The Not So Ordinary Nativity

 

It was a small, painted ceramic nativity scene. Purchased at the local drugstore for less than $10.00, around 25 years ago, I needed something tangible and visual to teach my girls the truth of the Nativity. Year after year, the figurines found their place on our living room coffee table. Due to much loving and handling during play, we had a few casualties. Joseph was the first to go when, somehow, he lost his head. This alteration of his appearance didn't do the story justice. A headless Joseph in the scene was a little too creepy and brought about questions I wasn't quite ready to address with two preschoolers. His passing was followed by a malfunction with the manger, which held the Christ Child nuzzled inside under the pure white ceramic swaddling clothes. One drop on the hardwood floors, and this member of the Nativity was now two pieces. Okay, I reasoned, the shepherd might be able to double as Joseph, but no manger, no Christ Child? Clearly, I would have to mend this or buy a new scene. After some careful gluing of parts, Baby Jesus was once again snug in the manger, and things were beginning to look right in the world of the Nativity once more. The stable animals were present, the shepherd who gladly agreed to double as the doting father was there, and even the little lamb that probably trailed behind the shepherd as he ran to see the Newborn King was poised quietly in reverence before the manger. As I took the roll of each member of the Nativity, it occurred to me that there were those present who did not belong. For the first time, it troubled me, and with all the repairs that had to be made to this dear sentiment over the years, there was one adjustment yet to be made. The Wise Men, or Magi as the scripture refers to them, really did not belong in the scene. So, what was I to do? I couldn't just throw them out; none of them were dressed to stand in for Joseph, and the camels they rode on would really seem out of place without them there. In my dilemma, I began to consider a few things. Who were these men? Where did they belong in the story of Christ, and what purpose did they serve? This began for me a whole new way of telling the treasured tale. It was time for a change. Always a part of our Christmas pageants, cards, movies, and manger scenes, the Wise Men always seem to show up. Yet scripture tells of their presence quite differently from how it is usually depicted. These educated men, upstanding in their communities, acting as advisors to the Kings of their countries, were just that. They were not sorcerers or magicians. Their entrance into the story of Christmas happened long after Jesus had left the manger in the stable. There very well may have been camels at the miraculous birth of Christ, but they did not belong to the Wise Men. Magi is the name scripture gives to this group of seekers, most likely living in the eastern countries of Babylon or Persia. They spent countless hours studying the stars and researching ancient scrolls. Between these two interests, the connection was made. The collision between God's purpose in creation for the stars and the purpose of His prophecies sent them in search of the magnificent promise that a ruler would be born and that His kingdom would never end. So, following the star began. It was only logical that they would want to travel to the place where the prophecy they had studied said a star would appear, leading them to a newborn King. That is precisely what they did. On camels with supplies and a caravan that could withstand the journey that took approximately two years, these seekers of the coming King set out to see prophecy fulfilled. Having reached the country of Israel, namely the capital Jerusalem, they inquired of the people concerning the whereabouts of this new King. When word reached the King, Herod the Great, he questioned the men for his own sense of kingship, which he felt was being threatened. Then they sent them on a journey to find the one who would be the future and lasting leader of Israel. His directions, laced with falsehood and evil motives, were to return to Him so that he might also go and worship this coming King. The Magi followed the star and stopped at the house where it rested. There, they worshipped Christ and gave him gifts in his honor. Because of their belief, God revealed King Herod's wicked intentions, and the Wise Men returned home another way. I could now see it. The Wise Men did not belong in the Nativity, for their purpose in the story of the Newborn King came much later, so that the Christ Child would be protected from the evil intent of King Herod. The Wise Men had saved the day. They had sustained the story of Christmas so that its intended perfect work, its coming King would rise and take His rightful place. The small, plain nativity scene will need a few more updates. This year, a house will be added with a star overhead, and a young boy and his mother will be near the house, sitting beside the Nativity. The Wise Men will move to their new home to greet the waiting coming King. I might even invest in a new Joseph to get it all right! "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother, Mary, and bowed down to worship Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." Matthew 2:10-12 New International Version