As a young pastor, I’m only now beginning to appreciate the different events I saw churches host while I was growing up. The reason being, I now realize the complete headache it must’ve been to organize!
No example stands out more to me than churches who offered a live nativity scene for their communities to enjoy. How in the world do pastors get people to volunteer to stand outside posed like a mime, dressed like a wiseman holding knock-off frankincense and myrrh, staring in amazement at a recycled Cabbage Patch Kids doll laying in a manger? And during December in small-town Minnesota, no less! It’s unbelievable.
I think because the nativity scene is so iconic people joyfully volunteered. It’s one of those sentimental things that both religious and non-religious people recognize and appreciate, so why not use it as an outreach opportunity? I get it.
Who is at the Nativity Scene is typically known, but usually not fully understood. With all the focus on Jesus, it’s easy to miss the cast of characters who surround him. I’m learning that the same characters that are portrayed in the nativity scene are the same people filling our churches during the Christmas season.
Do you recognize any of these people?
The curious
You might be surprised to hear that the “Wise Men” were not known for their wisdom. They were actually men who read the stars – think modern-day astrology. In the Christmas narrative, these astrologists saw a massively bright star in the sky, and were curious about what it symbolized for humanity. It was their curiosity that drove them to seek Jesus out.
Our churches are full of curious people who are trying to figure some things out. They might be coming to church for the first time after a crisis or maybe they’re bouncing around for a few months still feeling unsure, but ultimately, they come because they’re not sure who Jesus is or why it matters for them. Nonetheless, God has drawn them. It’s great that curious people fill our seats! We need to be ready to tell them about the hope we have in Jesus.
The lowly and tired
There is a reason the birth of the Savior was first announced to shepherds. It was to demonstrate that the Gospel is for all people—rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, male and female. I’m not sure what the shepherds’ response was when they were told that God’s Son had been born. I can imagine, though, that it was complete jubilation since it meant they could finally rest in the King’s arrival.
How many people who walk into our building feel beat up by life? Many will feel like they’ve taken one too many shots off the chin this year. How many people feel too inadequate to accept God’s love? As if they are beyond the reaches of His grace? Christmas is for them. Christmas is the announcement that God loves them, is among them, and invites them into eternal rest. I love the fact that lowly and tired people are finding Christ-centered peace in our midst.
The singers
It’s amazing to think that the angels who started singing about God’s glory at his birth have yet to cease singing. I wonder what that looked and sounded like… a myriad array of heavenly beings singing in tune with one another, all of them chanting the same chorus: “Glory to God!” No doubt it was awe-inspiring for those who witnessed it.
Most of us fall into this category. We know who Jesus is and we celebrate God’s with-ness. My question for us is this: Is our worship awe-inspiring? Does it match the intensity of the glory of the Savior’s birth? Worship must be evangelistic, and I wonder if all of the guests who visit our church during Christmas-time walk away in wonder because of how we worship. Does our passionate expression of worship leave them aching to know what makes us sing so loud?
Over the next 2 weekends God is going to entrust us with a cast of characters in our building. Each one of them has a story, and each one of them is coming for a different reason. The cynical person might bemoan a more crowded parking lot or poke fun at the once-a-year church-goers, but what if we celebrated their attendance instead? If the nativity scene teaches us anything, it’s that each person who was there then and each person who is present now has a place in THE Story.
