Shortly after the Christmas holidays, my family and my grandparents took a little evening outing and went to see a 5:30 showing of 'The Nativity'. From the very beginning I was pulled into the film, heart and soul completely captured by the simple yet powerful nature of the age-old story. The acting was so exquisite I could hardly convince myself that 'Mary' was really Keisha Castle-Hughes, or 'Joseph' was really a very much alive Oscar Isaac.

The movie revealed to me in a way that I could never have imagined the tyranny of Herod's rule, the poverty of Mary's surroundings, and the pain and embarrassment her pregnancy caused not only her, but her family and Joseph. How heart-breaking it must have been to see her loved ones disappointment in her and to go through the difficulty of making them believe her innocence. Add to these personal struggles, the sense of fear at the penalties for an unwed pregnancy that were common in the Jewish culture. She had every reason to expect that if Joseph did not choose to have mercy on her, she would be stoned to death, and if that did not kill her, she would be pushed from a cliff and be stoned from the summit as she lay crushed on the rocks. What a relief it was for her to be able to take refuge in Elizabeth, at the height of her fright and confusion. Elizabeth was not only older and wiser, but she would understand this miracle in Mary, for God had performed the same in her. Elizabeth was the one person who would trust her, believe her, and give her precious advice.

I also realized the great importance of Joseph's side of the story. So often he is the looked-over character of the Christmas story, and completely taken for granted. Yet with the film his part in the story became shockingly clear to me: his love for Mary, his utter grief and brokenness when he thought she had been unfaithful to him, and his amazing selflessness in obeying God's command to bring Mary home as his wife. For in refusing to divorce her, he accepted the burden of a whole town's scorn, in their alleged belief that Mary's unwed pregnancy was his doing, thus throwing a dark slant on his formerly upright character. And these were not his only merits. He was Mary's only human protection - he cared for her and nurtured her with a humble spirit, and in complete self-sacrifice, even giving up his rights as a husband so that the prophesy would be fulfilled - a Virgin would bear forth Jesus.

Overall, the movie deeply enriched my spirit, and deepened my respect for the sacredness of the Holy-Days, and what it remembers.

--Camille