Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:11-14 (NIV)
Earlier this month, while we were in Connecticut, we went to the Abbey of Regina Laudis in
Bethlehem, Connecticut. It seemed appropriate to visit a village by that name during the Christmas season.
At the abbey, they have a Neapolitan crèche dating from the 18th century. The crèche is interesting in that it tries to depict how the people of the time would respond to the birth of Jesus. So there is a large village scene, with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and company in one part, while much of the rest of the village goes about their business.
Then, this past week, we had the opportunity to visit Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta. Each year the church puts on a display of nativity scenes that people have collected from around the world. There is a great variety in both the construction of the nativity scenes and how the characters are represented.
The baby Jesus ends up with various shades of skin tones. While normally he is pictured laying in the manger on His back, some scenes depict him on his stomach. One display has him in a canoe instead of a manger.
There are even some displays which use animals instead of people, and in these sets he may end up as a mouse or a moose.
One wonders why God chose to send Jesus at a time when technology was such that no one really knows what he looks like. If God were to have sent him in this day and age, his birth would have been quickly recorded for all on social media. But maybe it’s better that way. With no photographs or realistic paintings to depict what Jesus looked like, we can focus more on other aspects of His life like his activities and teachings. For in the end, it is not so critical as to what kind of facility the manger was in and exactly who and how many people were present. The more important thing is, as depicted in the nativity scene at the Abbey, what are we going to do about it?
What are we going to do now that Jesus has come into the world? What are we going to do about His teachings? How will we respond? Will be believe the testimony of the shepherds and angels? Or will we just go about our lives as if nothing of consequence has happened? Will we believe and obey? Or we celebrate the season of materialistic indulgence that Christmas has become?
Thailand is not historically a Christian country. Few people there could tell you what the real meaning of Christmas is. Yet all the malls are full of Christmas carols and Christmas displays. Christmas has become a money-making opportunity for merchants. Unfortunately, this commercial Christmas is the first one many Thai people learn about.
It’s probably not much different in North America anymore. There is Santa Claus and Christmas trees and reindeer, but I don’t think most children are learning the story of the first Christmas—the story of when God came to earth to show people what He is like.
It is up to us who believe in Jesus to celebrate Christmas like God did. To go about humbly demonstrating the love of God to people who are desperately in need of it while telling them the good news that the Kingdom of God is here. To focus less on stuff and more on the people around us. To be less concerned with ourselves and more concerned with others. For Jesus came not to accumulate things in this world but to lay down His life for others.
This, I think, would be the best Christmas present we could give away—and not just one day per year.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 (ESV)
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