A Living Nativity on Graham Hopedale Road

One of the big influences on my beginnings in becoming a follower of Christ were  my experiences in the youth group of  Grace Church in Burlington.   The youth and the adults that worked with the youth of my home church were an important part of my life in my teen years  and I will always be grateful to God for them.  I remember an occasion when our youth fellowship group decided we wanted to have a “living nativity scene” for a series of nights in December near Christmas.       It was not uncommon for churches and businesses in those days to have wooden figures on their lawns in December that resembled Mary, Joseph, wise men, and the others in the “Christmas story”.    However, it was unusual in those days in our area  for that story to be told through real human beings and real livestock.

     

With the help and encouragement of our youth counselors and people in the church, we decided to have a living nativity scene for a series of nights near Christmas.   The lawn of our church seemed to be a prime spot to share the real message of Christmas with many since Graham-Hopedale Road was a main thoroughfare in that section of Burlington.    We built a outline of stable with old wood;  Carl Parks was kind enough to let us use some of his sheep and cows so we would have livestock for the stable.    Parents and youth counselors helped us create costumes that would resemble what our 1970’s mind thought was the way the shepherds, wise men, and the others dressed at the time.     Some parents volunteered to prepare hot chocolate and  snacks for us to enjoy when we came in from the winter cold.   We were excited and we were ready. 

Things did not turn out quite like we had planned or imagined.   Though some of the youth group were eager to sign up to be shepherds, after a few minutes they wandered away like lost sheep to other pursuits.     Though we thought it a great idea to have livestock in our 1970 stable, some of the sheep decided to wander away just like the shepherds and (unfortunately) one of the sheep was hit by a passing motorist.       While all of us were bundled with many layers of clothes, they were not thick enough to withstand the blistering cold and wind in piedmont North Carolina in December.     Youth that had been so eager to create a “living nativity scene”  soon realized that it was more than we had bargained for. 

I tell that true story because I think it a fitting metaphor of the way the story of the birth of Christ Jesus really is.   A young peasant pregnant girl named Mary and her betrothed, Joseph, make the trek to Bethlehem;   shepherds tending their flock have their tranquil night transformed by an angelic message and appearance.   Wise men in a country far away see a bright light in the heavens that beckons them to travel.    All came and all were  changed because of a God who gave them all more than they bargained for.  In the life of a small tiny child born in Bethlehem  God gave them and the whole world  a Savior who would save them from their sins.   Thanks be to God for this wondrous gift!-    Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   “O holy child of Bethlehem, descend on us we pray.   Cast out our sins and enter in, be born in us today.   We hear the Christmas angels; the great glad tidings tell.  O come to us; abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.”   Amen.