The primary theological underpinning of Christmas is the incarnation. God takes on human form with all its complications, gifts, and limitations. The incarnation, especially with Jesus’ birth narrative on Christmas Eve, powerfully affirms children and the unique gifts they bring to communities of faith. Many adults shy away from talking about the incarnation, fearing the complexity of the word or worried about getting bogged down in trying to explain the logistics of it. However, the incarnation gifts children and youth with affirmation of their bodies at a time when those bodies are changing in strange ways and kids are facing increasingly negative messaging about them.
A great way to start talking about the incarnation, especially with younger kids, is to talk about babies. If there are babies in the congregation who were recently baptized or are present fairly regularly, they are a great tie-in. Otherwise, talking about babies generally will also work well. Come up with words to describe babies to get everyone’s brains thinking about everything from vulnerability and cuteness to how hard it is to communicate with them and how much they depend on others for care and help.
Continue by talking about words associated with God and comparing them to those used for babies, to begin connecting the dots to the incarnation. From the contrasts of powerful with vulnerable or helpless, to the ways love is connected to both, the comparing and contrasting leads well into wondering together about why God might want to become a human baby. Then you can talk about not having power, being scared, what is cool about our bodies, how we change and grow, and what we can do with them. Naming that God thinks human bodies are cool enough to become a baby affirms positive thinking and associations with bodies for kids as well. The helplessness of a baby Jesus can be a comfort for kids who often feel helpless in their own lives or who help take care of younger kids. The reminder that Jesus pooped will likely prompt some giggling, but also helps kids understand the humanness of Jesus.
Guiding kids through these conversations creates new ways to relate to Jesus and new possibilities for how kids think and feel about Jesus. Through these conversations, Jesus can become more relatable, and the possibilities of how Jesus spent his time can connect with how they spend their own time and what life might have been like in first-century Palestine.
