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| "It's Christmass. The time of year when we all get to act like Catholics." |
And this collection of plastic statues will be placed directly in front of the protesters home or place of worship. Some even put them in their place of worship. And, to all shock and astonishment, this is less offensive to the Protestant sensibility than this:
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| Scary Catholic Statue |
Think about it.
God -- Creator, Healer, Omnipotent, Holy... -- came to earth in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In your view, which of the two portrayals is more fitting? I know, I know. Catholics, also, whip out these plastic renditions of the Holy Family. Sure, we do. But, ignoring those criticism for a moment, the point is what we keep up all year, and what is not kept up all year.
Why, pray tell, is it okay to banish all statuaries, but during Christmas accept a plastic nativity of our Lord, His Mother, and St. Joseph? It is like passing over crème brûlée for a Twinkie and then lying on your weight-watchers e-report that you were "disciplined". It is not so much the plastic in general that bothers me, but rather the plastic in total. In other words, and in the slightly altered words of the cashier at Walmart, "(why) is plastic okay?"
Please understand that this small rant does not come from a foreign place, but rather a place I, too, have lived. At Christmas, before I was Catholic, I somehow glossed over my disdain for statuaries -- my sensibilities slightly dulled by the proximity of the Incarnation to my mind. I allowed the Holy Family to join me en sculpture, and I was never the worst for it. In fact, I hope you did not just miss my words there. "The proximity of the Incarnation to my mind" is precisely what changes everything. The prohibition against "graven images" had to do with the Image-not-yet-come. It was about keeping us reliant upon His salvation, not ours (see: golden calf). But when He did, send The Image, the world was forever marked, our imagination forever incapable of not copying the Masterpiece that dwelt among us.
Why?
Because we beheld His glory.
And so, in the form of our art, we declare that Image until the end of time.
Amen.
