by Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
There’s something about the Nativity Play…
As a church minister I’ve sat through performances of Follow the Star, The Grumpy Shepherd, The Whoops-a-Daisy Angel, and many, many more.
The cast of characters expanded to accommodate large classes.
And I’ve been the mum at the primary 1 Nativity Play watching other mums and grannies almost coming to blows over who was making what costume.
In my church in Melrose in the Scottish Borders we do Messy Church, a creative way of being church for all ages and for our first Christmas we did an unrehearsed ‘scratch’ nativity and had amassed a range of props and costumes.
Chances are most of you reading this were once in a Nativity Play – a cast of ex-angels, shepherds and kings, Marys and Josephs, maybe even sheep or camels.
We’re told in Luke’s Gospel about the census called by the Emperor Augustus.
Then we read – ‘Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David.
He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby.
She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn.’ (Luke 2:4-7)
A few verses of scripture that over 2,000 years have kindled an incredible flame of creativity in art, drama and song.
Sometimes we forget just how stark the original narrative is and how much we have added to it and have incorporated into tradition.
Take the innkeeper – well he’s never actually mentioned yet we have built up this character to be one of the real baddies of the piece – turning God incarnate away, consigning him to the cattle shed.
Christmas is all about welcome, Mary welcomed Jesus into her womb.
In their own ways Mary, Joseph, the innkeeper and the shepherds all made room in their hearts and their lives for others and for God in human form.
This Christmas, as we remember again the birth of Jesus, who do you need to welcome? Who do you need to make time for? Who could you help? Who do you need to make room for in your heart, your life? How could you share the joy of Christmas?
I hope you get to enjoy a Nativity Play.