Although some of these words could be used to describe my feathery appearance, (minus the ‘chaotic’ of course!), this title’s not about me at all. No, -we’ve just celebrated another Christmas, and many of us will have gone along to church to enjoy a Nativity Service. And Nativity Services are where young humans can come into their own by taking on some special roles. So some of them get dressed up as Mary and Joseph; some will be shepherds or sparkly angels; and there’ll be others parading around as baaing sheep or elegant Wise Men. And what a brilliant show they put on for us!
Firstly, there’s young Mary who suddenly gets stage-fright, and runs off to hide behind the organ. As she’s being retrieved by her mother, the group of angels spy some biscuits on a plate, so they abandon the shepherds in the fields to go and have a jolly-good tuck-in! And then we come to the young innkeeper. He was bitterly disappointed not to have landed the role of Joseph, but all through the rehearsals, he’s dutifully recited his innkeeper’s lines to perfection. And now we come to the ‘live’ performance. Joseph comes up to him and asks: “Have you any rooms free in your inn?” To which the disgruntled innkeeper replies, “Yes plenty. Come and take your pick; forget the stable and everything else! Make yourselves at home!”
I could add in a little more detail, -for example how a six-foot tall lamb looked likely to gobble up the four-foot shepherds at any moment. And how the Three Wise Men continued to bicker about which one of them should wear the golden crown as they ambled up to the stable…
The thing with live Nativity Plays is that the scripts never quite go to plan, the actors are rarely dependable, and the props sometimes fall apart. But this is what makes them so very enjoyable. And despite the imperfection, they still celebrate the story of the birth of Jesus to a very appreciative audience.
And you know, Nativity Plays probably sum up how many adult humans plod their way through Life and how they relate to Jesus and to God. Because hardly anyone gets it right; human existence is so often about tripping up and blundering; squabbling and squawking…. -usually over silly trivialities. And most of us, (yes, even parrots!) -get it wrong on a daily basis, and yet we continue to be loved by God and used for His work here on Earth. Just think about King David, John the Baptist, Saul and most of the disciples; God has always used the most unlikely humans and creatures to fulfil His purpose on Earth. And that should fill us all with hope. For as all of the darkness in the world can never extinguish the light of a single candle, so each one of us has the opportunity to shine a light for God despite our imperfections. Yes, God will always use the very ordinary, -like us, -for His extraordinary plan. And that’s a rather wonderful thought to take into the New Year!
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.”
(C.S. Lewis: 1898-1963: Northern Irish author and Anglican lay theologian.)
“Here on Earth, God’s work must surely be our own.”
(J.F. Kennedy: 1917-1963: the 35th President of the United States, infamously assassinated at the age of 46.)
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
(1 Corinthians 1:27)
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…”
