Tale of Nativities

Friday afternoon, Michael and I drove down to Alcocebre to take part in the annual Nine Lessons and Carols celebration. Fifty people were present. He and I were among three soloist with verses from 'We three Kings'. I said the customary Bidding Prayer and John's Gospel, but all else was carried nicely by members of the congregation. It's a measure of how important an occasion like this is to the expatriate community in the area, that people not only turned up and attended but were keen to play a part. One of the readers was a young Spanish girl, an English language student with plenty of confidence to deliver a public scripture reading. These are moments to treasure in terms of cultural exchange, part of what the church as a 'curator'of language exists to offer, often without realising the significance of what it does.

At the south side of the altar in the church of St Cristobel, where the service took place, an open tent canopy had been erected and decorated. Inside it there was a manger-crib with baby Jesus installed, but none of the other actors in the nativity scene. I imagine it was the stage setting for a nativity play or tableau. But, it was the subject of a certain amount of wry humorous observation from by-standers.

In Castellon la Plana last Tuesday, the Cathedral had a large north aisle arcade dedicated to a Belen, and as customary in church, all the figures were in place but the baby Jesus, who makes an appearance at Midnight Mass, a kind of liturgical version of 'Godly Play', I guess. 

Out in the Cathedral Plaza is a mediaeval public building which still serves the public administration of the city. In one corner of its porch is the municipal Belen. Here, baby Jesus is already installed. (I remember this at St John's Cardiff too.) It's too much additional expense and bother to arrange for baby Jesus to appear in public at midnight. Think of the overtime bills ... But in St Cristobel, by way of contrast, only baby Jesus was there.  Such imaginative games we play with our essential stories!