Our congregation had a great time putting on our live nativity. As you can guess, it triggered a lot of thought and conversation on traditions. It was quite interesting deciding where all the different characters would be placed in the manger scene.

We naturally had wise men standing with shepherds which is how we typically portray the manger scene. Reality is that it didn't happen that way. Jesus' birth certainly wasn't December 25th, and the magi may have come to Bethlehem as much as two years after the birth. We sing "We Three Kings", but they were not kings and probably came from what is now modern day Iraq, not the orient. It is likely that there were more than three of them since crossing the dessert would require several traveling together for safety. There are many other aspects of this tradition that are suspect, but I don't want to get too much criticism on that topic. What I do want to emphasize is that the events that took place in the Christmas Story aren't all that important. What we should focus on is the event itself.

The event of God breaking into human history is far more significant than how many wise men arrived, when they got there, and if there were still shepherds loitering about. The realization that God came for the rich and the poor, the young and the old, male and female, or any other category that comes to mind is what is important. That is the reality of what happened on Christmas. God loves each of us so much that he sent the greatest gift that any human being has ever been given. Merry Christmas!