportunity to give to Him by loving those who He loves.

Ultimately, a Nativity Scene will never be just another "Nativity Scene" to me ... it will forever remind me of this Christmas Eve and the true meaning of the Nativity, the Gift God gave, and what it might have been like the night Jesus was born!

I hope you had a great Christmas and took some time to stop and just reflect!

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