Luke 2:16 So (the shepherds) hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When I wrote in my seven-day practical faith blog on Dec. 20 about experiencing Christmas through our senses, this is the kind of moment I imagined.
I rearranged my Christmas yard art this year to move the little, pure white nativity setting to the right of our sidewalk leading to the house. It was only later that I looked and realized the perfection of the light illuminating the manger and casting a nativity shadow onto our house, right of the porch entrance. I couldn't have aimed it any better if I had done it on purpose. I hope that someone passing by will notice the shadow of the nativity as much as the wooden setting up front.
The symbolism is strong. Even today, the shadow of Jesus and his birth are still cast over the world. Perhaps that shadow is in the background at times. Perhaps it seems consumed by shinier, brighter objects in front of it. But the world can still find baby Jesus in the manger, grown-up Jesus striding through the world, and dying Jesus on the cross, if it only hurries like the shepherds to look.
May we see the shadow of the nativity everywhere we look in 2025. Happy New Year!
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