Catholic churches have traditionally erected Nativity scenes outside at Christmas time. To represent the birth of Jesus, the scenes include the baby, his mother and father, Mary and Joseph, together with the shepherds, their animals, and the “wise men from the East” who came to witness the birth.

Despite the fact that the story is rich in meaning and symbolism, these Nativity scenes have been stripped of their deeper meaning and have become quite two-dimensional and shallow. Like the anodyne carols that have come to define the season, the portrait of the birth that emerges is “peaceful,” “calm,” and “bright.” There is no hint of the oppressive Roman occupation that forced this couple to travel across the country to register in a new census mandated by the empire. Nor is there a recognition of the many ironies underlying the story: that this Jewish baby, who is to be a savior, is born in a cave surrounded by animals, or that the first to come to pay homage are lowly sheep herders and non-Jewish travelers from afar.

In fact, it is these various ironies and others like them that truly define the biblical Christian narrative. It is, in reality, an upside-down faith. In Jesus’ own words, it is a faith where the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It is meant not for the rich, the satisfied, and the powerful. Rather it is first intended for the poor, the hungry, the downtrodden, and the rejected. And it is for those who recognize this and who therefore commit themselves to serving “the least of these.”

With this in mind, it is fascinating to see how in recent years some Christians have taken to reclaiming the challenge inherent in their faith.

Just two years ago a Palestinian clergyman in Bethlehem replaced the stable in the Nativity scene with rubble in order to portray what was unfolding in Gaza. His setting of “Jesus in the rubble” eloquently told the story of the Palestinian people: vulnerable, stripped of their humanity, and subjected to indignities. As if to more deeply develop this identification, last year, Pope Francis was shown in quiet prayer before a manger scene in which the baby Jesus was wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh.

In somewhat the same vein, this year, a Catholic community in Massachusetts, given the threats faced by migrants and refugees in the United States, found their own deeper meaning in the Christmas story. In the Nativity scene they erected outside their church, there is no Jesus, Mary, or Joseph. Instead,........

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