Strength in Joy
Dec. 30, 2005 - Christmas traditions
I was thinking about some of the traditions that bring joy to our celebrations
Each year the Items I’m most excited about bringing out of storage and setting up (and the last to be packed away) are the Nativity scenes. I'm beggining to get quite a collection of them.
My Mom is a gifts person so it brings her great pleasure to give gifts that have meaning & tradition. The first 8 or 9 years of my marriage she bought us a different piece to the “alpine town”
What I really wanted for Christmas Décor were Nativity scenes.
First off I wanted one where Baby Jesus was not forever glued to the manger, I wanted to set the stable up under the tree and have Mary and Joseph get closer all through advent, then on Christmas Eve night the Greatest Gift to humanity from our Loving Creator would “appear”, with the help of mom and dad, in the manger. In the morning before gifts we talk about why we give gifts (in short: because every good and perfect gift is from God, and as Christ’s followers we want to emulate his character qualities to the best of our abilities.) Next we read the Christmas Story from Luke, and sometimes other passages as we feel led. After all this we open gifts.
Secondly I wanted multicultural Nativity scenes, I know some people think that it is somehow “sacrilegious” to imagine or picture Christ as anything other than what they are familiar with, however, these same people may not realize that their picture of the Nativity is as much culturally influenced as the cute “Eskimo Nativity” that my mom bought for me when she went to Alaska. Certainly the “classic” nativity is far from identical to the first one. Two “for instances” here, 1) many believe it is likely that the “stable” Jesus was born in was little more than a cave, or even an overhanging stone ledge. 2) Though the bible indicates that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, most “manger babies” are nearly “nekkid.” Maybe the artist wanted to show his or her skill in making tiny fingers and toes, or perhaps it is a foreshadowing of the time when he hung upon the cross, with his clothing being gambled for at his feet, either way it is never challenged. It is simply accepted as “artistic license.”
My view of multicultural nativities is that they are more than just artistic license; they are a picture of how accessible God made Himself by coming to earth as a helpless babe. Who is more approachable than Baby Jesus? Yes, we must avoid the folly of, in a sense, chaining him to the manger. Of never allowing ourselves to acknowledge that he was anything other than a baby. But we must also avoid the opposite mistake, of assuming that His ministry would be unchanged if he had simply appeared as a man. If he had walked full grown out of the desert, how would he be able to sympathize with our humanity?
Cultural Nativities help us to realize that, indeed, God made himself fully man. (at the same time was still fully God, mind boggling ) He made himself man to redeem all men. Just as we cannot take Jesus, strip him of his Jewishness, and offer him back to the Jews as an acceptable Messiah, we cannot expect people of other cultures to accept as fully theirs, a Jesus that they cannot imagine as a baby of their own people. So to me, the value of a cultural nativity is to make Jesus accessible to the minds and hearts of those within that culture and to remind me that these are no less precious to Him than I.
This year the Dept 56 stuff stayed in it's boxes, and the Nativites were placed throughout the house. To remind us that we do not have a judge who cannot sympathize with our weakness.
Mrs. Nehemiah
Comments
Dec. 31, 2005 - Untitled Comment
Posted by DandelionSeeds
Blessings to you and yours for the coming year.
In Him,
Amy
Jan. 5, 2006 - Prayer request...
Posted by DandelionSeeds
Please take a moment to stop by my blog and read a prayer request for a woman whose blog I came across... she needs prayer.
Blessings,
Amy
Jan. 11, 2006 - Greetings from another in the Evergreen State
Posted by TroopersForChrist
Hello Mrs. Nehemiah!
I random blogged and got you. Nothing is random with the Lord. First, your theme verse is awesome it's the one I named our daughter after....guess her name? :)
I also thought that verse a lot during her delivery! LOL!
We have one Nativity that we love and it has a manger we set out Christmas Eve. It's small and we put it on the birthday cake.
Joy and I helped a couple from our church set up for their drive by Nativity Display. Your blog reminded me of all that. It was SO delightful for Joy and I to help them (older than myself and bad backs) clear their driveway of ice and snow, so no one would be hurt looking into their garage FULL of 200 beautifully arranged Nativity displays!
Yes, from all over the world and ALL different nationalities and styles. It was so delightful to work out there listening to the music playing in the background and talking to Joy. They had other Christmas lights up too. Folks would drive by and we'd wave and smile and invite them in.
Then we went in and had cocoa at their fireplace. Indoors was beautifully decorated too. More folks came in and they had Nativity craft projects for the kiddos so Joy was happy. Jesus is the Reason for the Season gift bags were given to the children too which Joy helped us stuff. We also provided cookies and she serves those to visitors. (I ate too many.)
It was a blessing to be a part of this and see their display. They moved here from California and did the same display there. They live on a corner in a housing development. Being from Calif. they didn't deal with snow and had no snow removal equip. Being from Spokane I had a snowshovel and plenty of 'experience'. LOL!
Well, it was nice that your blog reminded me of all of that just a month ago. Sometimes my back hurts after things I do but I prayed and the Lord spared my back from any probs at all chipping compact snow and ice for the Nativity Display.I thought that was an awesome prayer answer as well.
I see you listed the Washington Blog on yours. I contribute to that from the West side. It's great to meet you on your blog.
We saw TLTWATWardrobe after Christmas and loved it and would like to see it again. We had read the whole series last year. I also thought they did a far better job than I expected (I don't see many movies for that reason) and I'd like to see it again.
You are right, we discussed with our 2 children how it would be hard to depict the book item for item in a movie format. Our Nehemiah 8:10b girl was whispering to me in the movie things she was seeing the same and diff. etc. from the book. It was a great time.
Happy New Year in WA! Sure is WASHING, WASHING, WASHING a TON here where we are this is excessive rain even for this evergreen area!
Blessings in His Joy!
Marie
TroopersForChrist
Jan. 17, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by DandelionSeeds
Hope all is well in your home... blessings to you and yours.
In Him,
Amy
Jan. 23, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by RaisingFaith
I love Nativity scenes! I've never seen cultural ones though, I'd love to see the eskimo one you've got. I recently fell in love wth Willow Tree's Nativity and hope to someday save my pennies for it.
I have had so many thoughts about our Savior's birth. I like to think about what Mary might have been thinkin' or Joseph as the sheperds came to honor Jesus. I often wonder if Mary had to flick the chubby toddler hands of our Lord tellin' him, "No don't touch that Jesus," like I have done with my own toddlers. It's neat to think of our God lovin' us so much that sent His son to be fully human to die for us.
