Chaos in the Creche

It was chaos in the creche. It was full of children bringing to life that moment long ago when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  At times the congregation sat in awe as the children performed and at other times there was a gentle subdued tittering of laughter.  The two little girls dressed as sheep went to sleep.  The donkey kept losing his headgear and the cow kept reaching between his legs for the long tail which hung on the backside of his cow suit.  But, when it was all said and done, the wonderful story had been told and all those present rose in applause.   

Afterthought made the chaos appropriate.  We are tempted to sanitize the ancient story and make it stationary with each character playing some carefully choreographed part.  Actually, it was likely more chaotic that night in Bethlehem than any Sunday morning in church.  There were real animals moving about, stirring hay dust, and doing animal stuff.  There was the sound of a woman in childbirth, a frantic husband trying to create some order, and maybe, some midwife hollering out instructions.  Hopefully, the smelly shepherds did not arrive early to stand around outside waiting for something to happen.  

When "the Word became flesh..."  (John 1:14),  when "...Christ Jesus, who...was in the form of God...emptied Himself,...being born in human likeness..." (Philippians 2:5-7), and when "she (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn son...and laid Him in a manger..." (Luke 2:7), it was likely a very messy scene being played out on center stage in human history.  From the very beginning the Scripture lets us know God is exceptional in creating good out of chaos, but then, most of us have experienced this happening through His grace in our own lives.