Our nativity scene is nearly complete.
Or is it? Are we in the scene? Do we allow ourselves to be invited into
this scene & have our lives changed as a result? Are we engaging with
what’s happening here?
I want to explore this by asking
another important question: Why were there no penguins at the crib?
(1) It’s not their habitat.
David Attenborough reminded us
that the majority of penguins don’t live near the south pole but in warmer, even
tropical conditions. So it is not that Bethlehem wasn’t cold enough
But whether in the tropics or near
the south pole penguins love water of which there isn’t much in Bethlehem.
Apparently penguins evolved from
creatures that could fly at one point but they enjoyed the water so much that
they grew heavy enough to “fly” speedily through the water,up to 40 miles/hour,
if I remember right. But this meant they grew too heavy to fly through the air.
This could be the reason that
some of us stay away from the crib. It’s not our habitat; we got used to
living our lives in a certain way and we would be entirely outside our
comfort zone if we did not make sure that we kept the crib and all that at
a certain, maybe ironical, distance. And
so we miss out – like the penguins.
But there may be another reason
why the penguins were not there. I reckon if Mary had known about penguins, she
would not have wanted any of these creatures anywhere near the crib.
Thanks to David Attenborough we
have learned one or two other s h o c k i n g things about penguins. I mention
just one:
(2) Penguins are potential
kidnappers. For penguins, as for humans, there is a great deal of effort
and risk involved in producing offspring but unlike humans penguins stand in
long rows together all having little babies at about the same time. When a baby
penguin does not survive the parental instinct is so great in penguins that
they will steal the baby from other penguins if they can.
[We should not blame them for this – they are animals that
cannot but follow their instincts and urges. To be able to say ‘No’ to our animal
urges is probably a particular gift to humanity.]
If penguins had made the long
journey to Bethlehem, they would surely have lost their children and then they
might have tried to steal the baby from the crib!
And this is another way in which
we might miss out on what is happening there. If, in effect, we steal the baby
and turn the nativity of our Lord and Saviour into a kitschfest.
Jesus did not come to remain a
baby that decorates a tree but to grow up a man and be hung on a tree to suffer
the consequences of our rebellion against God, to break through death to
resurrection life and reconcile us to God. We do not celebrate the birthday of
a good man who is long dead but of someone who is very much alive and wants to
be part of our lives.
This Christmas. Don’t be a
penguin. Be there. Let yourself be invited into the big story in which all of
our lives have a place.
