Advent and the Center of Everything

On the best part of decorating...

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite parts of Christmas decorating was setting out the Nativity scene. This had less to do with the importance of Jesus in the Christmas season, and more to do with the doll-house-type figurines I could arrange in and around the little stable.

I loved arranging and re-arranging the people and animals. Every year, it would take several minutes to distinguish between the shepherd, Joseph, and wise-men. (The wise men usually wore crowns, so that made it a little easier. But Joseph and the shepherds both looked a little ragged, don’t you think?) Which one belonged closest to Jesus, opposite Mary? Mary, of course, was always in the kneeling position, which seemed strange to me since I knew from the story that she just gave birth. Shouldn’t she be lying down or something?

Anyway, from an early age I felt it was important to arrange the scene in such a way as for the passerby to be able to admire the faces and details of each figure. Symmetry was important, too, so that the view had an overall balanced and pleasing effect (you know, don’t just clump all the animals on one side of the stable). Make sure the wise men are ordered from tallest to shortest. These things are important.

These days, we have quite a few Nativity scenes to set out. Most of these have been gifted to us over the years, probably as a result of the fact that my husband is a pastor, and Jesus-gifts are a fan favorite. I’m not complaining! I love each set we have, from the one made from the wood of an olive tree grown in the Holy Land, to the Fisher Price one that plays Away in the Manager. Each year, since my girls were old enough to be of actual help, I enlist their services in setting up the various scenes around the house.

Their method is shocking. Prepare yourself.

Disregarding all notions of order, reason, or ascetics, my girls arrange the scene with the little baby Jesus in the center, and everyone and every animal surrounding Him. For a number of years, this would drive me mad. I mean, honestly, you cannot even see the faces the figures! When you walk by, do you really want to admire the backs of three kings? Does baby Jesus really want a sheep right in his face, sniffing Him? What’s this circle thing in the middle of the table, set awkwardly in front of an empty stable?

A quiet and unspoken war would often rage during the Christmas season these last years. I would secretly rearrange the Nativity scenes to reflect a more pleasing, pastoral experience for the viewer, only to find the figures moved once again, forming a circle around the infant child.

Then, perhaps it was as late as last year, conviction struck deep. My girls were unwittingly teaching me an important spiritual lesson. I had my Nativity scenes entirely wrong. The Christmas story—my whole life, actually—is about Jesus. He plays the role of the center of everything. His birth, His coming to dwell with us, actually did draw the masses to encircle Him, breathless with awe and wonder. If I arrange the scene so everyone and everything is facing out, am I not making this entire experience about me? Is the story about me? About what I can see and understand? Do I live my life standing next to Jesus, rather than facing Him?

I’ve heard that if we’re living rightly with the season of Advent, one shouldn’t place the baby Jesus into the Nativity scenes until late Christmas Eve. How do you imagine that would look around my house? A dozen scenes of figurines huddled in circles, staring at nothing in the center? If I could get over myself and mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I could see it for what it really is: Hope in waiting.

The shepherds, the kings, Mary, and Joseph…they were all waiting, of course. They were waiting for a Savior to rescue them. And so are we. If someone passed by, looking into my life, would they see me waiting expectedly for the return of the King?

What about you? What are your family traditions involving Christmas decor? Have Nativity scenes played a role in your family’s Christmas story?