Happy Monday!
It’s Christmas Eve, the perfect time for this word-of-the-week…
MESSY
In our house we have a couple of nativity scenes. One’s white-and-gold porcelain, the other’s beautifully carved from walnut by a friend. They’re neat and pretty, and they don’t smell.
The first Christmas was a mess. People traveled to their ancestral home of Bethlehem and crowded into a small village where there wasn’t enough room.
Families reunited, which meant excitement, tension, and stress. Everyone was out of normal routines, away from familiar surroundings. I’ll bet the trip home brought back sad memories of lost loved ones and past struggles. It was a confused, chaotic time.
Now look at the previous paragraph. How much of it describes what your holiday might look like?
For most of us, Christmas hasn’t changed much. It’s messy.
But on that first Christmas, God carved out a small bit of holy ground. Amidst the smells and noises and chaos and conflict, He created a circle of peace around an ordinary manger.
I think that’s our task. Enjoy the mess, the food, and the chaos. Work through the family interactions, the happy and perhaps not-so-happy memories. Play some games. Hug some folks, and watch a little football.
But remember what’s at the center. Carve out a space for the manger.
