Catholic churches have traditionally erected nativity scenes outside at Christmas time. To represent the birth of Jesus, the scenes include the baby, Mary and Joseph, together with the shepherds, their animals and the “wise men from the East” who came to witness the birth.
Despite the fact that the story is rich in meaning and symbolism, these nativity scenes often are stripped of their deeper meaning and have become quite two-dimensional and shallow.
Like the anodyne carols that have come to define the season, the portrait of the birth that emerges is peaceful, calm and bright. There is no hint of the oppressive Roman occupation that forced this couple to travel across the country to register in a new census mandated by the empire. Nor is there a recognition of the many ironies underlying the story: that this Jewish baby, who is to be a saviour, is born in a cave surrounded by animals, or that the first to come to pay homage are lowly sheep herders and non-Jewish travellers from afar.
In fact, it is these various ironies and others like them that truly define the biblical Christian narrative. It is, in reality, an upside-down faith. In Jesus’s own words, it is a faith where the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
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