The Grace of Greccio: 800 Years of Tradition
by Darleen Pryds
A Living Nativity
Dedicated to retracing Christ’s footsteps, Francis considered creating a living Nativity to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Without his good friend John—a man who knew how to get things done in the real world—Francis’ hope and aspiration to experience consolation in a faithful re-creation of the Incarnation likely would have remained a silent thought in the solitude of his cell. As a colleague of mine often remarks, “Francis couldn’t organize lint in his pocket.” Organizing a living Nativity was beyond Francis’ capability, but it was not beyond John’s.
Fifteen days before Christmas, Francis summoned John and told him he wanted to have a living Nativity scene, complete with animals, hay, a manger, and a baby. He wanted to see, touch, and smell all there was to sense in the baby’s own awkward place, lying in an animal’s food trough. Just as Francis himself was experiencing discomfort and anguish—both physical and emotional—he wanted to share in the experience of the baby Jesus. He knew that it would be through visceral engagement, using all his senses, that he would find solace, hope, and compassion. Although he usually sought solitude, he asked to experience this in community, and he asked his friend John to make it happen.
Celano offers little detail about the work John brought to this task. Celano tells us that when “the day of joy” had arrived, Francis found all things had been prepared: “The manger is prepared, the hay is carried in, and the ox and the ass are led to the spot. . . . Out of Greccio is made a new Bethlehem.”
Getting the Job Done
If any of you have ever helped organize a Christmas pageant, you know that things don’t just get done by themselves. Many hands and minds go into such an event. Preparing a place, locating the hay, making a manger, finding the suitable animals with manageable demeanors, and convincing parents to allow their baby to be exposed to such a vulnerable (albeit auspicious) role on an early winter’s night all took managerial skills and the collaboration of many people.
Francis may have had the idea, but he needed the oversight of someone with significant skills in coordinating the efforts of many people and animals. Francis needed John. And John needed the collaboration of many other people—all of whom are anonymous in the historical record—but whose support, interest, and physical assistance contributed to making the living Nativity happen.
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