Still no room at the Inn or the corner of a lawn

Let hot heads cool during the holidays before risking rising tempers. So ruled the powers that be in the perennial debate that has become a Rossmoor Christmas tradition.

Though the fate of the crèche at Rossmoor lies in the hands of Rossmoor's governing board, the nativity scene, at least for this season, will be displayed at its traditional site -- at the corner of Rossmoor Parkway and Golden Rain Road.

Steve Adams, chief executive officer of Rossmoor's Golden Rain Foundation, said rather than drag the issue out over the holidays, the board decided that the retirement community's Policy Committee should discuss the issue and recommend a solution to the board in January.

The committee will review the holiday display policy, stating that appropriate holiday displays may be set up from Dec. 1 through Jan. 31 at the corner of Rossmoor Parkway and Golden Rain Road. The crèche is scheduled to go up Dec. 16.

"At this point, there's no preconceived idea on where the board is going to go with this," Adams said.

The governing board decided in the summer to return the crèche to its original site, after residents in favor of the crèche asked for it, Adams said.

Two years ago, the board voted to move the holiday display to the lawn of the Dollar Clubhouse, a more inconspicuous site.
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The original nativity scene was also in the most inconspicuous site. Bethlehem a small inconspicuous city in a small inconspicuous country largely ignored by the Roman world. In the most humble spot in this most humble city a child was born onto us. It is profoundly sad that Jesus is not loved, that perfect love is not responded to by love. In a culture that largely hates children it is no surprise that the Nativity scene with Christ as child is suppressed. The argument is made about the appropriateness of religious symbols and the attempt to make the world offense-free. Yet other religious symbols are not subjected to the same level of attack. The cultural shock of God not only becoming man but coming in the form first as newborn baby is too much. Herod's response to the good news was the killing of the innocents. We are not much different. In this culture the good news of pregnancy is often responded to by "no one else will be king during my life." All this should come of no surprise. Jesus himself said:

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; ] they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."