Picture from Wikipedia - Santon of produce merchantI was thinking about nativities the other day and of the different variations that I have seen or read about through the world. And a thought struck me...what gifts do we bring to the stable?
Of course there is the traditional nativity that we all grew up with and adore.
But…In South America, the Three Wise men do not bring Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh – a mostly Middle Eastern concept… but instead I have seen examples where they bring Corn and other useful items. Because what better gift could one give, but the gift of tacos? I kid...(but not really).
And in France, where churches were closed and large nativities were outlawed during the French Revolution, the people start to create small terra cotta figurines called Santons (for little Saint) which represented daily Provencal life…so there was the fish monger figurine, and the blind man, the scissor grinder, the girl carrying sticks, the produce merchant, etc. (a traditional Provencal nativity has 55 such figurines). What better gifts for the new little family than items they could actually use… sticks to build a warm fire, fish to fry, and produce to eat.
And I think about the story of the Littlest Angel, who when asked to produce a gift fit for a king for the newborn baby Jesus, offered up his most prized possession…a well worn box full of the treasures a small boy on Earth would love…his beloved dog’s collar, some interesting rocks from the stream bed, a butterfly’s wing.
And I wonder…what gifts do I bring? Because there is no physical baby to visit with physical gifts, I obviously speak metaphorically. But Christ is so much more than just the day of his birth. He would, I think, want us to live each day as though we were following the star of Bethlehem – an act which I believe showed great faith on the part of the Magi. To live each day with faith in our hearts may mean different things to different people, but what if it meant not being boastful, or afraid, or condescending. What if it meant having a listening ear, a heart full of gladness and service, and a welcoming smile? Honestly, I don’t have the answer, but I do believe that we are all blessed with unique gifts that only we can share and I for one resolve over the next year to try and figure out what that means for me. I challenge each of you to do the same.
And in France, where churches were closed and large nativities were outlawed during the French Revolution, the people start to create small terra cotta figurines called Santons (for little Saint) which represented daily Provencal life…so there was the fish monger figurine, and the blind man, the scissor grinder, the girl carrying sticks, the produce merchant, etc. (a traditional Provencal nativity has 55 such figurines). What better gifts for the new little family than items they could actually use… sticks to build a warm fire, fish to fry, and produce to eat.
And I think about the story of the Littlest Angel, who when asked to produce a gift fit for a king for the newborn baby Jesus, offered up his most prized possession…a well worn box full of the treasures a small boy on Earth would love…his beloved dog’s collar, some interesting rocks from the stream bed, a butterfly’s wing.
And I wonder…what gifts do I bring? Because there is no physical baby to visit with physical gifts, I obviously speak metaphorically. But Christ is so much more than just the day of his birth. He would, I think, want us to live each day as though we were following the star of Bethlehem – an act which I believe showed great faith on the part of the Magi. To live each day with faith in our hearts may mean different things to different people, but what if it meant not being boastful, or afraid, or condescending. What if it meant having a listening ear, a heart full of gladness and service, and a welcoming smile? Honestly, I don’t have the answer, but I do believe that we are all blessed with unique gifts that only we can share and I for one resolve over the next year to try and figure out what that means for me. I challenge each of you to do the same.
I leave you with two versions of 'We Three Kings' to enjoy, because I couldn't pick which one I liked better.
1 comments:
Great post! I didn't know nativities where so different around the world. And of course, I burst out laughing about the taco comment.
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