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This is the Nativity display outside the Claremont United Methodist Church in California.
It's making some people very upset. And it should.
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It's making some people very upset. And it should.
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Karen Clark Ristine, a senior minister at the church, shared the image on Facebook with this message.
I wish everyone in the United States would read it this Christmas: https://bit.ly/2rtkU2d
The comments are filling up with MAGA rage. I am sorry for the souls of these people
I wish everyone in the United States would read it this Christmas: https://bit.ly/2rtkU2d
The comments are filling up with MAGA rage. I am sorry for the souls of these people
I love the Nativity story. I love it not because it is warm and fuzzy, but because it is about perseverance against cruelty.
No one saves them. The child is born in squalor, hiding among animals. He rests in a manger — which is not a hay-stuffed crib but a feeding trough.
No one saves them. The child is born in squalor, hiding among animals. He rests in a manger — which is not a hay-stuffed crib but a feeding trough.
The monster of the Nativity story is not King Herod, the bloodthirsty tyrant. He is just the backdrop.
The villain is the innkeeper, a common everyday person, who sees their dire situation and chooses not to help.
No room. Sorry.
America is full of innkeepers these days.
The villain is the innkeeper, a common everyday person, who sees their dire situation and chooses not to help.
No room. Sorry.
America is full of innkeepers these days.
The stable is not the pristine, rustic structure we see in displays. It is the equivalent of being born in an alley beside a dumpster.
Who shows them kindness? The shepherds. Other poor, dirty, desperate people. They have nothing, but help anyway, even though they're afraid.
Who shows them kindness? The shepherds. Other poor, dirty, desperate people. They have nothing, but help anyway, even though they're afraid.
Then the wise men come from afar. Others call them "three kings."
I always thought of them not as professors or prophets, but simply people who saw the situation with clear eyes, with wisdom, who had empathy, who wanted to help even though they were from elsewhere.
I always thought of them not as professors or prophets, but simply people who saw the situation with clear eyes, with wisdom, who had empathy, who wanted to help even though they were from elsewhere.
It's a beautiful story, rendered more beautiful by Claremont United Methodist Church for making us see it clearly today.
Who will help? Who will turn away?
How do we open the eyes of the innkeepers, especially when seeing something like this only infuriates them?
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Who will help? Who will turn away?
How do we open the eyes of the innkeepers, especially when seeing something like this only infuriates them?
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