MY CHILDREN HAVE a toy nativity scene that they play with every Christmas. The toy comes complete with plastic sheep, cows, pigs, three wise men, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus (I believe that Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus are cartoon vegetables). Placing this nativity under a lighted trees makes Jesus’ birth look calm, peaceful and possibly even cute. The reality, however, is that Jesus’ birth was likely unpleasant, stressful, and anticlimactic (at least by worldly standards). Let’s face it: Jesus was born in a smelly barn! And this place was no modern barn with running water and clean stalls. It was a first century barn (the stench and filth of which I can only imagine).
With the birth of all my children, my wife was surrounded by her obstetrician, anesthesiologist, and nurses. The delivery room was comfortable, spotlessly clean, well appointed, and decorated with pink wallpaper and maple trim. Even the bed was completely adjustable to make delivery as ergonomic and comfortable as possible. Now contrast this with Mary’s environment! Who was there to help her? How did she overcome all the practical barriers of delivering a baby in a barn? Where did she lay down that was even clean? Can you imagine Joseph shooing away a cow between Mary’s contractions? Although Christians view Jesus’ birth with sentimentality, it was unlikely that Mary had fond memories of that time. When Mary retold this story later to her family and friends, she undoubtably was not filled with nostalgia as she recalled placing Jesus in a cattle trough (or manger, if you prefer). She was probably saying, “And then I had to place Jesus in a manger! Can you imagine that! The Messiah had to sleep in a box covered with cow spittle and old hay!”
The Bible reminds us that the only reason Mary was forced to give birth in a barn was because “there was no room in the inn.” Jesus should have been born in a palace filled with glittering gold, expectant attendants, and ergonomic beds; not next to flies, cow manure, and pig excrement! And the fact that there was “no room in the inn” has become an accurate metaphor for the condition of our hearts—there was “no room in our hearts.” We did not expect or necessarily want him in our lives. Nobody welcomed him!
The Transformation
When we think of someplace holy and sacred, we think of an ornate church with all its grandeur. We definitely don’t think of a barn! But God had other ideas of what holiness should look like, and He sanctified that barn by turning it from a dirty place into a holy place. In doing so, God reminded us that holiness is not determined by how a room is decorated—it’s determined by who is in the room with us. In this case, baby Jesus infused that dirty, smelly, and uncomfortably place with God’s holy presence. And although his birth was likely stressful, uncomfortable, and tiring for Mary and Joseph, Christians hold the Christmas story with wonder, excitement, and delight simply because that which was cheerless and commonplace was divinely infused with joy, beauty, meaning, and hope. And there is an unsaid wish in all of us that the same thing will happen within the “barn” of our lives. We want the Christmas story to live in us.
