Divine Love
The Art of the Nativity
By Sarah Drummond
Unicorn Publishing Group, 132 pages, $37.95
Images drawn from Scripture have long been a source of education and contemplation in the Christian tradition, from the stained-glass windows of cathedrals to many paintings and sculptures. Given that our culture’s dominant forms of communication, such as movies, television, and social media, rely heavily on images, it may be time to revisit our tradition’s incredible treasure trove of scriptural images and allow them to spark in us deeper reflection and prayer.
The practice of visio divina, a twist on the tradition of lectio divina, guides Christians in reflecting on a visual depiction of a biblical story. While reflecting on art is one step removed from the text, it can still be a powerful way to engage with Scripture and see new facets of even very familiar stories.
Perhaps no story in the Bible is more familiar to us than that of the birth of Christ. As art historian and journalist Sarah Drummond puts it, “We are so familiar with the scene that we are in danger of failing to see, to wonder, to question, and to ponder.”
In Divine Love: The Art of the Nativity, Drummond gives us an entry point to seeing those events afresh. She invites us to look at and through these images to see the spiritual significance of the events they depict:
An image can be perceived and understood at different levels, and according to an ancient tradition, like Scripture, an image describes the inner world of man rather than external life. It can act as a reminder of the sacred: we know that the deepest meaning of the Nativity lies in a spiritual interpretation, and the mystery is encountered in the present moment.
Drummond draws together a remarkable range of images from the art traditions of Eastern and Western churches and surveys the history of the “spiritual interpretation” of these events.
This book is a visual feast, beautifully bound and printed, which results in crisp, clear images that leap off the page. Drummond introduces the reader to a variety of images from across the span of Christian art history, from the earliest depictions of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night on a fourth-century Roman sarcophagus to Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel’s painting of Mary and Joseph participating in the census in Bethlehem, which happens to look very much like a 16th-century Flemish village.
Along the way, Drummond examines a set of recurring motifs in Nativity scenes in closer detail to consider when and how they began to be depicted, what they symbolized, and how their depiction changed over time. For instance, the setting of a cave as the birthplace of Christ was probably first depicted simply because it was the likeliest place for Jesus to be born just outside Bethlehem, with its rocky landscape and many caves and crevasses.
Over time, the cave took on symbolic meaning, representing the darkened human state, now illuminated by the light of Christ. The cave was eventually replaced in much of Western European tradition with the stable, reflecting a desire to place the story of Jesus’ birth in a more familiar setting.
Drummond also traces the history of including an ox and ass in Nativity scenes. They are not mentioned by the gospel writers, but appear frequently by the baby Jesus in the manger. These animals take on a range of meanings in different time periods. At one point they are thought to represent the Jewish people and the Gentiles; at another they represent humility, in their willingness to serve Christ by carrying his mother to Bethlehem and giving up their manger to be his bed.
Often some element of the recurring motifs, figures, and symbols Drummond studies is not found in the gospel accounts. Drummond tracks down those extrabiblical sources, whether a non-canonical account or a private revelation, such as St. Birgitta’s 14th-century vision of the infant Christ lying upon the ground, which had a major influence on Nativity scenes for centuries afterward.
This book beautifully blends art history, analysis, and an invitation to personal devotion and contemplation. Divine Love would be a useful resource for preachers looking for a fresh angle on retelling the Christmas story, and for Christians seeking to enter into the mystery of the Nativity through visio divina.
Anyone approaching the book with this desire will be aided by the abundance of quotations that Drummond weaves into her text from figures such as Augustine, Origen, and St. Francis. Their words illustrate the significance that particular elements of the Nativity story had in their day, and encourage the reader to reflect further on the miracle, mystery, and gift of the Incarnation.
For instance, Augustine encouraged his readers to relate to Christ’s Nativity in the most personal terms: “What does it avail me that this birth is always happening, if it does not happen in me?” With this book as our companion, may we pray along with the Christmas hymn: “O holy Child of Bethlehem, / descend to us, we pray; / cast out our sin and enter in, / be born in us today.”
