By Carrie Gress
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 19, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The unique Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square is a reminder from our teaching Pope of a father's importance in the family, says Christian art expert Elizabeth Lev.
This year's Nativity scene in the square, to be unveiled Christmas Eve, will have a new twist, the Vatican Secretariat of State reported last week. Rather than a manger or stable, the Nativity scene will feature the home of St. Joseph, reflecting the story of the birth of Christ depicted in St. Matthew's Gospel instead of the typical passage from St. Luke.
Lev, who is also a ZENIT columnist, said: "This Nativity is not so much a break with tradition but is presenting a new side of the Nativity, revealing a new facet.
"It is trying to represent Joseph's experience, his dream of what will happen knowing that Jesus will be born and Mary is with child. He had no idea the way it would all work out as he prepared to take on this task given to him by God through a message of an angel. So it is what he imagines in his home amid his work before it comes to pass."
"This fits Joseph and the acceptance of his call into the story," Lev continued. "Joseph is never the star of the Nativity, but his role is crucial. So this is not upsetting biblical tradition, but [giving] a different facet, looking at it in a different light."
The art historian explained: "In the Nativity accounts, a mother figure is always there, but this Nativity makes present the importance of the father figure and the fact that he is essential. It's a reminder that he wasn't born only to a mother, while providing a source of meditation during this time when we are faced with the battle against marriage and the family. It is a good way for the Church, in nonaggressive and nonpolitical way, to remind us of the basis of our understanding of family through the Holy Family.
"This is a Nativity very much of Joseph Ratzinger, a teaching Nativity. Instead of complacently laying out the characters, this year they are being laid out in a way so we have to think about what this momentous birthday means, think about the circumstance in which Jesus is born, while reminding us of Joseph's essential role."
