The inn and innkeeper

Posted by Twyla Becker on December 5, 2009

I have always been fascinated with the Inn and the Innkeeper in the Christmas story. He is not a part of any Nativity scenes I have and is only a very small part of the story as it is told; therefore, it may seem he is an insignificant figure in the nativity world, but is he?

No Room at the Inn, artist unknown

"No Room at the Inn," artist unknown

When I was a little girl, the story tellers always depicted this innkeeper as a man who was impatient and irritated. He was tired from all he had dealt with during the day and maybe even frustrated that Joseph had knocked on his door. He sometimes seemed selfish that he hadn’t tried harder to help the pregnant woman outside. I always wondered about this portrayal. It seems to me that if the innkeeper had been irritated or selfish, he would have shooed Joseph and Mary away and shut the door in their face, but he didn’t. Instead, he took them to his barn and allowed them to stay there – not great beds, but shelter nonetheless. This seems compassionate; he did his best to help a weary family, even as he himself was weary.

I am grateful for his example of compassion and giving. As the busyness of the season descends upon us, let’s remember the example God gives us with this subtle character and remember all of those around us, strangers included, even as we are weary and stressed

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David

Posted by Claudia Nauman on December 4, 2009

“…The Lord has not chosen this one either.” I Samuel 16, v.8
“Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” v.9
Samuel then asks Jesse, …”Are these all the sons you have?” v.11
“There is still the youngest…but he is tending the sheep.” v.11
“Then the Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him, he is the one.’ “ v.11

Meet David, a young, gentle shepherd. I don’t picture young king David looking like the typical shepherd in our Nativity scene. Our Nativity shepherd is old, really old, and he’s learned-looking. He looks tired, certain and calm. In contrast, young king David is spunky, a hunter, a musician, a close and devoted friend to Jonathan, a writer of some rockin’ poetry. Young King David is way too cool for such a majestic setting as the Nativity. Imagine, our sweet babe Jesus descended from his earthly family. Jesus and David are connected. They’re family.

King David (sculpture by F. A. Jerichau, 1860); on display in Copenhagen, Denmark

King David (sculpture by F. A. Jerichau, 1860); on display in Copenhagen, Denmark

The story of young rockin’ David turns ugly, and David, unlike his descendant Jesus Christ, sins. As David grows older, David desires more of the world’s pleasures and less of God’s will. He falls, and he fails. He’s a sinner.

I now see David, the entirety of David, sitting in my Nativity. He’s close to the babe Jesus. So close that he can smell his glory, power and holiness. He recognizes he’s next to perfection. He senses his great need of the babe Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Jesus’ radiance blows through David. His earthly kingship blows away. The greater king has arrived, David recognizes, yet just a babe. David now bows, he trembles at his unworthiness, his sinfulness, his arrogance. The King of Kings has arrived.

I bow, too, recognizing my sinfulness, my shortcomings. As I spend time with my extended family this Christmas, I want to take the powerful babe Jesus with me, wherever I go, all the time. He’s a reminder of God’s greatness and my weakness, and my family’s weaknesses. He’s our grace-giver.

God chose David as his beloved chieftain: A young, cheerful, shepherd boy, turned lustful, lazy commander: Sinner. He chose you, your family, and me, sinners, too. Indeed, praise Him.

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Bethlehem

Posted by Maria Zahasky on December 3, 2009

When you hear the name Bethlehem, what immediately comes to mind?

Bethlehem in the late 1800's (from St. Nicholas magazine, December, 1896)

Bethlehem in the late 1800's (from St. Nicholas magazine, December, 1896)

For most of us the name Bethlehem immediately brings our thoughts to the Christmas story. Bethlehem is so well known to us because it is the birthplace of Jesus. However, Jesus wasn’t the first king born in Bethlehem. About 1,000 years before Jesus’ birth a little shepherd boy named David was born in Bethlehem. This little shepherd boy grew up to be King David, the most powerful king of Israel.

David was a mighty warrior and led his people bravely in battle. Under David’s command the people of Israel conquered the promised land, bringing peace to their nation. Today we read in Micah Chapter 5 a promise of another king that would come from small, unimportant Bethlehem. Micah tells how, just like his ancestor David, this king to come would be a shepherd, however not of sheep but of people. Like King David, Micah also tells of how this king would bring peace to his people.

We know this shepherd king as Jesus and we know the peace he brings is far more than peace for a nation at war. During this Advent season let us take time to stop and reflect on the peace that our shepherd king Jesus brings us: a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that gives hope, and a peace that can only be found in the forgiveness of our sins.

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An angel who spoke to Joseph

Posted by Bruce Thorson on December 2, 2009

When Joseph found out that Mary was expecting a child, he knew what he had to do. He knew that the right thing to do was to divorce her, and to do it quietly so that he might not add to the attention and shame that she would be experiencing. Surely this was the right thing to do to be faithful to God and to the Jewish customs.

"The Dream of St. Joseph," Philippe de Champaigne, 1642-43

"The Dream of St. Joseph," Philippe de Champaigne, 1642-43 (National Gallery, London)

But an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife: “She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph is being asked to break with tradition. To do something out of the ordinary. He is to take Mary as his wife and support her, and then raise this son as if it were his own. This is a lot to ask.

We’ve heard this story so many times . . . we maybe come to expect it every year at this time . . . it’s not surprising to us in that sense. But put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. Can you imagine listening to such a story from God? Joseph was in the midst of planning for his own future when God confronted him with a future he did not expect. But, Joseph did listen. And he made a decision to obey even when he surely did not understand. He could never have guessed how things would unfold from here. Bethlehem, the manger, the angels and shepherds and wise men.

There was no way he could have predicted or planned our nativity scene. An ordinary man, from an ordinary family, living in an ordinary town, with an ordinary job. God chose Joseph to be the earthly father to his Son. God chose Joseph to be provider and protector, teacher and guide for Jesus as he was growing up.

Are you ever tempted to think that you are too ordinary for God to use for an important purpose?

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Nazareth

Posted by Owen Youngman on December 1, 2009

It’s pretty obvious where most Nativity scenes are set. Everybody knows that Jesus was born in Bethlehem! That’s where the manger was. That’s the town the shepherds were working near. That’s where the Wise Men were sent to find the baby Jesus. Everybody knows that!

Well, yes, today, everybody knows that.  But when Jesus grew up and began his ministry, people didn’t call him “Jesus of Bethlehem.”  They called him “Jesus of Nazareth,” since that’s the town in Galilee where he grew up, and that was where his father lived.  And that fact did not help Jesus get off to a very easy start in recruiting disciples and teaching the world about himself.

For one thing, Nazareth seemed to have a stereotype as a very backward place. “Can anything good come from there?” asks Nathanael in John 1:46.

birthFor another thing, because good Jews knew their Scripture, they knew the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. As far as they knew, that pretty much ruled Jesus out (John 7:41-42), despite his miracles and the testimony of many people who believed in him. Bethlehem and Nazareth were only 80 miles apart, but most Jews couldn’t figure out how to mention them in the same sentence.

This is probably one reason why the Gospels go into great detail to establish that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem, to get rid of that mistaken impression right away.  But at the time of his ministry, the familiar stories in Matthew and Luke hadn’t been researched, much less written down – and once people get the wrong idea about you, it can be hard to change their minds.

But Nazareth is still a very important place.  It’s where the angel appears to Mary, announcing that she will be the mother of the Messiah.  It’s where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus settle after returning from Egypt, and where Jesus grows to manhood.  It’s where Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah one Sabbath in the synagogue and announces, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

So in the background of our Nativity scene, let’s imagine we can see Nazareth in the distance. To us, those 80 miles aren’t such a great distance at all.

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Caesar Augustus

Posted by Pastor Dwight on November 30, 2009

I love Nativity scenes. They are the decoration that tells a story, the story of Jesus’ birth. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are made from materials found all over the world. Our son Timm traveled to Israel this summer and brought home a Nativity scene carved out of olive wood. It is quite impressive, with lots of pieces to be placed under its big stable. So it will be fun to set it up during Advent, and to play with the pieces a bit, moving them around and telling the story, before placing them in their Christmas morning positions.

When I tell the Christmas story at our Adopt-a-Family party, I like to spread all the characters out: the shepherds at one end of the table, the angels perched high on the piano, the wise men in the eastern corner of the room, and a lighted candle held high above the stable. That makes for good storytelling!

CaesarAugustus

Caesar Augustus

So, this year, let’s make a manger scene in our Advent devotional, and let’s add some of the people and places that are included in the Bible but are not usually found in the scenes. Let’s start where Luke starts, with Caesar Augustus, sitting on a throne way far away in Rome. I’ve never seen Caesar in a manger scene before. Let’s put him in a prominent place several rooms removed from our stable!

From his distant throne, Caesar orders a census of the whole Roman world. Now he will find out just how many young men are available to serve in his armies, and how many people he can expect to be paying taxes!

So there he sits on his Royal Throne, all alone, ordering everybody to do his will. No one especially likes him. Most people keep a safe distance from him. But it is his grand decree that causes Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem, where the baby Jesus is born.  Mary wraps him in some cloths and then lays him in the manger, not exactly a royal throne! But one day every knee will bow before him, and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord.

So here is our first piece. Caesar sitting on a throne. Shall we go and worship him?

No, I think this Christmas I will go to the manger and worship Christ the Lord.

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Let heaven and nature sing

Posted by Webmaster on November 29, 2009

The Christmas season is a time of preparation. We have gifts to buy, cookies to bake, the house to decorate, friends to visit and presents to wrap. In the midst of all this busy preparation it is easy to forget the most important preparation of all, preparing for the birth of our Lord.

We hope these memories, stories, thoughts and prayers will help all of us to prepare for the amazing miracle of Jesus’ birth. For each day of Advent one of our LCC families has written a short devotional that focuses on the significance of this Advent season. These devotions can be read together as a family during a mealtime, or on your own as you sip your coffee on the train.

A special thank you to everyone who has contributed, and we pray God’s blessing on you as you reflect on Christ’s coming this season. We begin today with a familiar Christmas carol. Come back to the site every day during Advent!
handel

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