We are in the second week of Advent and will celebrate Christmas in another several weeks. A dear friend of mine, several years ago, decided that he wanted to help make Indianapolis and the surrounding suburbs the nativity capitol of the world. Toward that end, I have been helping Jim spread the word about what he refers to as “PONS.” That stands for “Project Outdoor Nativity Scene.”
A year after my ministry partners, Roger and Rich, started Chaplains at Work with me (and Janet), I helped Jim start CBE, better known as the Catholic Business Exchange. I encouraged him to use the word Christian instead of Catholic, but his main focus was to provide a networking forum for the Catholic business community and time has born out that he was probably correct in the direction that he went. Each month, CBE holds a breakfast meeting after Mass, and then has a speaker who provides a short program for the attendees. I was honored to be one of the first presenters that Jim asked to address his group – that was about 20 years ago.
I am constantly amazed at the commitment of the Catholic community to support the initiatives of its members. Jim has been successful in his programming and connecting people from all walks of life in the CBE. That loyalty has been instrumental in growing several programs that Jim has a heart for.
A little more than four years ago, Jim developed his idea for providing nativity scenes in the Indianapolis community. Through his network of Catholic churches and schools, he came up with a way for people to support various ministries in the community while also purchasing, at a discount, nativity scenes that can be displayed during the Christmas season. He has sought my input and guidance as the effort has grown throughout the last four years. We have helped each other throughout the years with our respective ministries.
Now, it’s difficult to drive through Carmel and the surrounding communities without seeing numerous nativity sets proclaiming the “reason for the season” and professing the love of Jesus to anybody passing by. The whole project has been quite well received and I’m so glad that Jim had this vision and acted upon it when he did. There are now thousands of outdoor nativity scenes in our area.
But this year, more than any other, I have noticed the absence of Jesus in the manger taking center stage in the yard displays. It occurred to me that some folks may not understand this missing piece, the main reason for the Christmas story. Well, different faith traditions in the Christian community deal with the arrival of Jesus in different ways. While some denominations place Jesus in the manger during the season of Advent, other Christian faith traditions leave the manger empty until the evening of Christmas Eve. Growing up, I remember being in the annual Christmas pageant and the baby Jesus being carried it to take His place in the nativity set up on the stage in our auditorium next to the sanctuary. It was several days before Christmas but it illustrated the filling of the manger with the baby Jesus.
Leaving the manger empty certainly highlights the coming arrival of Emmanuel, God with us. In fact, when I pass an empty manger, I am struck by how incomplete the whole scene is. My default setting, from my youth, is that Jesus was always with us, but the truth is that He didn’t start his earthly physical existence until that night in Bethlehem several thousand years ago. I feel like a very important piece of the Christmas story is missing and you know what – I am uncomfortable with that, even though I know this depiction is more biblically accurate. I want to place Jesus in the manger when we set up the nativity! I can’t imagine a world without Him.
But that’s the whole point of Advent. It is the period of anxious expectation of the time when the Savior of the world will make His entrance. It is a divine plan orchestrated by the Creator of the universe and everything in it.
Our verse for tonight comes from an obscure place in the Bible – the prophecy about the birth of Jesus found in the book of Micah. This prophet tells us, in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’”
My encouragement this evening is that we can rest assured that Jesus will make His entrance at the perfect time. So let’s not rush this. My prayer is that we will use this Advent season to ponder and reflect on the coming of the Messiah in several weeks. Furthermore, how grateful we are that Jesus became fully human, yet fully divine, making us aware of the love of God as He lived among us during his earthly existence. We need never be separated from Him, ever, as we are assured of an eternity with Him. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…