We gather at Christmas to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. At the core of this extraordinary,
spectacular story is something very human very ordinary the birth of a child. Its all summed up in a single sentence, Luke 2:7 Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest house.
After such a build up preparing us for the moment beginning with Archangel Gabriel heralding this coming birth, notice given before Mary was even pregnant! We know this will be and is a very special birth. And so, Luke records it in his gospel. Mary gave birth. 3 words of a single sentence. That’s it! Now I was at the birth of both my daughters. Was at the end of a phone waiting, anxiously, for the birth of a grandchild.
To give birth can take hours and is not without risk. The young Mary giving birth to her first child, would have been well aware of the risks.
Excited yes, she had the archangel’s proclamation to hang onto, yet she knew the risks and it would have been natural for her to be anxious as well. Mary gave birth. There’s a lot there in those 3 words. something very human, very ordinary, very special. So, what of the rest of the sentence? A while ago I spent some time reflecting on that sentence. It all came together
While sitting in a pew at Pilgrim UCA. I then set about creating that vision. And exhibited it for the first time, Christmas Eve 1996 @ Pilgrim UCA.
I reflected on context , If the birth were to take place here & if there was not room in the guest house Where would it be? Back then in the 90’s most people whether urban or rural would have a shed rather than a stable on the property.
So, we are looking in through a shed window at the Christ child. Mary had wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger.
Here we have the infant child wrapped in a washed and recycled cotton flour bag laid on a potato sack rather than in a manger. A manger is another word for the livestock’s food trough.
Flour & Potatoes – food. Luke in his telling of the nativity story symbolically presents Jesus to the world as food for the world. Not the child but who Jesus is to become. His teachings & example; of inclusion, love, grace and compassion is to feed how we relate to one another, not just at Christmas, but at all times.
The composition of the art piece It’s geometry is inspired by orthodox icons. The central focal point is Christ, who’s arms are open, welcoming & vulnerable.
So in all that takes place, before & after the birth.
All the extraordinary. The spectacular and all that hundred’s of years of celebration have created. At it’s core, is something very human, very ordinary. And the witnesses to this event were themselves ordinary people. Shepherds, who were out tending their flocks that night.