From Mud to Marvel
United States
Kevin Hanna

Crafted by Kevin Hanna, Norwalk, CT, for The Marian Library Collection, this nativity representation intends to show the depth and strength of God's love for us. God meets us where we are, be it the muddy floor of a wide-open stable. The Child lies on soiled linen to show that Christ fully espoused the human condition – drabness, misery and all. Simultaneously, the tiny human being attracts the huddled masses pressing on him with eyes full of hope and faith. The figures are cast in the rough, but ageless style of northern European renaissance, that of the Brueghels in particular, and highlight the universal and timeless meaning of Christmas. The stark humanness of the event in the stable is contrasted by the "celestial bodies" hovering over it. Strange as it may be, the "celestial bodies" symbolize the strangeness of the Christmas mystery, meaning the difficulty we have to understand God, his message and presence among us. They also stand for the firmness and permanence of God's promise in Jesus Christ.