The Adventures of Christmas Sample

December 11th

This Christmas you will see thousands of nativity scenes on cards, in yards, on trees, on stages.

When my kids were younger, I’d put a manger scene ornament on the tree. Like the wise men, they had to find it before we got to open gifts. They were not big fans of that tradition. In the nativity you will usually see Mary and Joseph, wise men, animals, an angel, a star and baby Jesus. But one person you don't see is someone we don't always think about, God the Father.

For some, he is the stranger in the manger while Joseph hears Jesus’ first cry, a sound that brings a smile to every mother and father’s face. A sound of life. A sound the birth process is complete. A sound anticipated for nine months. God, who lives outside of time, sees the arrival of the one he sent and hears the cry of his son as he says it is finished before taking his last breath.

As Joseph watches his baby boy cling to his mother for his first meal, God the Father sees his last meal of bread and wine, symbols of a broken body for a broken world. As Joseph holds the infant Jesus’ hands for the first time, tracing the lines, gently holding them, loving them, God the Father sees the time to come when the same hands are violently nailed to a wooden cross. As Joseph repeats his son’s name over and over… singing Jesus, a name that means "He who saves," God the Father is the only one in the room who truly knows what that meant.

In the manger scene we see the tension between majesty and tragedy… cradle and cross… joy to the world, sorrow to the King… and peace on earth, heartache in heaven. 

This Christmas season, try to embrace the tension. While some are singing, “We wish you a merry Christmas,” others are singing, “I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas without you.” 

Christmas has a way of amplifying whatever a person is already feeling. And it's normal to experience celebration and lament, often at the same time.