Nestled by the manger

Posted on by livinggodsmission

by Pam Tinsley

Crowded Creche – Photo courtesy of Pam Tinsley

Although our family custom is to wait until Christmas Eve to decorate our tree, by the second Sunday of Advent I have begun to adorn the house for Christmas. I have a collection of small wooden figurines that I’ve mostly inherited from parents or my mother-in-law. Several have been gifts from my husband, son, or brother. The newest is a small crèche that I purchased in 2022 in Bethlehem while on pilgrimage. I cherish the memories that each figurine evokes as I contemplate the mystery that is about to unfold again, Christ’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem.

Most of these figurines are placed on the mantel or on top of a tallish cupboard. The home for the family crèche, however, is atop a cupboard that is out of harm’s way from a boisterous basset hound and an inquisitive toddler. Of course, in good Episcopalian style the Magi are far from the stable; the angels and shepherds are in distant fields; and the baby Jesus is discreetly hidden.

After seeing my arrangement of the crèche, on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, our 5½ year-old granddaughter Sienna had a different idea! After dinner she spent close to 30 minutes re-arranging the figures. She carefully placed Jesus in the manger and all the other figurines inside the stable. The little lambs are pressed right up against the manger. The shepherds, the Magi, and the angels are as close to the baby Jesus as his parents are.

I love the image that Sienna’s rearrangement of the crèche depicts: the baby Jesus already radiates the love that draws the world to him – from the angel and exalted heavenly choirs to the majestic Magi from the East to the lowly shepherds, and even the lambs.

Then, as we were all admiring her handiwork, Sienna motioned me to take a closer look, and she pointed at one of the lambs next to the manger. She whispered softly, yet intently, “That’s me.” Just the day before, she’d played a lamb in her ballet’s production of “The Nativity,” and she’d recreated the ballet’s closing scene with our crèche. For Sienna, it was more than that, though. For her, it was longing to be close to Jesus.

Each year, we are invited into the wonder and awe of Christmas. Like Sienna’s heart, our hearts long to be close to Jesus. And like Sienna – and the shepherds – after beholding God in a manger, we long to share the Good News of the Incarnation with others.  

What does Advent mean?

Posted on by livinggodsmission

by Brandon Beck

A reading from the contemporary prophet Dr. Seuss:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”
“It came without ribbons! It came without tags!”
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”

Here ends the reading

According to Merriam-Webster Online (MWO), advent is a noun meaning the act of coming upon a scene. The Grinch, at the end of Dr. Seuss’ famous Christmas story, comes upon a scene that changes his heart and life forever.

We’re in a liturgical season when we are coming upon a scene that changes the world and offers change to each and every one of us when we remember it in celebration each year at Christmas.

The Whos down in Whoville understand something that isn’t easy for all of us – especially for children. Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Even after everything – stocking, present, crumb – was taken, the Whos still gathered together and sang and feasted and shared with the least and outcast.

The liturgical season of Advent helps us make space in our hearts, minds, and homes – safe space to be in the world but not of the world, to want and receive commercial gifts and also to share our Who-feast with those who don’t yet have hearts as big as ours, to make and grow traditions with each other so we are awake and ready to approach the awesome scene upon which we will arrive on December 25.

We see the scene every year, and every year we are asked to see it anew. The season of Advent helps us grow our hearts and minds in openness and joy so the scene will awe us in ways it never has before. What will you do this Advent as you come upon the scene of the birth of Jesus? What will you do before we celebrate Jesus’ arrival so you see him in new ways?

I placed my collection of Christmas/Winter themed children’s books on my main bookshelf. I’ve been reading from them to kids I know. I rediscovered “Ramona and the Three Wise Girls” by Beverly Cleary in the edited volume The Family Read-aloud Christmas Treasury.

As we put up our outdoor decorations, we needed a few replacement parts, including a new doormat. We chose one that says, “Probably watching Christmas movies.” So far, we’ve watched Die Hard and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.

Listening to Advent hymns (NOT Christmas carols) is a regular part of my days now. I look forward to the Lessons and Carols service performed by the choir at church so that I can learn more about the scriptures and hymns that tell the story leading to the scene of Jesus’ birth.

Below are a few family Advent resources you and yours might enjoy this season. What will you see differently this year when you come upon the scene in the manger of that labor of love?

Peace and joy!