The Nativity Story

The Nativity Story opens this weekend and I am anxious to see it. It is interesting to me how often we take for granted what an unbelievable story this is- and not just because it is about the birth of Jesus. From a human being stand point, we get caught up thinking of Mary and Joseph as being almost mythilogical due to the fact we see their faces on Christmas cards and carved out of plaster for a nativity set. We see them most often as an image, but they are much more than just an image. Jesus was the devine Son of God, but Mary and Joseph, they were average, normal people. Granted, they had to be special in order to be chosen by God to carry the load of raising His Son, but still they were people, normal people chosen for a task. Imagine the doubt, the fear, the confusion. When you look at them from a charater point of view, they become so much more flesh and blood. They still have a (for lack of a better word) magical quality, but you realize the pains they had to go through, as best as our small minds can imagine. In this Christmas show we are working on now, it is so important to me to make sure we present Mary and Joseph as human in the song choices and dramatic moments of pantomime. So often you will see a drama presentation of the nativity and the characters be-bop along as if they know what they are doing. I don't think it was like that at all. I believe that Mary and Joseph had faith in God to direct them where to go and what and how to do it, but they still felt the fleshly emotions that come with being flesh. They worried, they cried, they doubted... just like us... and we just like them have been chosen for a specific task. They listened and followed... do we?