The Nature of the Nativity: Day 15 - Jesus

Quick, come with me; I've got something I want you to see.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 14 - The Manger

It's Day 14...almost done with our journey. I've enjoyed our time together, and I hope you have too. Today we are going to place our manger in the stable and get it ready for Jesus to come tomorrow.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 13 - The Scribes

Well, it's lucky day 13 of our journey through the nativity, and it happens to fall on a Friday! (cue suspenseful music) I'm writing this on Wednesday/Thursday, so it should be safe. Let's jump right in and get back to work on our nativity. Today I want to look at the Scribes. I'm sure some of you are looking at me confused because you don't remember any scribes in the Christmas story. Some of you are having issues with the whiteboard my scribes are using. Just go with it. 

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 12 - King Herod

It's Day 12! Christmas is almost here. I hope you're ready for all the holiday excitement; we don't want any Scrooges or Grinches this year. Speaking of Scrooges and Grinches, today we are going to look at King Herod. I know that you won't find King Herod in a nativity, but he is an integral part of the Wisemen's and Jesus' story...plus I needed another post to get to 15. So let's unwrap our King Herod figurine and give him a look. Don't you love how his arms are crossed? It makes him look rather haughty and unhappy.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 11 - The Wisemen

It's Day 11, and we begin our 2nd trimester of our nativity journey. I bet some of you pregnant moms wished your trimesters were this fast. After today, there's just four more days left. That should make my wife happy; I tend to get a little focused at night clicking away on the keyboard. Today we are going to unwrap the wisemen and stick them in our nativity.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 10 - The Star

It's day 10, and we are 2/3 of the way through our nativity scene  Today we hang the star of Bethlehem over our stable. Isn't it pretty?

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 9 - The Shepherds

It's Day 9; don't you just love Mondays? I do.We have staff devotions, and then staff meeting. Then, if the preacher's here, the ministers all go eat Mexican food. If the preacher's not here, the rest of the staff rebels and eats anything but Mexican food...except me because I love cheese dip. Sadly they have now built a certain fast food Mexican establishment here in Pontotoc; one that doesn't serve cheese dip. I have the feeling that we will be frequenting that restaurant whose name rhymes with Shmocko Shmell. Well, enough about my problems. Let's get back to setting up our nativity. Today is all about the shepherds.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 8 - The Stable

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, when we finish this post, we will be past the halfway mark. Its hard to believe that one week from today is Christmas. I guess I should figure out what to get my wife as a present. Just kidding, I now what I'm getting her; I just have to actually go get it. Anyway, enough about me for now, let's continue setting up our nativity. Today we're having a good ole fashioned barn raisin'! Get it? A stable holds animals, and a barn holds...never mind. Let's get a roof over Mary and Joseph's head.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 7 - The Innkeeper

Lucky number 7! We've made it a whole week which is almost halfway in our journey through the Nativity. For those who may be joining us for the first time, let's review what we've placed in our nativity scene so far.

• Day 1 - The introduction and truth behind the nativity
• Day 2 - The Table showed us that we need to make room for God in our lives.
• Day 3 - The Angels showed us that God's will will happen. He will guide us if we follow.
• Day 4 - Mary showed us that we have a duty to treasure the things that God has done in our life and to share what He has done with others.
• Day 5 - Joseph showed us that following God is more important than what other's may think about us.
• Day 6 - The Donkey showed us that if God asks us to do something, He will equip us to do it if we have the faith to follow him.

That brings us to day 7 and to the innkeeper. Some of you are piously talking to your screen, instructing me that there is no innkeeper in the nativity. My response back is, "There's no innkeeper mentioned in the Bible." In fact, some scholars say, if you look at the Greek word translated as "inn" or "lodging place" in Luke 2:7 you find it similar to the word that is translated "guest room" in other Bible passages. These same scholars postulate that it wasn't an inn that had a stable, it was a home...possibly even a relative of Joseph. Regardless of whether it was an inn or a home, I want to talk about the person. You see, no matter how you slice it, someone didn't have a room available. Someone let them sleep where he kept his animals. We will call this someone the innkeeper.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 6 - The Donkey

Day 6 begins the 2nd trimester in our journey through the nativity. Did you catch my joke? 15 days divided by 3 equals 5 day sections. There's a baby coming at the end of it. I know, funny stuff right? I should think about a career in comedy. While some of you struggle with that sophisticated joke, the rest of us will unwrap Mary's faithful steed...the donkey.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 5 - Joseph

Well, we are a third of the way through after today. 10 whole days left until Christmas; have you bought my present yet? Just kidding!  Day 5 of our journey through the nativity will center around Joseph. He's a stringy little feller isn't he? Big guys like me don't do well as carpenters up on roofs.

We spent time yesterday in Luke; now it's time to head back to the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 1:18-25, we read Joseph's story:

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 4 - Mary

It's nice to see everyone again here on Day 4. So far we've cleared off our table, and we've put out the angels. Today we unwrap Mary and explore what we can learn from her.

Let's grab a Bible again and turn back to Luke's gospel. It's on page 1314 in the Bible I'm using today, though that probably won't help you much. Let's skip over the main part of the nativity story and go toward the end. In Luke 2:17-19 we read these words:

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 3 - The Angels

Welcome to Day 3 of our exploration of the Nativity. I sat down last week and worked out a broad outline for this journey. I wanted to make sure that what I was doing was biblical (always a good thing for a minister to do), but also that it all made sense. What I struggled with the most was the order I should use. I finally settled on moving through the story chronologically except to save Jesus for last. Therefore, the first piece we will put on our "table" will be the angels. I know that most people would put the stable up first, but this is my blog so I get to make all weighty decisions. Do you like my spiffy drawing?

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 2 - The Table

Thanks for coming back! If you're like me, it's easy to get side tracked even though you have the best intentions. If you're just joining us, we are taking a 15 day journey through the nativity searching for spiritual truths. Yesterday we spent some time on why Jesus came and what God was doing with the Baby in the Manger. Today, we begin setting up our nativity scene.

I enjoy the Christmas season. I like the lights, the trees, the smells, and, of course, the eating. However, the preparation is not something I enjoy. Not only do we have to drag our extensive collection of boxes out of the attic, but we have to also put away all the other...stuff to make room. It just so happens, that everywhere Beth wants to put Christmas decorations there are already everyday decorations. Believe it or not, we don't have a bunch of empty end tables and shelves 11 months out of the year. As I said, all of this needs to be put away to make room. There are currently two nativities on display in our home. Both of them are taking the place of something else. In my office, I had to move my Lego Death Star and Lego Millennium Falcon to make room for my new breakable nativity scene that I inherited. 

"That's no moon...it's a space station."

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 1 - Introduction

I inherited a nativity scene from my grandmother this year. No, she didn't pass away; my receiving this nativity was a product of her downsizing for a move coupled with my tendency to steal and hide baby Jesus during family events. I would like to say that this happened strictly when I was child, but in reality I did it quite often as an adult. My favorite episode was when baby Jesus was discovered inside my grandmother's roll halfway through Christmas dinner. So, because of my goofy sense of humor, I now have a breakable nativity scene.   And just a disclaimer, the above picture is not the nativity I inherited. Hopefully I don't inherit every nativity scene I vandalize, since I have a hard time refraining when I walk by one. My mom once found Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Wisemen playing dice for Monopoly money. Mary was making a killing if I recall correctly.

5th Week of Advent 2015

The Judean hillside was dark and dangerous under the new moon. The Shepherd had to be doubly vigilant as he searched the rocky hills. Evening had been drawing to a close, and he was process of putting his flock up for the night when he noticed that one little lamb was missing yet again. He finished corralling his group of fat tailed sheep, gave instructions to his hired workers, and then set off into the inky darkness. Now he was miles away, tired and dirty, but intent on finding that one little lamb. The hired hands thought he was foolish; he had seen as much in their eyes as he had turned to leave. They believed he should just cut his losses. After all, this was almost a weekly occurrence with this lamb. Every few days, the Shepherd had to leave the rest of the flock to hunt this wayward one down, risking life and limb to bring him back into the fold. The hired hands didn’t understand; for them it was just one lamb out of hundreds. Losing it was understandable, an acceptable loss, because it was only a job. It wasn’t merely a job for the Shepherd. These were his Father’s sheep, and his Father cared for them deeply. His Father had entrusted the care of the sheep to him, and no losses were acceptable. The Shepherd loved the sheep and would not leave even one to perish. 

4th Week of Advent 2015

Joseph stared transfixed into the flames of the small fire. As he sat exhausted from the day’s events, he let his mind wander back to the day his life changed. He and his friends had been working on the house, his and Mary's house, when he got the news. Eliam bar Agee had come running through the little village of Nazareth to tell Joseph that Mary would soon be here. He had nodded solemnly to the lad, not wanting his face to betray his excitement; he couldn’t let his friends know how deeply he loved Mary or he would have to ever endure their heckling. The men working with him loved their wives, but the women they loved came after their trade or their children. The only thing Joseph loved more than Mary was Yahweh Himself. Yes he wanted sons, and yes he wanted to be a successful carpenter, but none of that compared to Mary. He watched Eliam dart off as young boys do, but continued to work steadily. He glanced around nonchalantly and saw three pairs of eyes watching him, dancing with laughter. He tried to feign disinterest, but then they started laughing outright; everyone knew how much Joseph loved Mary. Grinning sheepishly, Joseph gave up on the ruse. He stowed his tools and began to make his way toward the house of Mary’s father that he might see his beloved. He arrived as Mary’s parents were hurrying her into the house. He only caught a quick glimpse of her, but it was enough. Joseph had just enough time to see what everyone else had seen; his promised one was with child. 

3rd Week of Advent 2015

 She could hear the whispers as she carried the water jar through town, maybe not the exact words but definitely the whispers. Everywhere she looked, people quickly averted their gaze. If it wasn't so heart wrenching and lonely, Mary probably would have found their antics humorous. It had only been a few days since she had returned from Elizabeth’s, but the news that she was pregnant spread like wildfire like all gossip does in a small village. When she had left for her cousin’s home, Mary had only been a few weeks pregnant, a secret easy to keep. But now she was almost halfway through the pregnancy and her situation was blatantly obvious. Life the past few months had been wonderful. Elizabeth and Zechariah knew the truth and celebrated the coming Messiah with her, as she in turn celebrated with them and the birth of their son, John. Everyone there just saw a pregnant relative of Elizabeth's and assumed nothing sinister. It was a shock to come home after the months of peace. Her parents said they believed her, but the looks her parents shared around her spoke volumes on there own. And then there was Joseph. She had seen only his back as he avoided her these past few days. She had told Joseph about the angel’s visit before she left, but it seemed that he hadn’t believed her. Maybe he had thought that she was addled from long hours in the hot sun. Maybe he thought she was putting too much weight on an odd dream. Regardless, it was obvious that he now thought the worst, that she had been unfaithful and trying to cover it up.

2nd Week of Advent 2015

With a sigh, Yehoshua shifted his position. It looked like a comfortable position wasn't going to be possible tonight. If you moved one rock, the Judean hillside would grow two more in its place. Tonight was his night to be on the exhausting second watch, and he was only halfway through it. No one liked second watch. First watch and third watch weren't too bad because at least you got your sleep in one large cluster.  On second watch, you only got a few hours of sleep before you were prodded awake with a staff in the ribs, forced to stay awake for four hours listening to the contented snores of those fortunate enough not to be on second watch. Once you finished the shift, you had to try to get what little sleep was left before the sheep started waking up. With a grunt of exasperation, he dug under his leg, pulled out the offending stone, and hurled it down the hillside in angry satisfaction. Oh well, it may not be the most coveted of jobs, but at least shepherding put food on the table which was more than some people had.

1st week of Advent 2015

The doors swung shut with a loud thud, and the world went from light to dark. Standing just inside the threshold of the temple, Zechariah could hear the prayers of the worshipers gathered outside the walls. As a priest, he had served many times at the temple as his family worked their allotted time, but he had never won the right to serve before the Lord in the Holy Place. Some priests waited their entire life and were never chosen. After years of cycling on and off, his name had finally been drawn; it was his turn to offer the incense to the Lord. He overcame his awe and walked reverently through the dimly lit Holy Place, watching motes of dust meander through the shafts of light. With piousness, he measured out the correct portions of oils and spices, spreading them out over the glowing coals that had come from the altar of burnt sacrifice in the courtyard.