JR. Forasteros - January 20, 2013
Ugly Ducklings
Genesis 1 teaches us that God created us in God's image. While other creation stories written around the same time teach that humans were created to be slaves to the gods, Genesis teaches us that we are God's children and partners in creation. Today we are constantly surrounded by stories, by companies and cultures telling us what to be and how to act. We must always listen to Jesus, who perfectly reveals God's way to us and reminds us that we are first and foremost friends and children of God.
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Five years ago, Portland-based comics artist Everett Patterson illustrated his family’s Christmas card. The image, which he called Jose y Maria, went viral. Take a look at Everett’s updated Nativity. Take about a minute and talk with a few of the people around you. See how many connections to the traditional Nativity scene you can spot. (There are approximately 4 million, so don’t worry about getting them all).
This image is super cool, and provocative for all the right reasons. I love it in part because it’s so creative. But I also love it because it helps us to feel some of the scandal of that first Christmas. After all, you don’t have to discuss this, but imagine the kinds of comments Jose and Maria might draw in real life. What kinds of assumptions might we make about them, about their life choices, about the circumstances that brought them to be stranded at the convenience store with nowhere to stay?
Jose y Maria makes me uncomfortable for all the right reasons. Because if you can feel a little of the scandal inherent in this image, then you’re ready to feel the scandal of the first Christmas story:
