Right on Time
The Latecomer’s Guide to Advent: Week 3
Every nativity scene I’ve ever seen is a lie.
Not theologically, exactly. The basic elements are there, baby, manger, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, maybe some wise men even though they showed up way later. But the vibe is completely wrong. The nativity sets on our mantles are clean, they’re peaceful, and they’re glowing. Mary looks serene, not like a teenager who just pushed a human out of her body in a barn. The animals are decorative. The straw is arranged nice and neat. Nobody is covered in afterbirth or animal waste. There’s no blood, no screaming, no panic about what to do when the baby comes and you’re surrounded by livestock instead of midwives.
We’ve turned the incarnation into some sort of Thomas Kinkade painting. Soft lighting. Warm tones. Everything in its place. The kind of scene you’d want on a Christmas card, not the kind of scene that would get you reported to child protective services.
The real story is so much messier than we’ve made it, and I think that’s the point.
