The nativity is one of the most familiar stories that we have in the New Testament. In December, in schools and churches across the nation, children will have taken part in nativity plays which tell how the infant baby Jesus came into the world. This mass participation in a biblical narrative, which I also took part in during my childhood at various points (as a shepherd, magi, and an angel), means that few people are unaware of what the Christmas story is.

However, when you read Luke’s Gospel there might be few surprises for those who have exclusively relied on school nativity plays for their knowledge. For instance, there is no mention of a donkey carrying Mary or an inn keeper telling the couple that there is no room.  There are no magi in Luke’s account, this being found in Matthew’s Gospel. The presence of animals is implied by Jesus being placed in the manger, but we are not told anything about them either. Recently I saw a number of pig and piglet figurines being sold as part of a nativity set. For obvious reasons, they would not have been present on that particular night!

Yet even those of us who are very familiar with Luke’s biblical account can be drawn in to certain romantic sentimentalism when it comes to the birth of Jesus. We need to be reminded that Jesus came into the world not at a ‘glitzy’ time but in a very difficult period for the Jewish people. With their land being occupied by a foreign power and ruled over by an oppressive tyrant, King Herod, a puppet of the Roman Empire, the people were longing for a saviour. Yet despite the gloomy context what shines through in the birth narrative is the joy and hope that Jesus’ coming brings to those who welcome him, particularly those at the very bottom of the social strata: The Shepherds. These are the first people, outside of the holy family, who learn of the birth of Jesus and they are also the first to go out and share the good news Luke’s account is a reminder that Jesus came into the world to bring good news to the poor, the downtrodden, and the outcast.
As his mother Mary declared, in her song known as the Magnificat:

“He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:52-53)

Jesus comes as a King, but as very different king from the one who ruled from the palace in Jerusalem or the imperial court in Rome. Instead, Jesus came to bring hope to a broken and hurting world, turning our sorrow into joy through his self-sacrificing love. He comes as a King who is not only for the lowly but is one of them, having taken the form of a servant amongst us.

Sometimes the glitz and the glamour of the Christmas season can be off-putting, especially when it does not reflect the real world challenges that we are facing. The biblical account reminds us that Jesus came into the world at a hard time so that God in Christ might be amongst us to offer us the light of his presence. Christ came to break down the barriers we create between us and God, to offer healing, wholeness, and forgiveness to a hurting world. To bring peace and to fulfil God’s promises, opening up the Kingdom to us. Most of all to bring us joy! That is what the incarnation is all about: God with us and God for us.

When I remember the nativity plays I participated in as a child it gives me joy that I was part of the story. However, the most wonderful thing is that through the birth of Jesus, God becomes part of our story to set us free and give us the greatest gift. So may you find joy this Christmas season and be blessed by the Lord as we celebrate Christ’s birth and presence with us.