Grownup Nativity Scenes

I was thumbing through a 2012 calendar the other day and something caught my eye.  Have you ever thought about how the birthdays of great people are depicted?  Every one of them, without exception, is depicted as an adult.  When we remember their birthdays, we think about a “grown person” and what they did as a grown person. 

This time of year you see a lot of nativity scenes.  I think the visuals stir us and make us more aware of the birth of Jesus.  I think it’s not reaching too far to suggest that when you say “Jesus” to virtually anybody this time of year, a “baby” is the first thing that comes to their mind.  It’s quickly followed by livery stable, shepherds, caroling angels and wise men bearing gifts.  And….? 

The birth of the Christ is often disconnected from the larger story, of which the birth is but the beginning.  His birth was accompanied by declarations and announcements that foretold the purpose of his coming.  His birth may be more aptly described as an “entry."  He was both divine and human and he was sent into our world for a purpose.  That’s what the prophets foretold centuries earlier.  And, that’s what the angel Gabriel said.  His small body was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  More importantly, his life was wrapped with a declaration for human beings.  His entry said something fantastic about human beings.  It also said something horrific about us.

Have you noticed how the gospel of John presents Christ’s birth?  He says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things came into being by Him.  And, apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  In Him was life and the life was the light of men . . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-3, 14).   John’s version doesn’t create the feelings of innocence and warmth that modern nativity scenes tend to create for us.  John takes us outside the familiar imagery of  nativity scenes.  Point?  There’s a lot more going on here than caroling angels, lowing cattle, and awestruck shepherds.  This baby would later say, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38). 

Every nativity scene should come accessorized with binoculars and a sign that reads,  “Please use these to look at who this child grows up to be.   

As we move about our respective towns over the next few days, may we look beyond the simple figurines and stage props of the various nativity scenes to the larger story that comes with the packaging of the birth story.  Yes, the Son of God entered our world.  The more pressing question is why?  To answer that question we have to pick up the binoculars and look down the road to see the man and his ministry.  In fact, that’s the most important part of the story.  For it is in his adult years that he paves the way through his teaching, suffering, sacrifice, resurrection and ascension into heaven for the blessings of hope, peace, and eternal life for any who would call upon His name in faith and obedience.  May such reflection bring the kind of awareness and awakening that God intended through Jesus' birth (entry!).     

Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas