Nativity 3

We have had this Salvadoran nativity for quite a long time now. I like the bright colours which, to me, signify God's coming into this world in a burst of excitement.

The colours also speak of the vibrancy of Latin America and so offer a reminder of the three years (1991-4) that my wife and I spent in Panama.

In the UK, Christmas is a winter event, and so it is very appropriate to sing 'See amid the winter's snow' and, in the secular sphere, 'White Christmas'. In Panama the dry season began just before Christmas. [We only had wet and dry - it was always hot!] It was strange to go round the shops in Panama listening to them playing 'White Christmas'. I never got used to a sunny Christmas, but I did enjoy our Christmas Day picnics!

This, then, is a reminder that our perspective is just one of many - and we do well to remember that God engages with people around the world, and so in a huge variety of context. We need to resist the temptation to try and privatise God, so that God is seen as just for us. God is for everyone!