The Manger Scene

December 25, 2024

Christmas Day; Luke 2:15-20.

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem and see this event that God has made known to us.”

When our boys were very little, we had a Christmas Eve ritual. Just before bedtime, I would sit on the couch and invite the boys (actually, it was more of an order) to sit next to me. I’d open my bible to the Gospel of Luke and read the story of the birth of Jesus. As the story progressed, the kids would snuggle in closer to listen and read along. Sometimes they would ask a question or two. The youngest would get squirrely towards the end, and that would be her cue that the story was over, and it was time for bed.

I’ve often wondered if that ritual made any difference to the boys. I can tell you, however, that it made a tremendous difference to me. When I see the manger scene in our home, I think back to those Christmas Eves and the kids snuggling up next to me. In my life, the memory of sharing the story of the Incarnation of God in our world with our family remains a happy memory for me. As I watch my boys, who are adults with children of their own, I wonder what their Christmas Eve ritual is? Regardless, gauging by their lifestyles and their children’s behavior, they are doing just fine, thank you very much.

As tempting as it is to long for the days when the kids were little and liked to snuggle with their dad, I am grateful beyond words that life has moved on. The story that I read to our boys would have been very different had the shepherds kept staring at the sky, looking for more angels. Or they could have just returned to the warmth of the bonfire and stayed warm, right? But no, they moved on and went to Bethlehem as the angels instructed.

Every year, I feel the pull to go within myself and recall the happy memories of years gone by, and stay in that memory. And then I look around and see all the goodness that is around me. Those cute little boys, now bring their own cute little children to our house and pure mayhem ensues. And we love it. We get exhausted, but we love it. Every year, the dynamic changes a bit as they grow older, but it remains a blessed time.

I’ve learned that I cannot remain in one place for my entire life. Even Jesus did not remain a baby his entire life. He grew up and became all that God had intended for him. Had he not, would we even be talking about this today? I’m thinking not. Life moved on and we now celebrate that starting point of a life that changed the world. And that life still calls me forward to change the world more.

As I look around and see all the Christmas lights and decorations in our own house and all around the city, I feel the desire to want to see more light in my world. Not the glitzy lights of the holiday (as pretty as they are) but the light of Jesus. And how do I do that, I wonder?

I gaze at the manger scene again and realize that I have to get up and move. I have to follow the call of the angels and move out of my field. I have to become the light of Christ and shine it for all to see by the way I speak and act. Not just to those I like, but especially to those who challenge me. That, I believe, is the message of Christmas.

Every Day.

© 2024 by Timothy J. Doppel

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