We are in the home stretch towards Christmas. Bob and I went to see The Nativity Story yesterday. (It was the first time he has been to the theater for 19 years - the last thing we saw together was Stakeout - the original.)
This is a wonderful movie. The only things I thought were not quite right was that they compressed the time line - the Maggi arrived the night of Jesus' birth. And the heavenly host was on vacation during the announcement to the shepherds.
Beyond the obvious portrayal of the birth of Lord Jesus, it gave me a good look into the 'smallness' of life back then. Life revolved around life. There was one thing that was important and that was getting things done in proper order since the there were no shortcuts. You had to grind the grain to make the flour to make the bread to feed the family today and tomorrow you repeated the same things. I realize this is the way life is for many even today. The contrast in my life which has much choice in it with the life where when Caesar wanted you to do something an approaching birth meant nothing is unfathomable.
What you did was evident to everyone. One of my favorite parts was when a very pregnant Mary and Joseph were leaving Nazareth everyone was looking down their long noses at them. Joseph turned to Mary and said, "They're going to miss us." I still chuckle at the obvious. It was a 'filler' line but it was true. They would miss them. And there were no phones to call home and let everyone know what happened. Their leaving was open-ended and, until they returned years later, I doubt there were many opportunities for communication.
I recommend seeing it, especially now in this short season before we celebrate this birth.
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