nearly there

The waiting is nearly over. I need to go and retrieve the Jesus figure from behind the greenery on the mantle to complete our nativity and I suspect that someone has already stuck Jesus in the middle of the velcro-figure advent calendar - which only has 24 days. There was great consternation two days ago when it was revealed that someone had stuck a wiseman in Joseph's space near the crib - and comments about "well who could get those confused."

But the story of Jesus birth has a large cast of characters - most of us have committed these to memory but I was interested to find that my eight year old had shepherds, kings and gifts a little muddled. It was a fun conversation.

She asked if I believed in magic and I said my magic at Christmas came from the Christmas story. It seemed to satisfy her as she worries about my non-belief in Santa - a fact I was forced to admit by a persistent line of questioning which would have forced me to lie outright. My belief in God's magic was enough to redeem me from the totally cynical corner into which she had begun to paint me!

One of the really magical things about the Christmas Scene is that it is not just for looking - we are invited in - the cast of characters just keeps growing - endless people through all time, in history and in the future - we are invited to peek into God's glory revealed on earth, come on in and be a part of the story.

I was watching the Black Adder Christmas Special on TV yesterday (whilst sewing Christmas presents) and noticed again that the Prince complains that he does not want to hear the story about the bloke born in the stable and who gets himself killed on a hill with a couple of other blokes. It is a miserable story - he says.

This is an astute comment - the story we enter into is both joyous and demanding - whilst we may be used to our journey and the hills and valleys of the Christian life - looking from the outside it can seem a daunting task to commit to this story, to be a part.

At Christmas, perhaps more than any other time, we have the opportunity to hear God's call but more than that to share in God's call to others who come, perhaps, looking for a pretty picture, but need to be encouraged to come on in and join the varied and wonderful cast of characters.