Friends asked me to stop by their home after a Christmas party last night because they had something they wanted me to see.  Among other things, they had a collection of nutcrackers and this one sort of jumped out at me…

I must admit I NEVER thought I would see Elvis as a nutcracker!  However, Elvis has appeared in lots of unexpected places for me, and perhaps for you too.  And then there is that song “Blue Christmas” sung by Elvis. Maybe he is singing that while he stands on the star?  Look again at the nutcracker.  I’ve seen people peek over the top of their sunglasses, but never have I seen anyone peek out from under the bottom of the sunglasses, and with only one eye!  Pretty tricky!  (You should try it). Well, here is what my friends really wanted me to see…

They had a beautiful miniature village all lit up at night.  It was magical, and called me to come close.  It made me think again of the little town of Bethlehem, birthplace of baby Jesus.  Wondering about the night Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, I remembered again that the town was bustling with all sorts of visitors who had come to register.  Mary and Joseph tried to find a place to stay but “there was no room for them in the inn”.  So they stayed in the stable where the animals slept.  The Innkeeper often gets a bad rap for the issue of “no room”.  But it is still something worth pondering.

Here is a birds-eye view of the churchyard in the little village.  The choir is caroling by candlelight.  Mary and Joseph are in the stable out in front of the church and baby Jesus is lying in the manger.  The Angel is proclaiming the good news that a Savior is born for all people.  The pastor is close by with a young child who appears to be reading the Bible out loud.  The church is lit up inside revealing stained glass windows.  Now….the activity you cannot miss is what is happening front and center.  The nuns are having a snowball fight!  I wonder if they are having a ball playing in the snow, or are they taking this opportunity to somewhat graciously duke it out?  A couple of bystanders have joined in to take a potshot at the nuns.  It’s just not your normal nativity scene.  It does seem that there was no room for the holy family in the church.  What’s going on inside the church?  Is there no room for baby Jesus?

Or should baby Jesus be outside the walls of the church for the world to see?  What if he just can’t be captured and contained?  What if the Christ Child brings SO much JOY that people want to break out of their old habits and frolic in the snow?  Hummm….what do you think?

Questions to think about…

Where would you put baby Jesus…inside or outside?  And why?

If you were in this picture, what would you be doing?

nk