You know the usual Christmas story (Luke 2:1-20). It happened “in those days” when Emperor Augustus issued a decree to “all the world.” He was pretty full of himself. It happened “in that region” where shepherds were living in the fields and working the night shift. They were neither imperial nor august. They were, rather, empty of power, privilege, and position. 

“In those days” and “in that region” Christmas happened. Jesus was born. God lived among them as one of them. God restored and affirmed the dignity of human nature. And that has consequences and implications for how we live and how we see and treat one another and ourselves. 

I used to say that I never tired of hearing that story. It used to be enough to remember and celebrate what happened “in those days” and “in that region.” Not anymore. Emperor Augustus and shepherds are as real and present in these days and in this region as they were “in those days” and “in that region.” And human dignity is in need of being restored and affirmed.

I don’t want to just hear the then and there story of Christmas. I want to live a here and now story of Christmas. Don’t you? 

• What good is it to us if Christmas happened “in those days” and “in that region” if it does not also happen in these days and in this region?
• What good is it to us if Jesus was born in Bethlehem if he is not also born anew in us?
• What good is it to us if the shepherds find him lying in a manger if we do not also find him lying in the manger of our life?

What does the manger of your life look like these days? What does the manger of this country’s life look like? What are you seeing? Feeling? 

• Is it darkness? This Child is the Light of the world.
• Is it violence? This Child is the Prince of Peace, the one who will say, “Put away your sword.”
• Is it hunger? This Child is the Bread of Life.
• Is it thirst? This Child is the Cup of Salvation.
• Are you afraid or lost? This Child is the Good Shepherd.
• Are you grieving and sorrowing? This Child is the one will say, “I am the resurrection and the life.” “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
• Are you feeling alone or abandoned? This Child is the one who will say, “I am with you always.”
• Do you see corrupt power? This Child will cleanse the temple.
• Do you see arrogance and power grabbing? This Child is the one who will say, “Whoever wants to be great must be servant of all.
• Do you see need and pain in the world? This Child is the one who will say, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 
• Are you looking for trustworthy leaders? This Child is the one who will say, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”

What does it mean for this Child to be laid in the manger of your life, here and now, in these days and in this region? It has consequences and implications for how we live and how we see and treat one another and ourselves. 

What will you do with this Child? Where will you let him take you? How far will you follow him? What will you allow him to do with you? 

Our answers to those questions tell a Christmas story that happens in these days and in this region. What’s you here and now Christmas story?

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Image Credit: By Puccio di Simone – This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.