O Holy Night (Josh Groban w/scenes from The Nativity)
This morning I was doing some Christmas shopping in one of my local stores. I had to pick up some extra tape for wrapping some presents. I have a friend who mentioned that she couldn't find any Nativity sets in the local store where she was looking, so I decided to do some checking for them in the store where I was shopping. Much to my dismay I found sets for "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", but I didn't find one Nativity set in the whole store! It gave me pause to think. Why was I shopping in a store that didn't honor Christ at Christmas, the holiday that we celebrate his birth?!
I have another friend who will only buy Christmas cards that feature pictures of Jesus Christ or the nativity. She has mentioned to me how difficult it has become to find those as well. I liked her suggestion and so I have been trying to focus my Christmas Cards more on the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Do you know how hard it is to find Christmas Cards with pictures of Christ or his birth on them? Try it sometime and you will be amazed at how difficult it is.
Christmas has become such a secular holiday. These days it is more a celebration of anything winter, anything except the birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ! I say put Christ back into Christmas! After all, He is the reason we celebrate Christmas each year. He was around long before Rudolph, The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus or any of the derivatives thereof.
This year due to my difficulties getting around post knee/leg surgery, I have decided to limit how much decorating I am doing at my house. The one thing that I have decided that I will decorate with is my collection of Nativity scenes. I have a ceramic one displayed in my china cabinet that my mother and I made together many years ago. It always held a place of honor in the living room of my parent's home. As I child I remember sitting by the round table on which it was displayed and gazing at it, pondering the scripture story of the birth of Jesus. I remember the feeling of warmth and peace that I felt in my heart as I gazed at the pieces finished with antique gold over the white ceramic. I wondered about what it would have been like to have been there and seen the star and heard the angels singing.
The Christmas after my father passed away my sister and brother-in-law gifted me with The Nativity by Willow Tree. If you are familiar with this set you will recognize the fact that there are no facial expressions painted on the figurines. I love this nativity set because of that fact. The designer portrayed so much of what the figures might have felt in the way she designed the positions of their bodies. Mary is cradling the baby Jesus in her arms, lovingly looking into His face. Joseph is looking over her shoulder, keeping watch over his precious little family. One shepard is kneeling in reverence and respect, and another is lovingly holding a lamb in his arms as he looks on. Even the animals exhibit reverence for the Savior and the event of His birth. I love this set, not only for the beautiful images it portrays, but also because every time I take it out to display it I think of the dear ones that gave it to me.
I have another figurine of just Joseph keeping watch over his beloved Mary and the baby Jesus. It is painted a pale blue and white and had a bit of an ethereal quality to it. It is not large nor expensive, but I really like the details and the design of this one as well. I have a couple of other smaller sets as well that I cherish for various reasons. One was a gift that my sister brought back from Israel when they made a trip to the Holy Land many years ago. It is made of olive wood and I treasure it because it came from there and it was such a thoughtful gift from them. It can be made into an ornament and hung on the tree if I so desire. I have another small set with individual character pieces that is made of white porcelain.
I guess this is a round about way of getting to something that I learned many years ago while listening to a then "new" set of Christmas Carols written by a brilliant musician, Michael McLean titled "The Forgotten Carols". Each year we must choose which aspect of Christmas will get the focus of our attention. Each year we must choose whether we will "let Him in" or spend our time and attention on the more secular aspects of Christmas. Which will you choose? Is there room in your Christmas for Jesus? Is there room in your heart for our Savior? I choose to make room and "let Him in". Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas each year.
"He let's us choose,
each hour of each day,
if we'll let him in to stay.
Let Him in, let Him in
Let the joy and hope begin
Let Him in, let Him in
Let the peace on earth begin
And whether it be in your world today
or a crowded Bethlehem Inn
Find a way, make Him room...
LET HIM IN"
Let Him In (Michaela McLean from "The Forgotten Carols")
BONUS CLIP:
Is There Room? (Hilary Weeks)
