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Christmas: the Nativity as an encapsulation of the divine

 The primary question is, why is Christmas so meaningful to all audiences.  Why does it persist; what makes it the most pervasive, most persistent of all the Christian traditions?

The answer is that it is a perfect representation of an encounter with the divine.  It is transcendent, and it allows humanity to experience feelings of connection with the spiritual, with the holy.  It incorporates stories of the miraculous, of the heroic, of the joyful, as well as the bitter, and with foreshadowing of destruction.

Wherever you look in the extended Nativity narrative, you find stories of man's encounter with God.  In the story of Elizabeth is capture feelings of frustration and humiliation suddenly turned to honor and fulfillment, as her barrenness, which she said brought her shame, is now replaced with the success of giving birth.  Mary's reflection can be seen as an opposite, where her joy at her coming marriage is temporarily clouded because she gets pregnant before the wedding and her husband wants to call it off.

A similar contrast is drawn between Mary, who expressed acceptance at the words of Gabriel, and Zechariah, who expressed skepticism at those same words.  In each place we find ordinary people confronted with aspects of the divine:  The shepherds and the angels, Mary and Zechariah and the Archangel Gabriel, Joseph and the angel in his dreams.  Even the Magi and the star setting out on a 2 year journey.  And all of this is before even Jesus himself appears on the scene.


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