The Core of Christmas
A Message from the Producer
Christmas has really become an amazingly complex social, cultural, traditional, economic and religious phenomenon. Many different layers of wrappings need to be peeled away to get to the core of what Christmas is all about.
First, Christmas has become an incredibly commercial time of year. Holiday shopping is a major driver of our entire economy. With so many businesses competing for our attention and dollars, it’s not surprising that we can feel overwhelmed this time of year. But we know that the heart of Christmas is not commerce.
Then there are the many secular symbols, stories and songs that have become so much a part of the Christmas season—many of which may be intertwined with decades of treasured memories from our childhood. Those traditions include Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, the Nutcracker, Ebenezer Scrooge, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and many more. You may love them or hate them, but you know that these are not the reason why we celebrate Christmas.
Next, we have many centuries of family and ethnic traditions: the Christmas trees, different kinds of cookies and treats, mistletoe, Christmas stockings, special dresses, red and green decorations, beautiful lights and spiced cider after a horse-drawn sleigh-ride. People send cards, travel great distances and make great sacrifices to “be home for Christmas.” Others open their hearts and wallets to give to the needy or to have an added measure of cheer and goodwill this special time of year. These traditions may strengthen families, bring joy and strengthen the bonds between generations—and some of these traditions and trappings of the season may have some connection to the birth of Christ—but they are not the primary reason for the season.
The reason for the season is the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the World. When we think of keeping the focus on Christ at Christmastime, the thing that usually comes to mind is the baby in a manager—the Nativity scene. Representations of the nativity scene come in many shapes and sizes. Imagine trying to count all the different nativity scenes you could find in the Twin Cities area this time of year! People put them on their tables, in their yards and above their fireplaces—all in an effort to make sure that the core of Christmas is not lost in all the wrappings and other traditions.
When churches want to do something to focus on Christ’s birth, it usually involves some form of a Nativity scene. Some are simple; others are elaborate. Some are sculptures, or wood-carvings, or performances by kids, while others are an elaborate “Live Nativity” with elaborately-costumed adults and live animals. But all we get to see is a single “snapshot” of one of the most important evenings in the history of the world.
In an effort to make the scene more interesting, there are usually a lot of things added that don’t really belong there if we really want stick with what the Bible says.
Many of your may know that the Wise Men were not there that night. And if we trust the Bible more than a popular Christmas song, these Magi were not kings, and we don’t even know how many there were. (The Bible mentions three gifts, but never specifies how many Magi made the journey.) It is almost certain that they arrived months—or even a year or two—after Jesus was born, and Matthew 2:11 said they came to a house—not the inn in Bethlehem, to give their gifts to the child.
The camels usually show up in the Nativity scenes because the Magi traveled from the East. So if the Magi were not at the manger scene, it’s pretty unlikely that someone else had camels there. But, Magi and camels have a lot of artistic appeal to make a nativity scene more interesting.
My purpose here is not to be critical of the efforts of others to try to keep the focus on Christ at Christmas time. Instead, I want to help you gain a more complete view of the night Jesus was born by thinking about the many things that we either know from the Bible or that are very reasonable to assume were part of that special night.
- An inn—where Joseph and Mary tried to get a room, only to find it was completely full.
- An innkeeper. Inns were run by innkeepers—and this innkeeper had a full house of guests.
- The innkeeper’s family. It is highly likely that the innkeeper had his wife doing much of the work at the inn, and he probably had his kids pitching in on such a busy night.
- A lot of tired travelers filling the inn to its maximum capacity. The process for the census required people to travel back to their family’s hometown. This was a major undertaking, and the travelers had certainly experienced some hardships on the journey.
The context of the census was that the Romans were collecting taxes and wanted to have an accurate count of the Jewish people. The Jewish people resented the Roman taxes, and they had grown weary of waiting for the promised Messiah.
When Joseph realized that his fiancée was about to give birth to the Messiah, don’t you think he probably tried to get some help or maybe find someone to give up a room for him and Mary? And maybe—in desperation—he could have even let the word out that his baby was going to be the Messiah. (How hard would it be not to let THAT out?) And once Joseph began to tell of a message from angels, the discussions at the inn probably got very interesting!
One Bethlehem Night brings that scene alive. You’ll gain a fresh set of insights into what may have happened on that first Christmas night. The script, musical score, the orchestra, the choreography, the costumes and the performers tell the story in an entertaining way. But the purpose of this show is not just to entertain. It should make you think. Traditions can so easily take the place of truth. Returning to the Bible and digging a little deeper can bring a fresh, powerful new understanding of nearly every aspect of Christianity. I hope this musical helps deepen your understanding of the core of Christmas and inspires you to study the Bible with fresh eyes to see new details that you may not have focused on previously.
Bill Barberg
Minneapolis/St. Paul Church of Christ