The occupation forces were decidedly peaceful in Davis Square this week. – Photo by Andrew Firestone

 By Andrew Firestone

In this holiday season, the First Church of Somerville decided to go tongue-in-cheek, recreating the Christmas story in Davis Square with a flavor of ‘Occupy.’ With no room or inn to let them stay, church members dressed as Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus sat out occupying Davis Square, as kings and courtiers presented gifts and wished them well, singing carols the whole way through.

Pastor Jeffrey Mansfield gave a Christmas sermon, reminding onlookers to be vigilant, and work for a better tomorrow. “We live in a world dominated by great kings and empires,” he said. “We are subject to technology and the media which tell us how to think.  We are ruled by a recession, by big corporations and Wall Street, and by the hours from 9 to 5.  We are governed by too many politicians who are owned by this world and too few of whom have been able to imagine something new or different with us.”

Mansfield said that what was needed was a little “advent misrule”: “to let the powers of this world be flipped upside down by the coming of these hopeful, Holy Days.”

“Imagine a world that could recognize the divinity within each pregnant woman, instead of idolizing money, and power, and greed,” he said.

“Imagine a world in which we brought our greatest gifts to our newborns, instead of wasting them on things that seem to matter so much less.”

“Imagine a world which could be made new – right now – not through any of our destructive apocalyptic fantasies. No meteors! No plagues! No zombies! No 2012! No rapture! But a world that could be made new right now by the birth of a baby.  Everything can change in this moment. We can put it all down. We can decide to be new.”