Seeing God through the Lens: The Nativity on Site, on Sight
December 25, 2016
by Patrick Andre Mencias
by Patrick Andre Mencias
Photo by Patrick Andre Mencias
The Nativity has always been a beautiful story. It is the story of how the God came to the earth in the form of human flesh, Jesus Christ. It entails the stories of all the characters who played the perfect role in God’s perfect plan of Salvation. In this regard, it illustrates how the Blessed Virgin Mary, coming from the Promise of Redemption since the Fall of Man until the Annunciation to her by God through the Angel Gabriel and from there, she said her YES! to God.
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Joseph, who tried abandoning her was also obliged by God to accompany her until they reach Bethlehem. One way of recognizing such story is through the Belen, because it is in the Belen that all the characters come together in one place, in one moment.
The meaning of Christmas has always been emphasized through St. Nicholas or Santa Claus and the Christmas decorations evident in the homes, the streets and building for the very purpose of illuminating the world to celebrate the coming of Jesus. However, the Belen to the many has always been part of a mere decoration in order to join in the celebration of such tradition. And among the masses, the Belen has a significant story of which people who are not familiarized fully.
The meaning of Christmas has always been emphasized through St. Nicholas or Santa Claus and the Christmas decorations evident in the homes, the streets and building for the very purpose of illuminating the world to celebrate the coming of Jesus. However, the Belen to the many has always been part of a mere decoration in order to join in the celebration of such tradition. And among the masses, the Belen has a significant story of which people who are not familiarized fully.
Seeing through the Lens, the Belen is an image of the perfect Family. It illustrates how a Mother, the Father and the Child are all in one place. Since the 9th day of the Christmas Novena, there is still a sense of anticipation to the coming of the Lord that the Belen is still missing one character, and that is the Child Jesus. Upon taking photos of the Belen, I already noticed how one is missing in the display in our Church. I took the photos, in one whole encapsulating the display, a picture of Mary and a picture of Joseph. Rules of Photography would suggest that there must be at least one dominating subject and when I took a whole picture, there is a feeling of missing-ness, a hole in my perspective, an empty feeling. Such feeling entails how the Child Jesus is not within the display.
However will the Child Jesus would stand alone in the display? The rule would suggest that there must be a dominating subject however, the background also help in the emphasis of the subject. Therefore, it is always necessary that the Child Jesus may always be in the Belen, |
alongside with the rest of the characters of the story, Mary, Joseph, and the Three Kings. People have only a brief notion or impression of what is the story of Christmas as God who was born into the world in the form of human flesh but people fail to recognize the background characters and what has been their contribution to God’s plan of Salvation.
Another realization is the absence of the Child Jesus in the Belen during the nine days of Simbang Gabi. But it doesn’t mean He is not there. He is always with us in the Mass through the consecration of his body and blood. Therefore, I took my attention to the Mass celebrated during that time. I realized we only know the story of Christmas but as Christians in the contemporary time, we must keep Christ in the Mass. Because it is in the Mass wherein Jesus transformed his flesh into bread and His Blood into Wine. We may not be part of the exact moment, but our part as Christians, we may be likened to the Shepherd who seen Jesus first hand and that such encounter is through the Mass itself.
Our way of celebrating the Nativity not only in recognizing the whole story of Christ’s coming but also our Christian disposition to join in the celebration of such event through the mass. We must remember how the characters of the story played a part in God’s plan and how we must act as Christians in order to have a good image waiting to be taken and shown to the world.
Another realization is the absence of the Child Jesus in the Belen during the nine days of Simbang Gabi. But it doesn’t mean He is not there. He is always with us in the Mass through the consecration of his body and blood. Therefore, I took my attention to the Mass celebrated during that time. I realized we only know the story of Christmas but as Christians in the contemporary time, we must keep Christ in the Mass. Because it is in the Mass wherein Jesus transformed his flesh into bread and His Blood into Wine. We may not be part of the exact moment, but our part as Christians, we may be likened to the Shepherd who seen Jesus first hand and that such encounter is through the Mass itself.
Our way of celebrating the Nativity not only in recognizing the whole story of Christ’s coming but also our Christian disposition to join in the celebration of such event through the mass. We must remember how the characters of the story played a part in God’s plan and how we must act as Christians in order to have a good image waiting to be taken and shown to the world.