The Nativity Story

Grandson Alan and I watched The Nativity Story together the other evening.

Confession: I popped the DVD into the TV expecting the music to draw him into the living room. Previews for coming features were kid-oriented, and Alan snuggled in comfortably next to me on the couch.

Suddenly Herod’s soldiers were slaughtering boy infants in Bethlehem. “What are they doing, Gramma? Why?”

Flashback to Nazareth where a sixteen year-old Mary and her friends are sowing grain, and flirting with boys working nearby.

Alan has lots of questions, and we use the “pause” button often to make connections as scenes jumped from the poor village of Nazareth to Jerusalem where a paranoid Herod worries about an a predicted Messiah competing for local kingship, then to distant lands where three wise men discuss a coming confluence of planets creating great brightness in the night sky.

The New Testament accounts indicate that the Wise men probably arrived in Bethlehem a couple of years after Jesus’ birth, by which time Mary and Joseph were living in a house. The film chose to perpetuate the traditional Christmas card scene of the shepherds and the wise men all gathered round the little family in the stable.

It was disappointing that this otherwise excellent film did not take advantage of the opportunity to correct the timing misperception.

Meanwhile, The Nativity Story wonderfully fills in the gaps of the Gospel accounts. How Mary may have barely known Joseph, how ruthlessly the Romans oppressed the poor villagers, how nervous Joseph is about marrying. How arranged marriages for young girls, even among loving families, may often have been an economic necessity because of too many mouths to feed.

It explains wonderfully the status of the young couple – each living with their parents for another year, yet married in every way except that which leads to family.

The film clarifies the beautiful spiritual bond between aunt Elizabeth and young Mary –both blessed with overlapping pregnancies announced by angels. Mary’s own parents were not so understanding. When questioning Mary about her pregnancy and who the father might be, to Mary’s reply her mother repeats in disbelief, “An angel told you this?”

We empathize with Joseph's struggle -- between feeling betrayed by his fiancé and wanting to protect her from stoning by the villagers.

We really begin to understand how difficult it must have been for Mary to be engaged and pregnant. And that it was not just noble, it took great courage for Joseph to say the unborn child was his. Mary warns, “People will not look at you the same any more,” meaning they would not respect him.

We see how the young couple may have dealt with angel messengers, and critical neighbors. The harsh landscape between Nazareth and Bethlehem glares at us. A reluctant Mary gradually warms to recognize and appreciate Joseph’s goodness and unselfishness.

We feel Joseph’s desperation when looking for a safe place for Mary to deliver. In short, we care about these people. We care about their hopes, their concerns, their struggles.

There have been a lot of movies portraying Jesus. Here’s one that, without religious overtones, introduces us to his parents.

Well done!

Another blog on The Nativity Story