Editorial

“God made into flesh.”

These words, uttered by the astonished Melchior after the star leads him and the other two magi to Bethlehem to find Jesus in the manger, encapsulate the central truth of the biblical account of Jesus’ birth: Immanuel, God with us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23).

On this essential point – and many others – New Line Cinema’s “The Nativity Story,” a feature film set for release Dec. 1 (PG rating for some violent content), gets it right. Although one could quibble that the film depicts the magi meeting the family in the stable right after Jesus’ birth, rather than in the family’s “house” at some point later (Matt. 2:11), the same compression of events takes place in virtually every church drama or musical celebrating the nativity – and the “wise men” are always included in our own nativity sets.

What was clear to me as I screened “The Nativity Story” was that the filmmakers were intent on being as true as possible to what the Bible tells us about Jesus’ birth. Throughout “The Nativity Story” – which weaves together the birth narratives of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke – the film is a faithful re-telling in dramatic fashion of this crucial witness of Scripture. All of the parts to this complex story are faithfully told by the movie:

--the angelic visitations to Zechariah predicting Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John even though she is beyond her child-bearing years and to Mary that she, although a virgin, will conceive the Son of God;

--Mary’s visit to Elizabeth in which she finds her cousin pregnant, just as Gabriel had told Mary;

--Joseph’s initial intention to secretly reject Mary because of her pregnancy, but he reverses course after he, too, is visited by an angel in a dream who confirms Mary’s claim concerning her pregnancy;

--the interactions of the magi and King Herod concerning the prophesy of the birth of the King of the Jews and Herod’s enraged attempt to kill this threat to his throne by ordering the slaughter of all boys under the age of two in Bethlehem; and

--the flight to Egypt by Mary and Joseph after Joseph was warned by an angel about Herod’s intentions.

In addition to dramatically portraying what the Bible tells us about this story, “The Nativity Story” also depicts the extraordinary challenges faced by Mary and Joseph as they sought to be faithful and righteous in the midst of the incredible news that Mary had become pregnant while still a virgin. The Bible reports that Mary and Joseph accepted God’s providence in their lives, but we learn very little about just how difficult it must have been for both of them.

Mary, a young girl who had been betrothed to Joseph but remained a virgin, returns from her visit with Elizabeth and must face her parents and Joseph with the news that she is pregnant – and that the conception was a miraculous act of God. Mary’s parents and Joseph are shocked by her pregnancy and, understandably, incredulous at Mary’s claim.

“I have broken no vow. I have told the truth,” Mary tells her parents and Joseph, adding, “There is a will for this child greater than my fear….”

Joseph has a dream in which Mary is on the verge of being stoned by the community for her illegitimate pregnancy, but an angel interrupts the scene and tells Joseph that Mary is indeed pregnant with the Son of God and that he will name the child, Jesus.

The next day, Joseph tells Mary, “God showed me. I believe you.”

The film effectively shows the shunning and scorn experienced by Mary, and now by Joseph, helping us to appreciate the difficulty they faced and their faithfulness to follow God’s will for their lives.

In a poignant scene in which Mary and Joseph rest along their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem they speculate together what it will be like to be parents to the Son of God. “I wonder if I will be able to teach Him anything,” Joseph tells Mary, as they both admit to being a bit afraid of what the future holds for them and Jesus.

The Bible tells us very little about Mary, and even less about Joseph – who is described as “a righteous man” (Matt. 1:19). And the film helps us see just how righteous he was. In light of the social derision and unfathomable challenge he faced, it really is incredible that Joseph kept Mary as his wife in the wake of the news that she was pregnant – and that her son would be the Son of God, no less!

“The Nativity Story” also makes subtle allusions to the future work of Jesus: Joseph tells Mary as they see the merchants’ activity outside the temple in Jerusalem, “This was meant to be a holy place,” expressing the anger Jesus would later show in His cleansing of the temple (Matt. 21:12-13); when the magi present their gifts to baby Jesus, each explains the significance – gold for a king, frankincense for the “Priest of priests,” and myrrh for his future sacrifice; and in a clever foreshadowing of the empty tomb, one of Herod’s soldiers waves a torch in the now empty stable/cave revealing only a leftover swaddling cloth left by the family when they fled for Egypt.

Given the faithfulness of the film, it’s especially unfortunate that the personal life of the actress who plays Mary, Keisha Castle-Hughes, has drawn attention. Less than two months before the film was to be released, the 16-year-old, unmarried Castle-Hughes announced that she is pregnant. The irony has not been lost on the press – “From Virgin Mary to mum” was the headline in The New Zealand Herald, a leading newspaper of the actress’s native country. The pregnancy comes after what the Herald calls a “three-year romance” with her 19-year-old boyfriend.

According to Gail Cowen, Castle-Hughes’ agent, the couple is “extremely happy” about the pregnancy. “Who cares if she is only 16?” said one family member, reported the Herald. John Barnett, producer of “Whale Rider,” a movie for which Castle-Hughes earned a best actress Oscar nomination as a 13-year-old, joked to the Herald that perhaps her pregnancy was an “immaculate conception” (the Roman Catholic doctrine of Mary’s preservation from original sin not to be confused with the virgin birth of Jesus).

Tragically, it seems most of the discussion about Castle-Hughes’ pregnancy centered on her ability to handle the pressures of motherhood as a 16-year-old and whether the pregnancy will harm her promising acting career, with little discussion of the morality of sexual activity among unmarried teenagers.

Evangelical leaders, including David Jeremiah and Anne Graham Lotz, have dismissed concerns that the out-of-wedlock pregnancy of the actress who portrays the virgin Mary will overshadow “The Nativity Story” and that the pregnancy harms the potential effectiveness of the film.

“An actor or actress is just that; they are acting out a part on screen or stage that is very often radically different than who they are in private life,” Lotz told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

I understand the point. We’re certainly in no position to know the moral and, perhaps more important, spiritual status of most actors; but when it comes to the lead and she’s portraying the virgin Mary, it’s not a minor matter than the unmarried actress has announced she is pregnant.

While we can be grateful that Castle-Hughes has rightly chosen to keep the child, this controversy is not surprising. We should not lose sight of the fact that “The Nativity Story” is not a Christian enterprise, even though it faithfully tells a vital part of the Christian Gospel. The Billy Graham Association, after all, did not produce this film, New Line Cinema did, which also brought us “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “The Wedding Crashers.”

And even though there were reportedly committed Christians involved in this project in vital capacities (including screenwriter Mike Rich), we should all be careful to not invest more in this film than can be reasonably expected of a secular effort.

Still, we should also not fail to commend Hollywood when it does reverently and accurately portray the Christian faith. Many of us have complained for many years that Tinseltown has ignored family values and does not understand Christianity. Given the sinful frailties of the actors and the limitations of the producer, “The Nativity Story” nevertheless deserves the support of evangelicals.

“The Nativity Story” offers a respectful and faithful portrayal of the biblical account of the incarnation – the radical truth articulated by Melchior upon finding Jesus – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14).