The Miracle of Our Lady: The Nativity

from the opera Hry o Marii (The Miracles of Mary)

by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. 

In December 2008, the United Methodist Churches of the Czech Republic sent a DVD Christmas greeting to the churches of the Johnson City District. The DVD contains a 16 minute video with children from Maranatha UMC in Plzen portraying characters in the Christmas story as told in the opera Hry o Marii (The Miracles of Mary) by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.  

While the opera is in Czech, English lyrics are included in the DVD case and it is very easy to follow the story as re-enacted by the children. Each pastor is encouraged to share this Christmas greeting with their congregation, either in worship, small group meetings, Sunday school classes, or by making it available for families to check out and watch at home.

Synopsis:

The video opens to an instrumental overture with scenes from a modern day Czech city, Plzen. Children playing on the sidewalk disappear from sight and reappear in the countryside. As the Chorus begins, the Virgin Mary is on a long journey through the countryside. She passes among the children playing, and then into a town looking for a place to spend the night.

The innkeeper turns her away because it is an unsuitable environment for an expectant mother. The inn is filled with drunks and gamblers who party all night. Mary (now joined by Joseph) then goes to a blacksmith who also turns her away because he is busy working to forge long nails as a gift for the Christ child, which ironically look like the type nails that will someday be used to hang him from the cross.

Frightened, Mary runs away and finds a cowshed where she gives birth. The Holy Family is visited by children of the village and the three Wisemen who bring gifts for the child.

The blacksmith’s daughter comes to see the newborn baby in the wee hours of the morning. She has no hands, but Mary tells her to touch the child and God will give her hands. Healed, the joyous girl runs home to tell her father of the miracle.

The blacksmith is happy that her daughter is healed, but saddened because he had turned Mary away, not knowing she was the mother of the Christ child. The girl shows all of the other children her new hands as her father mourns his mistake and remembers the forlorn face of the mother seeking shelter. A friend comes to comfort him and they join the people flocking to the stable to see the newborn child.

As the Holy Family is joined in the cowshed by the townspeople, Mary remembers learning from an angel that she will give birth to the Lord God; her search for a place to stay; and the healing of the blacksmith’s daughter.

In the closing scene, Joseph helps Mary prepare to leave Bethlehem, and children help to wrap the baby warmly for their long journey.  The townspeople, Wisemen and angels then follow Mary, Joseph and Jesus as they leave Bethlehem.

If you are interested in viewing the video, check with your pastor to see if it is being shown at your church or if you can check it out for personal or group viewing.