Extra Christmas Lesson #3

I just read The Purpose of Christmas, by Rick Warren.  It has a great message and many helpful insights which are almost entirely compatible with LDS doctrine.  (The only deviation I can see is that he says Jesus did not come to organize a religion, and I'm pretty sure he did, since he set up apostles, seventies, the sacrament, baptism, and temple worship.  But that's only one sentence in the entire book.) 

You can read an outline and some great quotes from the book which would make a great lesson if you filled it in a bit, in my new personal online notes file (which is another blog, to make it easily searchable). 

Here is the link:  The Purpose of Christmas

Extra Christmas Lesson #2

If you didn't give this lesson earlier in the year, it fits very well at Christmastime:

http://gospeldoctrineplus.blogspot.com/2011/01/nt-lesson-3-unto-you-is-borna-saviour.html

Extra Christmas Lesson #1

If you have an extra week and would like to give a special Christmas-oriented lesson on faith, please follow this link to one I posted in 2009, "The Measure of Our Faith."

Old Testament Lesson #47 "Let Us Rise Up and Build"/Christmas Lesson

Ezra 1-8; Nehemiah 1-2; 4; 6; 8

(Note:  This lesson is heavy on Christmas and light on Ezra and Nehemiah.  I just can't give a lesson the week of Christmas without focusing on the birth of Christ, but I have included links to more material on Ezra and Nehemiah for those who would like them.)

PREPARATION

Before class, decorate the room with 14 large paper stars.  Hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire and thumb tacks, or tape them to the rim of the white board or chalkboard, etc.  You may also want to display a nativity scene on the table.

INTRODUCTION (Just for fun)

If you have a class with a good sense of humor (or if they need one), you may want to introduce this lesson by showing a 2-minute, 45-second Claymation video segment, "The Carol of the Bells," starting at the 45-second mark. Before showing the video, tell the class there is a symbolic significance to it that relates to the prophecies of Christ, however obscure.  After showing the video, you can freeze the picture at the 45-second mark to let the class see if they can figure out the symbol.  Tell them, if they can't figure out the symbol, the same symbol is found in the stars hanging around the room.  Most likely, no one will be able to guess correctly, but it will grab their attention and keep them listening for the answer which will come much later in the lesson.

RETURN TO JERUSALEM

This lesson takes us back in time 400-500 years before the first "Christmas" in Bethlehem to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.  Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries and colleagues in the rebuilding of the kingdom of God.  The two books go together and are actually just one book in the Jewish Bible.  Babylon, where the Jews had been taken, had been overthrown by Cyrus of Persia, as foretold by King Nebechudnezzar's dream of the great image (Daniel 2).  Cyrus encouraged the Jews to begin their return to Jerusalem to build up their temple.  And why did he feel inclined to do that?  Because he found his name in the prophecy, foretelling that he would.

Ezra 1:1-4:  "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven [remember, that is the Persian term for the God of the Jews; see previous post] hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."

Josephus wrote, "This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spoken thus to him in a secret vision:--'My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple.'  This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished.  Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfil what was so written; so he called for the most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that he gave them leave to go back to their own country, and to rebuild their city Jerusalem, and the temple of God, for that he would be their assistant, and that he would write to the rulers and governors that were in the neighbourhood of their country of Judea, that they should contribute to them gold and silver for the building of the temple, and besides that, beasts for their sacrifices."  (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter 1, verses 1 & 2)

Here is the prophecy Cyrus read about himself as recorded in our present-day Old Testament:  "Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things...That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."  (Isaiah 44:24, 28)  The prophecy to Cyrus continues on in Isaiah 45, promising the Lord's aid to Cyrus as he performs this work.

So nearly 50,000 Jews went back to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple.  The joy for the Jews when the temple was complete was contrasted with the sorrow of the old men who remembered the glory and splendor of the previous temple, as recorded in Ezra 3:11-13.  "Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house [remember this was 70 years after they had been taken captives in Babylon, so these people must have been nearing 90 or 100 to remember the first temple] when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy" (Ezra 3:12).  (Institute Manual 29-4, 29-14)

EZRA

The first six chapters of Ezra take place 60 to 80 years before his time.  There is no record of what happened in those years (Bible Dictionary, p. 669), but it must have been something bad, because a lot of damage had been done to Jerusalem.  Ezra was a priest (Ezra 7:6), and he received the king's permission to lead another group of Jews back to Jerusalem and reform the Jews living there.

"Along with Nehemiah, [Ezra] took steps to instruct the people in the Mosaic law.  Hitherto, the law had been to a great extent the exclusive possession of the priests.  It was now brought within the reach of every Jew." (ibid.)  In other words, most of the people had never had access to the scriptures, never heard them read in their entire lives, and their worship had, obviously, drifted and deviated from the Word of God.  It was a time similar to that following the Dark Ages in Europe, when Wycliffe and Tyndale translated the Bible into English and made it available to the commoner (although Wycliffe and Tyndale paid the price for their effort with their lives).

Read Nehemiah 8:1-4, 12, 17-18 for the beautiful account of the reading of the scriptures to the people.

(For much more on Ezra, see the Institute Manual.)

NEHEMIAH

Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer (Neh. 1:11), a high-ranking civil servant, was allowed to go back as well.  Nehemiah became the leader of the re-building effort and, while under attack, rebuilt the walls of the city.

"Nehemiah stands out as one of the noble men in the Old Testament. As he fulfilled a necessary mission in his day, he demonstrated the highest level of dedication and courage, both in the practical matter of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and also in the spiritual matter of rebuilding the religious life of his people" (Institute Manual).

“[Nehemiah's] career presents an exceptional combination of strong self-reliance with humble trust in God, of penetrating shrewdness with perfect simplicity of purpose, of persistent prayerfulness with the most energetic activity; and for religious faith and practical sagacity he stands conspicuous among the illustrious personages of the Bible.” (J. R. Dummelow, ed., A Commentary on the Holy Bible, p. 278, quoted in Institute Manual)

For more on Nehemiah, see the Institute Manual.

LINK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT AND CHRISTMAS

Sadly, there are many people today who do not treasure the scriptures, even though they are easily accessible to almost anyone in almost any country of the world, thanks to the Internet and the efforts of the Church Translation Department.  The Christmas season is one time of the year, however, that many people who are not exposed to religion in any way allow just a little bit of the scriptures into their lives.  For example, the Christmas special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which first aired in 1965, is the longest-running television Christmas special in history.  Charles Schulz wrote it to include the Bible recitation of the Christmas story in Luke 2, to the chagrin of the network authorities.  They were sure that the television audience would not like scripture in their Christmas entertainment.  It was too late once they found out the content to do anything about it, as the special had already been advertised and scheduled.  So they ran it, expecting it to be a flop.  To their surprise it was a huge hit in the ratings that week, and has run every year since then:  For 45 years the scriptural account of the birth of Christ has been a part of American families' Christmas viewing.  ("A Christmas Miracle:  The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas" DVD featurette in the Remastered Deluxe Edition of "A Charlie Brown Christmas")  If you have access to this video, you may want to play it for the class beginning at the point where Charlie Brown cries out, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" and ending with Linus saying, after reciting Luke 2, "That's what Christmas is about, Charlie Brown."

Linus was right:  That is, indeed, what Christmas is about. The heart of Christmas, Jesus, is also the heart of the scriptures. We can link the Old Testament to the New Testament (which will be our study for next year) with a special set of prophecies significant to the life and mission of Christ. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NUMBER 14



Did you figure out the symbol in the bells and the stars?  It is the number 14.  (On the board, post the number 14.)

• There were 14 bells celebrating Christ's birth in the Christmas carol on the video.
• There are 14 stars hanging in the room proclaiming Christ's birth as the Star of Bethlehem did.
• Matthew used the number 14 to teach the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

Each of the four gospel writers wrote the story of Christ and his ministry a little differently from the others, because each of them had a different background and was writing to convince a different audience.  (More on this in a later blog entry.)  Matthew was a Jew, writing to Jews, and the purpose of his book was to teach the Jews that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and law.  You may have looked at the first chapter of Matthew before and thought, "BORING!  Why did he stick this big recitation of genealogy in here rather than get straight to the great story about Jesus' birth and life?"  Because before he told the Jews about Jesus, he wanted to tell them who Jesus was:  The Messiah of the Old Testament!  So he listed Christ's genealogy, and afterward wrote this:

"And all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."

He actually telescoped the genealogy (manipulated it, leaving out generations) to highlight the number 14 and drive home his point that Jesus came as the promised Messiah  from the House of David, the royal line.  In Hebrew, every letter had a numeric value, and every number had a symbolic meaning.  The symbolic meaning of the number was more important in many or most cases than the literal meaning.  The Jews loved playing with these numbers and letters and inserting deep symbolism into them.  The letters of the name DAVID in Hebrew add up to 14.  The meaning of the number 14 is "deliverance, salvation."  (Harper-Collins Study Bible, and Biblical Numerics.)  (Post a picture of Christ on the board by the 14 and add "= Deliverance and Salvation.") 

Beginning with the next few verses, as Matthew told the story of Christ's life, he noted 14 prophecies from the scriptures available in that day--what we now call the Old Testament--that were fulfilled by Christ so that the readers, the Jews, would recognize Jesus as Jehovah, their God of the Old Testament, their Deliverer descended from the House of David.  These prophecies were noted with phrases marking them as fulfillment of prophecy.  For example, "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying..." (Matthew 1:22).  Ezra had brought these prophecies back into the life of the common Jew several hundred years before, and so the Jews were now very familiar with the scriptures and would have recognized this prophecy as they read Matthew's testament.

Pass out copies of the list of the 14 prophecies below, and if there is time, go through all or some of the prophecies on the list.  Encourage the class to mark in the margins of their New Testament the cross-references to these 14 prophecies, and number them as OT Prophecies 1-14.  Families can use this as an alternate or additional Christmas scripture reading to tell the story of Christ's life through the eyes of the Old Testament prophets.  If this lesson is given on December 12, 2010, there will be exactly 14 days, including Christmas Day, in which to read one prophecy per day.

FOURTEEN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES NOTED BY MATTHEW

1. 1:23 (Isaiah 7:14) A virgin will conceive and bear a son who will be "Emmanuel," "God With Us."
2. 2:6 (Micah 5:2) The Governor will come from Bethlehem.
3. 2:15 (Hosea 11:1) The Son will be called out of Egypt.
4. 2:18 (Jer. 31:15) Rachel will weep for her children.
5. 2:23 (Lost from our OT) He will be from Nazareth.
6. 3:3 (Isa. 40:3) The voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.
7. 4:15-16 (Isa. 9:1-2) The people who were in darkness will see the Light
8. 8:17 (Isa. 53:4) He will take our infirmities.
9. 12:18-21 (Isa. 42:103) He will not harm even a bruised reed.
10. 13:14-15 (Isa. 6:9-10) The people's heart gross, their ears dull.
11. 13:35 (Psalm 78:2) He will speak in parables.
12. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9-11 or Isa. 62:11) The King will come riding upon a donkey.
13. 26:56 (possibly Zech. 13:6) People come out with staves against him, although they were previously companionable
14. 27:9 (Zech. 11:13) He will be sold for 30 pieces of silver.

(Sources:  Harper-Collins Study Bible, footnotes on each individual prophecy; Camille Fronk [Olson], The Four Gospels, Know Your Religion Lecture given in Logan, Utah, January 1998; David Bokovoy, A Literary Analysis of the Four Gospels, BYU Education Week Lecture, August 2002)

CONCLUSION/CHALLENGE

Today Christmas is over-commercialized, as we all know, and many people don't ever get very far beyond the packaging to the real Gift of Christmas.  (Hold up the Baby Jesus from the nativity set.)  We ourselves, being believers, need to make sure that our Christmas does center around the heart of the matter, Jesus Christ, and we need to make Him prominent for our families.

I really love this Christmas song by popular country singer Clint Black, because it emphasizes the effort we of the latter days must take to find Christ in Christmas.  It is from the album of the same title.  (There is a free mp3 download of this song at this link.) 

Looking For Christmas

Clint Black

I'm looking for Christmas,

I've gotta find Christmas,

Flying back in my mind

Does anyone know of this Christmas,

A long ago Christmas,

Sleigh bells ringing, carolers singing

Only bringing the long traveled message of love.

I'm looking for Christmas,

In time for this Christmas,

A day far and away

And could a star show me Christmas,

The town of old Christmas

Where truth is ringing,

A virgin's bringing the newborn King

And the Lord's own Messiah of love?

And I close my eyes

And I'm kneeling there in the stall,

And could I be the wise man,

Sharing His wisdom,

creating a Kingdom for all?

I'm looking for Christmas,

I know I'll find Christmas

Imparted right from the start

And everyone knows of this Christmas,

The very first Christmas

Where Christ is guiding all with tidings

Still His light is residing here in us all.

And I close my eyes,

And a thousand lifetimes recall

Aren't we all wise magi, sharing His wisdom,

Creating a Kingdom

As born on this Christmas

And each Christmas Day we are sharing His wisdom,

Creating a kingdom

As born on this Christmas

And each Christmas Day that shall fall.

(If you would like to play the music for your class, you can illustrate it with the Church video segment "Luke II," from the "New Testament Video Presentations".  Turn the sound off the video.  Key it up to the point where the red curtain is dropped after Joseph asks entrance.  Begin to play the video and the Clint Black music at the same time.  It doesn't line up perfectly, but it gives you something nice to watch while you listen.  This little music video presentation will be 3 minutes and 50 seconds long.)

It is my hope that we can all use the symbols of Christmas, like the Hebrews used symbols of the scriptures, to point us to Christ.  We might cast a prayer heavenward in gratitude for the Old Testament authors, and the restorers like Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as those who preserved the scriptures through the centuries, and those who later translated them into English, all so that we could read the story of the nativity for ourselves  in our own homes on Christmas Day.

The Measure of Our Faith

WANTING TO BELIEVE

Just a couple of days before Christmas, as I was driving my two 9-year-olds to Grandma’s, Marisha said, “I’m going to stay up all night Christmas Eve and find out if Santa is really real.” But Ammon said, “Not me. I don’t want to know. I want to believe.”

Elder Michael T. Ringwood, in this past General Conference, said he had been drawn repeatedly over the past several months to a statement in the scriptures, Helaman 6:36: “And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words.” This is an amazing scripture. These were the Lamanites, who had been led in the opposite direction for centuries by their fathers.

Elder Ringwood puzzled over the question, “What happened to cause a people full of hatred and disbelief to have an easiness and willingness to believe in the word of God?” 8,000 of them had listened to the voices of Nephi and Lehi as they taught by the Spirit, and had been converted. 300 more were converted through the miracle of hearing a voice as they went forth to harm Nephi and Lehi. And many more were converted through the testimony of those 300. As they were converted, they immediately began living the gospel. They cast down their weapons and habits of war, they studied the word of God, and they obeyed the commandments. They had great faith which enabled them to endure to the end at the peril of their lives (Helaman 15:5-9).

Samuel the Lamanite explained that “because of their steadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe…because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity,” speaking not just of this individual group, but also of the entire Lamanite nation (Helaman 15:10).

At the same period of time, the Nephites, who had a heritage of belief and obedience, became “hardened, impenitent, and grossly wicked” (Helaman 6:2) and their civilization was eventually cut off from the face of the earth.

Our lives sometimes go through stages of an easiness to believe, and sometimes a hardness of heart. Elder Ringwood suggests that times of significant change, times of intense service, times of trial, times of learning new principles, and times in our youth and childhood are often times when it is easier to believe. We are commanded to create more of these times in our lives, by becoming as little children, that we may inherit eternal life (3 Nephi 11:38). He says that as we reflect upon these times, we “will find what really brought an easiness and willingness to believe were not the circumstances but the commitment to live the gospel during these periods of life.” He says, “Daily living of the gospel brings a softness of heart needed to have an easiness and willingness to believe the word of God.”

A BELIEVER FROM THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS

We are all very familiar with Martin Harris, the third witness of and financier of the Book of Mormon, who at many times of his life had a difficult time believing. This disbelief led to the loss of the Book of Lehi, and it led to many years of estrangement from the Church. Very few of us are familiar with his older brother, Emer. But we should be!

Because Emer had an easiness and willingness to believe. Hearing of the golden Bible, Emer had walked 25 miles to learn more about it from his brother, Martin. When the book was published, Martin picked up the first bound copy off the press and handed it to Emer.

Emer joined the church early in 1831. He was a scribe for Joseph for a short time. He was called to serve a mission with Simeon Carter (D&C 75:30), but switched companions and served with his brother Martin. They baptized 82 people in one place, 100 at another, and organized a branch of 70 in Pennsylvania.

Emer was a skilled carpenter who built the window sash in the Kirtland Temple. Later, he used the same tools to build the winding stairway in the Nauvoo Temple.

He and his family arrived in Missouri just in time to be thrown out by the extermination order. Among the meager possessions he carried with him at the exodus was a chest in which he had fitted a false bottom for the safe transport of copies of the Book of Mormon. The mob did search his belongings, including the chest, but his preparation saved the books.

Emer was 69 when the Saints moved west, and he moved with them. His patriarchal blessing stated, “Thou has[t] not fainted in times of disease and persecution when every evil thing has [been] spoken against the church of the Living God. Thou hast endured in faith. The Lord is well pleased with thee because of the integrity of thy heart.” After he arrived in Utah, he also became a patriarch and was known as a great healer. He died at the age of 88 and is buried in the Logan Cemetery. (You can see a photo of his headstone here.)

JOHN THE BELOVED

And now, let’s examine a great believer from the Bible, John the Beloved. Have you ever wondered where the name “John the Beloved,” came from? Was he loved more than the other disciples? Did Jesus name him that? No. Jesus gave him the title “Son of Thunder.” In the heading of the Book of Revelation, he is referred to as “St. John the Divine,” meaning one who sees the future. He is often called “John the Revelator” because of his visions.

So who came up with “John the Beloved?” Well, you don’t find that particular title in the Bible, but you find the origin of it: Five times in his gospel, John referred to himself as “that disciple whom Jesus loved.” It was not that Jesus loved him more than others; it was John’s own acceptance, appreciation, and emulation of that love that made him into “John the Beloved.”

His perception of this great love led him to desire to labor in the Lord’s kingdom for the salvation of His children until Christ should come again. He’s already been doing that for 2,000 years.

If we were to follow the example of John, we would be looking for evidences of the Lord’s love in our lives every day, and we would be thinking of ourselves in terms of God’s love for us. If we were to do this, we would lose all need for self-confidence or that elusive mirage, self-esteem. Both would be replaced by faith in God. We would also let go of our need to compare, our need to compete, and our compulsion to view our inadequacies in a depressing light that shuts out the Spirit and prevents us from loving others. Imagine thinking of yourself as “[insert your name here] the Beloved.” It would change your life. As John himself wrote, “We love him, because he first loved us.” If we comprehended how much God loved us, we would then want to love Him, and that would make all the difference in our lives, as it did in John’s.

LOVE IS THE MEASURE OF OUR FAITH

President Uchtdorf recently told us, “God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.” He is echoing the words of Elder Maxwell 13 years before: “What we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”

Ultimately, for the Lamanite converts, for Emer Harris, and for John the Beloved, it was the love of God and the love FOR God that created the condition of a softened heart which allowed them to believe and to endure to the point of martyrdom in the case of the Lamanites; to the age of 88 in the case of Emer; and indefinitely in the case of John the Beloved.

President Utchdorf said, “Since ‘God is love,’ the closer we approach Him, the more profoundly we experience love.” He said, “God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.” Can we do that?

I love this quote from Sue Monk Kidd: “That’s the only purpose grand enough for a human life—not just to love, but to persist in love.”

President Uchtdorf stated, “The divine love of God turns ordinary acts into extraordinary service…Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship.” That’s why we must “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart [to] be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48).

We need to become like John the Beloved and see the love of God in our everyday lives, that we may also live the love of God. Let’s follow the counsel of President Utchdorf: “In your daily interactions with others, in the words of a hymn, in the laughter of a child, listen for His voice. If you listen for the voice of the Father, He will lead you on a course that will allow you to experience the pure love of Christ.” And this promise brings our lesson full circle: “As we draw near to Heavenly Father, we become more holy. And as we become more holy, we will overcome disbelief and our souls will be filled with His blessed light.”

LIVE IN THE CHILD’S NATIVITY

(You may want to bring a nativity set and ask a young child to arrange it for you before class as an illustration of the paragraph below.)

As children will always arrange a nativity set with Jesus in the middle and everyone else facing him in a tight circle, we must so live our lives. “Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood” (Elder Uchtdorf). We must put Christ at the center of our circle. (See previous post.)

“My dear brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged if you stumble at times. Don’t feel downcast or despair if you don’t feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times. The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try. We must try to believe.” We must “choose to listen.” We must “try and keep on trying” (Elder Uchtdorf).  We must "educate our desires" (Elder Maxwell).  Ammon said he didn’t want to know about Santa, because he wanted to believe in him. With a testimony of Christ, it is the opposite: We first believe so that we may later know.

“An easiness to believe will come when the word of God is etched into our hearts” (Elder Ringwood). In our homes and families, we need to create an environment and live traditions that "educate our desires," and make it easy for us and our children to believe.


(Sources: Michael T. Ringwood, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign, November 2009; Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants; Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees; Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, November 1996)

Two Christmas Messages

THE STAR

By Ruth Dinkins Rowan

The day of the Christmas presentation finally arrived. My young daughter, Jana, was so excited about her part that I supposed she was to be one of the main characters, though she had not told me what she was to do. The parents were all there and one by one the children took their places. I could see the shepherds fidgeting in the corner of the stage meant to represent the fields for the sheep. Mary and Joseph stood solemnly behind the manger. In the back, three young wise men waited impatiently. But still Jana sat quietly and confidently.

Then the teacher began: “A long time ago, Mary…had a baby and…named Him Jesus,” she said. “And when Jesus was born, a bright star appeared over the stable.”

At that cue, Jana got up from her chair, picked up a large tinfoil star, walked behind Mary and Joseph and held the star up high for everyone to see.

When the teacher told about the shepherds coming to see the baby, the three young shepherds came forward and Jana jiggled the star up and down excitedly to show them where to come. When the wise men responded to their cue, she went forward a little to meet them and to lead the way, her face as alight as the real star might have been.

The playlet ended. We had refreshments. On the way home Jana said, with great satisfaction, “I had the main part.”

“You did?” I questioned, wondering why she thought that.

“Yes,” she said, “’cause I showed everybody how to find Jesus.”

How true! To show others how to find Jesus, to be the light for their paths, that is the finest role we can play in life.

THE CHILD'S NATIVITY

By Nancy Jensen

Have you ever watched a small child arrange the Christmas nativity set? If so, you know how children universally do it: Baby Jesus in the center, and all of the people and animals in a tight circle looking at him. Children understand that all the figures are there to look at Jesus, not to be seen of themselves.

The point of Christmas is the birth of Christ, the Wonderful Gift. Do our fun and exciting holiday traditions act as the child’s nativity figures, all directed at Baby Jesus? Or do they try to stand alone, as if they are there to be enjoyed of themselves?

Since school, community, and television programs usually will not focus on Christ, in our homes we must be sure to counterbalance their non-religious, we-don’t-want-to-offend-anybody programs. We need to be sure our families understand that our Christmas traditions are symbols of our relationship with Christ. We must be sure the shopping and partying and interior decorating contribute to our spiritual closeness to the Savior, rather than overshadow it. In our homes at Christmas, we need to be standing in that tight circle around the manger, gazing in wonder at the Baby Jesus.


(Nativity set arranged by Jacob Cutler, age 11.  When his mom, my friend Ann Marie Cutler, saw it, she took a photo and sent it to me to illustrate this blog.  Perfect, huh?  Thanks, Ann!)