The Twelve Blogs of Christmas

This year, I’m joining Matthew Paul Turner and some other friends in a series called the Twelve Blogs of Christmas.

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Every winter, our living room hummed with anticipation as cardboard boxes were handed down from the attic. My favorite box was labeled “MANGER SCENE” in big, black letters. Inside, a dozen or more balls of crumpled newspaper were packed carefully to protect their treasures. Each pod held a manger figure—one person or animal—that had been waiting eleven months to take its position in the little wooden Christmas stable.

In the days that followed, my dad would let me unwrap a solitary figure, just one each day, and whatever piece emerged from my selected wrappings would inspire that day’s story. If we discovered a lamb stuffed in the crinkled-up want ads, we would consider the Nativity from the lamb’s perspective.

What would the lamb have witnessed the night the angels appeared? Would he have run for cover as the sky lit up with heavenly beings? Or would he have grazed quietly, all the while his eyes fixed on something supernatural? What about as the lamb approached the manger bearing the infant Jesus? Would he have had some sort of suspicion that    this human newborn would change the world?

Each night, one more figure appeared from its newspaper hibernation. A shepherd. A foreign king. Joseph. Mary. But the central manger-scene figure—the tiny, painted-face Jesus in swaddling, ceramic clothes—was always saved for last. It was his story that brought all the other stories together.

Imagining the Christmas story and its effect on each figure became a delightful ritual. But what I remember being most significant each year was my own role as unwrapper. As I unfolded baby Jesus’ newspaper cradle, the story expanded from him to include me. What was I thinking as I considered the baby born to change the world? How did I react, living in a world where such a baby had altered the course of history?

This is when I learned that the Christmas story is not just for observing, but for participating. A long time ago, Jesus Christ was born. But today, Christ is born in us. And so we would be wise to spend some time wondering with the sheep and the shepherds, how does this baby change my life?

(If you enjoyed this seasonal reflection from Sarah, you might want to check out the Mosaic Bible or this free pdf sampler–both of which include this story.)

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The series attempts to set aside some internet space to celebrate the true spirit of Christmas. In line with this, we’re also offering some ways for you to add a little meaning to your holiday.

World Vision not only offers the chance to sponsor a child, but the World Vision Gift Catalog provides a practical way to give help to people in need. You can give families everything from clean water to  ducks. Yes ducks. Tell me you are not awesome if you give someone a duck for Christmas.

If, as you check out this blogs and others, you decide you want to get in on the action, please feel free to blog about what Christmas means to you as well. If you’d like to share your blog post with us, just go to this site and click on Add Your Link.