Moaning Over the Nativity

Friday morning on my way to lunch, I was getting thoroughly annoyed with the constant sound of commercials coming from the radio, so I flipped to the classical station, where the songs are so long that the odds are against tuning into a commercial.  I had just enough time to hear "And this is his Nativity Overture" before the music began.

The first few notes sounded from the strings section, low and ominous.  A sad, slow air came from the flutes, and the rest of the orchestra eventually mourned along.  I was feeling sufficiently somber, and then I remembered that the song was called "The Nativity."  I thought, "Wait a second!  This is no ordinary carol.  Not a whole lot of good Christian men rejoicing here."  I had to consider why the Nativity would be such a sad song.

The normal scandal of being born in a stable hit me, and that was sad enough, I guess.  But I think there is a definite scandal to the whole Incarnation, even without the Crucifixion and torture and hate.  I'm thinking about the Light being dimmed so it can be seen by all men.  I'm considering what it means for the Son of God to be contained.  No wonder the gnostics couldn't handle the idea of the Word becoming flesh.  He reigns supreme over the Cosmos, and yet He made his dwelling with us.

I don't think the sadness is a result of these things alone, though.  Whenever someone is obviously humble, it produces a sort of tension between jaw-dropping and mouth-shutting.  I think when we look at a major step in the Greatest Humility we should feel a sort of sadness.

But I still can't help admiring the Joy brought To The World.