Monday, December 24, 2007

The Nativity Scene


Growing up as a young lad, my parents always spoke to me about the birth of Jesus Christ found in Luke 2 of the Holy Bible.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”


Luke 2:1-7

Now most of my life, I have always pictured the nativity scene as these ceramic statues of the three wise men, the kings, the shepherds, the sheep, the angel, the star, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus all in the wooden manger. It wasn’t until recently that I really gave thought as to how it really might have been. Looking at this photo from the movie “The Nativity” (2006), it occurred to me that all these “spectators” in our average manger scenes were more than likely no where to be found and that the only ones there were Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.

If you have ever given birth before or have been present during the time of a birth, you can very easily imagine the intimacy and joy that must have been shared between Mary and Joseph as she gave birth to their child in that small manger. Whether it is God’s son or simply their first born, the emotion they must have shared was nothing short of extreme joy and love. The awe that must have been seen on Joseph’s face and the pride he must have felt would have been evident as Mary looked upon him. The pain that Mary went through as she gave birth to her first born was the same pain that every other expectant mother through the ages has experienced to give life to something so wonderful and blessed. It was a pain of labour… a labour of love… a love for her child, for her husband, for her God.

So, as you think of the Manger scene, remember that Mary and Joseph are not just characters in movies and in ceramic manger scenes, but, in fact, real people who risked all to give birth to this wonderful real life child named Jesus whose birth millions of Christians celebrate every December 25th .

38 comments:

Carol said...

Hi Dave - just popped over to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas. I hope you have a lovely day

C

Lilli & Nevada said...

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Thank you for your comment on my blog i hope to come visit you more.

Akelamalu said...

I followed a link from Serenity and Love and just wanted to say what a lovely post!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family, may they be everything you are hoping for.

Reiki Blessings
Akelamalu

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this lovely post and Christmas wishes here and in my blog.
I wish you and your loved ones very happy Christmas time and all the best
in 2008!

beachgirl said...

MERRY CHRISTMAS DAVE TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

I love the post. I remember the closeness of having my children. I had never felt as close to my wusband as I did those 3 times. Especially the first, when he was our total focus at that time. Thanks for sparking a good memory.

Merry Christmas!!

K M F said...

very nice

imac said...

Looks a cool blog you have Dave.

Love the count down counter for retirement, bet it goes slower when you look at it, mine maybe under 300 days haha.

Thanks for visiting my lil ol blog and your comments.

Becky Wolfe said...

Thanks for this beautiful & real reminder of that special nativity night.

Merry Christmas to you!

quintarantino said...

Dave, came all the way acrosso the big Atlantic ocean just to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!

Wayne said...

Warm wishes to you and yours for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Wayne

Andrea said...

Wonderful post but that is what I was going to post for tomorrow for Christmas day. LOL Glad to see someone else seeing the true reason for celebrating CHRISTmas.

May God bless you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Merry Christmas
from Andrea

Oswegan said...

Merry Christmas!

~Oswegan

Isadora said...

Kellemes Karacsonyi Unnepeket! from Budapest to you.

Agape,
Isadora

KOSTAS said...

Dave,
Your reasons, bring emotion, for the picture of scene in the film.
You have sensitive soul.
This days, are days '' Religious charms ', for all the Christians of World.
The God it blesses you and your family.
Merry Christmas.

Kerri Farley said...

Merry Christmas Dave!

I look forward to blogging with you in the New Year!!

alicesg said...

Merry Christmas Dave and your family. Thank you for visiting my blog. :)

Unknown said...

That's a very real and refreshing take on what Christmas is all about.

Wishing you a very happy and blessed Christmas.

martin said...

Merry Christmas Dave. Hope it goes well and you won't need your new snow shovel to much !. Thanks for your visit, we will see more of each other in the future.

Jamie said...

Merry Christmas Dave, to you and your family.

Thank you for visiting my blog recently...I will be back here again.

Joy said...

Hi Dave! I love the story of Christ's birth. Having gone to schools run by nuns, needless to say I shall never forget who the Holy Family really were!

Happy Christmas!

Forgive my tardy visit to your blog. I have been away from my computer for the last 4 days and have now just flown back in from another part of the Philippines. Your visits to my blog/s, however, are much appreciated!

joy
Norwich Daily Photo
The Goddess In You
Your Love Coach

Annie said...

Hello Dave, you have experienced the joy of Christmas in your imagining the original day. Birth is a marvel and the amazement of new life is revisited with every birth.

Happy day to you and yours. Annie

zakscloset said...

thanks for your comment on my blog! and thanks for sharing the lovely story. i wish you merry merry christmas! hope you'll have a wonderful time with your lovely family and enjoy lots of great food! (yes, food is my thing, haha)

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Ruth W. said...

so very well put Dave..what a labour of love for them to both go through.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was a real place with real people. I know the shepherds showed up and without a doubt...angels filled the heavens! I'm sure there were more than you and or I could even begin to imagine. What a sight it must have been...awesome!

Love what you posted. It did make me think.

Max-e said...

Hi Dave
Hope you have a really blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Great post

Joyce's Ramblings said...

Loved this post Dave. I hope you are enjoying a great Christmas with your family. We need to have more blogers state the reason for Christmas. I know I would not have liked a croud at any of my deliveries. My husband wasn't in the room with me but that has change in the last years.

Moh Bakhrian Syah said...

even i dont celebrate christmas... i know it must be exciting for every christian, right?

dave thank you for visiting me...
and please give your permission for me to add you blog in my friend lists.

Greg C said...

Merry Christmas Dave. What a great post. Thanks for visiting my blog.

heiresschild said...

beautiful post Dave. that's what the Christmas season is really about, reflecting on the real nativity scene and the reason behind it.

my link info has changed, so when you click on my name, it'll take you to my blog and you can get the new link info there. the present link you have is obsolete.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Great post with a wonderful perspective of the Christmas story. Thanks.

Portia said...

Beautiful post! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Dave.

Dave said...

Hi Carol & Chris!Thanks for dropping by. I hope your day went well! :-)

Hi Lilli & Nevada! Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to returning to your blog soon!

Akelamalu, Thanks for your lovely words. Have a good day! :-)

Thanks for coming by leenam. Have yourself a good holiday season and great 2008 as well. I will be back to your post again soon. Take care :-)

I concur beachgirl. Being there for my children's births... What a great experiece!

Thanks k m f.. Hope to see you again.

iamc... Maybe you and I can trade retirement dates!! :-) LOL

Take care!

Hi Becky!.. I'm glad I got to touch base with you before Christmas. I sincerely hope you have a blessed season. Take care!

Happy Christmas to you abbagirl!

quintarantino...Have yourself a great CHristmas as well! :-)

me... Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a great Christmas season as well.

andrea...I hope I didn't "rain on your parade!" I will be checking in on your site today... I have no doubt I will enjoy your post. Take care.. :-)

Hi oswegan Merry Christmas to you as well. :-)

isadora... Merry Christmas to you as well! :-)

Thanks for your comment kostas! Have yourself a great season as well.

Kerri... I look forward to hearing from you in the near future as well. I have no doubt that I will be at "your place" as well. Take care! :-)

Thanks for stopping by alicesg!

absolute vanilla (and atyllah... Thanks for stopping by. I hope your Christmas season will be great. Take care!

Hi Martin! Thanks for stopping by. Made it through Christmas day without touching that darn shovel! LOL Take care!

Hi simonsays! Have yourself a very merry Christmas time as well. :-)

Joy... Nice to hear from you again! I look forward to all your visits. Will be by you place often as well. Have a great season! :-)

Hi annie! You are right when you say that birth is definitely a marval and an amazement. I sincerely hope you experienced the joy of Christmas as we;;. :-)

zakscloset... Thanks for returning the visit. I look forward to many more returns both ways. Have yourself a very merry Christmas time!

Hey, you are welcome alexander! Merry Christmas to you as well. :-)

Hi Ruth... It certainly was a labour of love! Take care! Hope you had a Merry Christmas as well. :-)

Hi just a thought ginger... You are right... It must have been an awesome sight!!

max-e... Hope you have a blessed season as well! :-)

Hi Joyce's ramblings... Yes... a crowd isn't what most birth mothers want now do they! LOL Have yourself a great holiday! :-)

moh bakhrian syah...Permission granted and appreciated. Nice to meet you and take care. :-)

Thanks gardener greg! Merry Christmas to you as well! :-)

Heiresschild... Found that link the other day... Got me worried for a minutes there a few days ago. ;-) Have yourself a blessed season. Will see you soon.

Hi LGS... We don't talk much lately... Hope everything is okay. Hope you have yourself a blessed Christmas.

Portia... Good to hear from you. I hope you had a great Christmas as well. :-)

lv2scpbk said...

Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season. Nice post.

none said...

That's what I picture too.

Good post. I wonder if kids are getting the message these days.

Jules said...

This is something we all need to keep in mind - as the "bling" of Christmas often takes over!!!

Janice Thomson said...

A beautiful post Dave and a wonderful reminder. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you the best in 2008.

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!