Holy Family, Holy Cow!
[guest post by Dana]
Like many of you, I have been decking the halls in preparation for Christmas. As is the custom, I pull out the 50 year old, well-worn nativity set that was inherited from aging parents long-since passed away. And because life is full of calamity, this holy family and friends are in a bit of disarray. Over the years, one or another of the hand-painted figurines have experienced some sort of physical trauma. Life comes at us fast, and there are no exceptions. Hence a regal wise man in flowing robes is now without arms and thus without a gift for the newborn Savior. A humble shepherd following the Star to see the miracle at hand, hasn’t got a head on his shoulders. Literally. Instead it sits next to his feet because no matter what glue has been used, he just keeps losing his head. Yet most distressing of all, Baby Jesus has gone missing. No matter how hard I’ve tried to locate the lost Savior, the little bed of straw continues to hold a child-made “clothespin Jesus” impersonator. Thankfully, Mary and Joseph have remained intact. And in spite of her missing babe, Mary’s face remains a steady composition of serenity as if she never doubted from the get-go that her child was meant to transcend the constraints of this fallen world.
Anyway, I was weighing out replacing this imperfect band of misfits and rebels daring to believe that the Glorious Impossible had arrived, but when I saw this “new” take on the old family, my broken down nativity never looked so good:
In the scene, Joseph — sporting a man bun — holds up a cellphone, Mary flashes a peace sign and Baby Jesus, wearing a beanie on his head, looks on. The Three Wise Men carry Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) Prime boxes and a shepherd sends Snapchat messages. Nearby, a cow enjoys gluten-free, all-natural grass feed next to a sheep wearing a Christmas sweater. Oh, and there’s a solar-powered stable, too.
I’m choosing to believe that along with being a “fun product,” its creators also intended it to be a clever social commentary accurately reflecting just how incredibly self-consumed and shallow our culture has become.
–Dana