Of Caves and Houses

The Third Day of Christmas: Dwellings.  Ever since the first gilded white ceramic Nativity Set was made by and given to me by my mother, Adeline, when I was first married (50 years ago!), I wanted a stable in which to put the figures.  The completed ones were all beyond my means. I thought I might gather twigs and make a barn but never got around to it.  Several years ago I saw a design for one that looked like terra cotta walls.  This looked easy enough to construct, yet I never found the time, and I'm glad.  Jesus was born in a CAVE made of stone in Bethlehem.  I do wish to be as authentic as possible!  Now I will have to look for fake stone to build my cave.  And if what I find is not light tan stone, I'll have to change the color by spray-painting.

This is inside a cave in the hill under the Church of the Shepherds in Israel, October, 2013.   Jesus was born in one of the many, many caves in the hillsides of the country.

We can be sure that Mary and Joseph took only the bare necessities with them to Bethlehem.  After their sojourn in Egypt to escape King Herod's killing of all babies and children age two and under, the Holy Family made their home in Nazareth.  I don't know of a place or church honoring Jesus' boyhood home.

Ruins of houses outside the Old City walls of Jerusalem, Israel, October, 2013.  It is likely that the Holy Family lived in a small white stone house in Nazareth similar to these.

Have you seen movies showing how the Jewish people lived in Jesus' time? The women wove the cloth for the one-piece garments their families wore.  They probably slept on rugs. Since Joseph was a carpenter, perhaps the family had a room for his work.  We can only envision how their home looked.  I imagine it was furnished simply.

What about our homes?  Are they neat and clean?  Would we be embarrassed by the clutter or grandeur if Jesus knocked on our doors?  Do we keep everything we have ever owned, things we haven't used in many years that others could use?  (Guilty here!)  How could we simplify?  In other words, are we concerned with 'utility' or 'fashion' at home?

While our neighbors' houses in Danville, where my children grew up, were as cluttered as mine, there was One house that always looked as perfect as a magazine's layout.  We had to take off our shoes in the perfect house.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but no one else required it.  In the perfect house, the children had to put away their toys immediately after they finished playing with them.  As a result, they never played with their toys.  I tried carping on the children to put away every toy immediately when they were finished.  Then they didn't want to play with them!  As a result, I gave up on that, and just (usually) had everyone pitch in at the end of the day to put them in the toybox.  They were happy and I was happy. 

I enjoy my present home more than any others I've lived in.  And why not!  I get to decorate it however I want, slowly. I call it my 'playhouse.'  I enjoy doing all the painting and gardening.  It's very easy to keep clean now that I only occasionally have 'swirls' of grandchildren around.  But I don't want to be obsessed with having all the latest products.  I want to be a good steward of my resources.

To read my report of two very grand, very old local homes, please go to my travel blog, www.rockingthruworld.blogspot.com, December 26, 2013, "Decorated Clay Houses."

We can be comfortable yet not ostentacious, can't we?  Lord God, help us to live as you lived.  Help us to be grateful to you for all we have and share with others as best we can.