The Living Nativity
-
December 22, 2022
TRIPTYCH PAINTING THE NATIVITY WITH DONORS AND SAINTS JEROME AND LEONARD | GERARD DAVID (1460–1523)The Living Nativity
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
I was in High School when I first saw the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.” It has been many years since I last saw the show, but I believe that the “Living Nativity,” with live animals and the retelling of the story of Jesus’ birth, continues to be one of the show’s highlights. I still remember being awestruck by the beauty of the “Living Nativity.” I also remember, during the Living Nativity, hearing for the first time the poem One Solitary Life. I am sure that many readers are very familiar with this powerful description of who Jesus is and the meaning of His being “born in the fullness of time.” For those familiar with these words, I hope you appreciate the opportunity to reflect on them again. For those who may not have heard these words, I invite you, as we celebrate Christmas, to meditate on the meaning of that One Solitary Life.
May God continue to bless all the faithful of our diocese. I pray that each of you, your families, and your loved ones will know the true Peace and Joy of Christmas. Please be assured of my prayers for you, especially at the celebration of the Eucharist. God give you a blessed Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born.
He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned — put together — have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life.
Dr. James Allen Francis ©1926
