Pieter Bruegel the Elder, father of Pieter Bruegel the Younger, also a painter, created during the Flemish Renaissance. He painted realistic scenes with large casts engaging in activities throughout the canvas. His works have a historically accurate “Where’s Waldo?” feel. In this painting Mary and Joseph can be the subjects of your search.

Pieter the Elder sets the Bethlehem story not in that town but in his own time and place. He shows us the daily life of a Flemish village in the harsh winter of 1565. He also shows us ordinary, poor people forced in the bitter cold to crowd toward a scribe to register with the government. It has been named a criticism of all bureaucracies and their demands through the ages.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder seems to challenge us to see the words of Luke in our own days and spaces. This painting seems a challenge to bring the story into our own circumstances and say our prayers from there. May this be so for each of us as the birth celebration draws near.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church