Nativity part 1

This movie was way more than I expected. The opening “star wars” idiom of yellow scrolling text was hard to stomach but aside from that no problem at all. A few things stuck out for me:

1. A new perspective on Christmas

Having grown up in church, it has been so tough to appreciate the season beyond all the overdone, trite, and predictable elements of the season. This movie really gave me a fresh perspective of the economic, social, and political climate of the day. Very different from the uber-materialism of a society that markets Christmas stuff before Halloween!

2. The Price

Mary and Joseph had a huge price to pay in saying YES to God’s will. It meant a huge stigma and possible death. It also meant misunderstanding from everyone else and loneliness. That hit me hard – in our lives, part of the price is some sort of social stigma and going against the norm.

3. The Providence

Even Mary had consolation from Elizabeth, the only one on the planet who would believe her. God spoke vindication to Joseph for Mary’s behalf in his dream. God provides just enough in trying times to test our obedience and confidence in His goodness.

4. The Glory

The Star was done pretty well. How it shone right over the manger and how the shepherds came to worship. Can’t explain it very well here but it captured the essence of not just the majesty of the moment, but conveyed the vindication of Mary and Joseph, the price they paid, their journey, and their faith. All of a sudden everyone has come to them – shepherds, wizards from the East, and God himself.

This was worth ten bucks. Hope there are more such films like that to come. A couple things about Mary, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes in the next post.