Comments on: Let us put away childish things…

By: Denis Drennan

Denis Drennan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:36:19 +0000

I think your limitedly successful search for a less-than-corny nativity scene is because not too many contemporary communities can find much significance in the so-called Christmas celebration. For the capitalist-consumer mind there seem to be too many issues (and hard work) around the mystical possibilities of God’s intervention (or possibility thereof) in the chaos of frantic answer-seeking as the global scenario seems to be backing intself into a corner. Maybe we are just to weiry to create anything creative with the salvation of the maginitude offered.

So a new challenge for me, who spends most of my time in the natural order (with urbanites), is to ask how can the renewing vitality of other living things, help bring a new light on the meaning of the Christmas senario? After all, the reptilians and pig seem to be squashed under the magnitude and centralityof the nativity news.

Thanks for sharing your find.

By: Charles Sherlock

Charles Sherlock — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:30:57 +0000

Very interesting – you might like to note (if you don’t know already) that Nativity scenes were first introduced by Francis of Assissi, and were very contentious for centuries: the Dominicans wanted a more cerebral focus on the incarnation, while English Protestanst … well if 2-dimensional stained glass was suspicioud, however coudl 3-dimensional neo-idols work!!

I don’t know how or why attitudes changed, but don’t remember much about such scenes, let alone ‘crib services’, when I was a child. Perhaps it’s another example of colour telly re-writing how Christians imagine their worship life?

Whatever, thanks for this piece, Dave, and the disturbing echoes it evokes in us. And every blessing for Christmas Eve … you’ll understand (I hope) that I’ll be helping Peta at St Paul’s delighting in a good dose of folk religion trying hard not to enjoy the gospel realities it conveys on this night!