The Props of Christmas Series 2017

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I will lead a new series called "The Props of Christmas."  Many of us place nativity scenes in our homes as “props” that tell the story of Jesus’ birth.  Some are simple sets with only Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child in a manger.  Others are more elaborate with a menagerie of characters: sheep and shepherds, camel and kings, donkey, ox, and angel. 

In the world of theater, a prop is “a physical object that an actor uses during a performance.”¹  According to drama professor Andrew Sofer, props are objects on a journey.  They “trace spatial trajectories and create temporal narratives as they track through a given performance.”² 

The props of Christmas take us on a journey.  The pieces of a nativity set take us back in time to first-century Bethlehem when God became flesh.  They have a theatrical purpose with theological meaning.  The Actor uses them in performing the divine drama.  Our December series will show how God uses the various props of Christmas to enact the gospel. 

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¹ Eric Hart, The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and Tv (New York: Focal Press/Taylor, 2013), 2.

² Andrew Sofer, The Stage Life of Props, Theater--Theory/Text/Performance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003), 2.

  

December 3 — Bach Cantata № 36

Star

Matthew 2:7-8

December 10 — Communion

Donkey

Matthew 21:1-5

December 17

Stable

Luke 2:7

December 24

Rod and Staff

Ezekiel 34:11-16

December 24 — Christmas Eve

Wrapping

Luke 2:1-7

December 31

Gifts

Matthew 2:1-12