The retelling of the Christmas story in Nativity form, with its colourful array of backdrops and costumes, is a well-established, beloved Christmas tradition.
The delightful procession of tea towel-donned shepherds and gleeful little angels brighten the greyest of Decembers, reminding us once more to anchor our hearts and attention in the reason for all our festivities.
Most of us have been in at least one Nativity play as a child. As a young girl one Christmas, I received the part of Mary and the audience giggled when I failed (despite the prompting of the narrator) to lay the ‘baby Jesus’ in the manger!
At the end of each Nativity I attend, while applauding as the proudest of parents, I try to take a fresh moment to marvel at the unusual and miraculous events re-enacted before me.
We should never let over-familiarity dull our wonder towards this incredible salvation story.
Consider again the unlikely and eclectic group of individuals represented on stage: the poor Israelite shepherds, a teenage girl and her working-class husband, the learned eastern mystics, and even a tyrannical King Herod.
What a seemingly arbitrary group of people! It reminds me of a jury in a courtroom drama with various individuals from different walks of life, randomly thrown together; or of a group of unsuspecting witnesses to some dramatic event.
But then, isn’t this exactly what the Nativity characters are?
They’re a collection of very different individuals, whose lives collide in the unfolding of a divine rescue plan orchestrated before the beginning of time. What at first glance may appear coincidental and insignificant, upon closer inspection, reveals an intricate design woven together by the infinite grace and power of our loving God.
These unusual witnesses didn’t need to be distinguished or highly qualified – for witnesses are only required to speak of what they’ve experienced – they needed only to be humble and willing. This is how God loves to move and these are the people he delights to send.
Like many other biblical stories, the birth of Jesus and the details surrounding it make no distinctions of gender, age, wealth, or heritage. The Christmas story is far more than a Middle Eastern anecdote; its events reach far beyond the borders of Israel.
This gospel, declared to shepherds on the slopes of Bethlehem, was to go out to every corner of the earth – to every people group, to every ‘unlikely’ person. This good news (a phrase that doesn’t even begin to cover it) extends beyond the borders of nations and the confines of time.
And 2,000 years later, the task isn’t yet complete.
We know that in ages past, good news of victory was carried by foot from the battlefield to the palace gates. But this isn’t a story of political triumph, it’s one of spiritual redemption. As the Bible says:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Isaiah 52:7
Their feet are most beautiful as they serve on the mountains, in the streets, in schools and prisons … heralding the grace of our triune God in Christ; declaring this good news of redemption to the nations and bringing a message of hope in the darkest place:
God has done this wonderful thing for all mankind. I’m included, and you’re included too!
By Jenny Bright