Christmas Eve Meditation: Where Do We Find Jesus Today?

It is Christmas Eve, and around the world millions of people are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. Yet the question I want to raise on this day is, “Where do we find Jesus today?” Although we could offer a variety of possible suggestions, we would do well to start with the guidance provided by Jesus himself as found in the gospel of Matthew, “‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Whether it is locally, nationally, or internationally, Jesus is especially present among people who are suffering and/or marginalized. A United Methodist Church in Claremont, CA provided a powerful visual image of this reality through a Nativity scene in which the Holy Family members are separated from each other in cages including baby Jesus wrapped in what looks like a mylar blanket similar to those used by children held in detention centers along our nation’s southern border. An article in the Religious New Service described the motive behind this Nativity, “The Claremont Nativity includes a statement that references the Trump administration’s family separation policy. It notes the more than 5,400 children estimated to have been separated at the border since July 2017. ‘Imagine Joseph and Mary separated at the border and Jesus, no older than two, taken from his mother and placed behind the fences of a Border Patrol detention center,’ it reads.” As expected, this depiction of the Nativity drew mixed reactions. The same article mentioned, “The church has received a slew of negative emails, and for safety purposes, a local police car has been stationed outside the church as visitors take photos of the Nativity and reflect at the site…Some of the visitors have talked with one another at the site and pondered the role of Christianity in the immigration crisis at the border. One woman teared up, saying the display reminded her of the 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in Border Patrol custody after being diagnosed with the flu. Another described the grounds of the Nativity scene as ‘holy,’ given the international recognition of it.”

Is it inappropriate or “too political” to depict the Nativity in this way? Only if we are not willing to take Jesus seriously about his presence with “the least of these who are members of my family.” If we are willing to listen to Jesus as we celebrate his birth, we are called to meet him among our suffering brothers and sisters at the southern border and wherever people are being marginalized or neglected. When we meet him there, we will develop relationships that are a blessing to everyone.