SCRIPTURE
John 1: 14
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full grace and truth.

One of my favorite rituals of Christmas is unpacking and setting up my Nativity sets. I collect them as remembrances of special travels or chose ones that tell the nativity story differently than I so often see in local churches: a blonde Mary wrapped in blue, holding a happy, chubby Baby Jesus as Joseph gazes in adoration. To me, these different Nativity interpretations are reflections of how we long to find God’s image in our own.

Seeing how other cultures interpret the Nativity story always fascinates me. The set from Laos, bought one year at the Alternative Gift Fair, replaces the stable with a raised wooden hut. Baby Jesus sways in a hammock cradle, guarded by a water buffalo. Mary and Joseph wear sarongs. The Mexican one purchased in San Diego when my husband and I were first married, features not the three Magi, but a little girl with a basket of flowers who worships Jesus. My mother gave me an American Indian set with a tepee for shelter and a buffalo and two wolves guarding the manger. In another set, Baby Jesus rests in the Ecuador reed boat as Mary and Joseph with the long, dark faces reflective of that country’s art solemnly gaze down at him. In my set from Peru, Joseph and Mary are robed in traditional Peruvian garments and a llama offers its warmth to the babe.

Each year, these diverse images cause me to ponder how we long to find Jesus in our own faces, in our homes, and imagine him living a life like ours. I once read a Christmas story with the premise that God sent his son for the purpose of crossing the barrier we create of the unapproachable God by creating the bridge of Jesus. Our limited capability to understand created a barrier in communication. God’s answer wasn’t another burning bush or a thunderous voice from on high, but a human face - one that looks like us. Perhaps that is why we create nativity sets that reflect ourselves, our animals, our homes. The real challenge during this time of Advent, this time of waiting, is turning around the question, asking ourselves not how we see Jesus in ourselves but rather how can we find the image of Jesus in others. How do we find Jesus in those who are grouchy, impatient, overly talkative, lonely, perhaps homeless – people in whom we don’t want to find our images reflected?


With three children in three different schools, Beth Mixson is just happy when she makes it through the week without a leaving a child behind while her husband ,David literally flies in and flies out. She is always emphasizes with Martha in the New Testament.