They say all the shopping has stripped Christmas of its message about a Saviour. Or perhaps its just that the dream of a white Christmas is really more appealing than the idea of a God who loves us and wants to live in our hearts? I wish that everyone would consider the nativity scene for all its grace and truth, but if the baby is to be ‘thrown out’ of our society’s consciousness, lets take a look at the bathwater that’s going with it.
Away, behind the manger in the corner of the living room stands a figure whose choices crash into this community two thousand years later. According to his culture, Joseph had every right to abandon his fiancée, Mary, yet his faithfulness ensured a safe and stable home for her and Jesus as the family grew. From what I hear and see, there are quite a few single parents struggling through life in this part of Bristol. Whilst each story is different, would it be too controversial to suggest that we suffer a shortage of Josephs in Henbury?
Parents, Grandparents, Carers all, when faced with the nativity scene this Christmas, if you find it difficult to explain the significance of the baby in the manger, why not point out to your boys the figure called Joseph? It may seem a small act, but if a new generation of fathers grow wanting to be honourable like Joseph, we might begin to turn the tide of lost and unloved teenagers in our community.
Maybe, then, the relevance of this bathwater tells us there’s something in the baby…
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