Nativity Series Part 1 of 6

The nativity blog series is an invitation to “enter into” the manger scene and ponder where you are in relation to Jesus.

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The typical teenage bedroom is a celebration… of chaos.

Whether it’s the pictures or prints pasted across the walls or the mound of unwashed, unfolded clothes tall enough to hide a dead body, the room speaks volumes about its tenant. A teenager’s bedroom doesn’t just teach you about what teams, media, or styles they like but also what they are like. The bedroom is an external rendering of a teen’s interior life. The question is less about whether the parent can handle the mess and more about whether the teenage occupant can function within it. Bedrooms — like life — will be messy sometimes, and even though earthly parents have a limit to how much mess they can handle, God our heavenly Father knows no such limits.

God Himself was born into an absolute mess, physically speaking.

You may have a nativity set beneath your family Christmas tree or on a table somewhere inside your house. You almost certainly have one on display somewhere around your local church during the Advent and Christmas seasons. What many people don’t realize, though, is that before those figurines of plastic and plaster made their way to your zip code, the nativity set (also called a creche) has actually been around for centuries. Saint Francis of Assisi gave the world its first nativity scene all the way back in 1223. But St. Francis’ nativity scene was different, in that he used actual, living people rather than statues. Right there in the middle of the town square, Francis had real people and animals pose as a living reminder of what happened in that little town of Bethlehem so many years ago. It was from there that the nativity sets we have come to know and display were ironically “born.”

It’s too bad we don’t still use living beings to bring the nativity story to life. Statues, paintings, and other works of art in churches are great for helping us visualize and focus our minds in prayer. They’re especially useful to those of us — like me — whose minds wander or who have a difficult time concentrating in our prayer. Saint Francis’ idea, though, was so epic because he reminded us that the nativity scene is not something simply to be admired or to be stared at. It’s not just something that we reflect on. The nativity scene is something that we, as Christians, are supposed to enter into just like we are called and invited to enter into the Catholic Mass.

Think about it. At every single Catholic Mass, Christ comes right into our midst in a unique way. God comes and physically enters our mess the same way He did thousands of years ago on Christmas night. He enters this sinful world peacefully and gently with the beautiful simplicity and humility of a baby. You and I are characters within the living nativity scene at each and every Mass. The Holy Mass is not some “passion play” or “Christmas scene” that has nothing to do with us; it is Jesus coming right into the midst of our lives and our messes, and calling us closer to Him. It is Jesus looking us right in the eyes like the baby staring up from the manger.

Both the Nativity and the Mass are about Christ’s presence among us and our reaction to Him.

The key and the challenge is to find yourself in the nativity set we call life and realize where you are in relation to Jesus. Which character do you most resemble? When I look at my creche and reflect on it I realize that at one point or another, I’ve felt like just about every character I see there.

Sometimes I proclaim Christ’s presence with passion and authority, like the angel.

Sometimes I bow before the Lord, offering Him (my) gifts, like the Magi.

Sometimes I respond to the invitation to be near Him just like the shepherds.

Sometimes I feel like the star that only exists to point others toward Jesus.

Sometimes I want only to serve and protect Christ’s truth, just like St. Joseph.

Sometimes I am so close to Christ that I can almost feel the joy of His birth or the pain of His death, just like the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Sometimes I am so stubborn or stupid that I relate most to the ox or donkey.

Where are you today in relation to Jesus? Who do you best relate to and who is He calling you to be? Because the fact is, just like every person and animal in that set… He wants you close to Him. That’s what the manger proclaims and the Holy Mass offers: closeness and intimacy.

So the next time you see a nativity set, pause and reflect. God’s trying to tell you something and invite you to something more, right in the midst of this mess we (sometimes) call life.