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(CNN) - A church in California exhibits a nativity scene that represents Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees and locked in cages to draw attention to the conditions faced by migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
The United Methodist Church of Claremont, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, published the photo on its website that shows the three in separate cages with barbed wire. The baby Jesus is wrapped in a blanket of silver paper.
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Lead pastor Karen Clark Ristine spoke with KABC, a CNN affiliate, about the scene outside the church. “We think of the world's most famous refugee family, the family of Jesus,” said Ristine.
In a Facebook post, Ristine said the exhibition came from the idea of "What would happen if this family sought refuge in our country today?"
The biblical story of Mary and Joseph fleeing from Israel to Egypt to escape King Herod's decree that all male babies were killed is a symbol of the plight of thousands of refugees seeking asylum in the United States, he said.
"In the crib of the United Methodist Church of Claremont this Christmas, the Holy Family takes the place of thousands of unnamed families separated at our borders," Ristine said in the post. “Imagine that José and María are separated at the border and that Jesus, who was not more than two years old, was taken from his mother and placed behind bars at a Border Patrol detention center where more than 5,500 children have been in the last three years. "
"If this provokes a conversation, that would be a good goal," Ristine told KABC.
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It certainly has caused a conversation.
The commentators in the Facebook post were heavily divided.
“In my opinion, it is disrespectful to put the King of Kings, Lord of Lords in a cage at any time. Your political opinions should not be mixed with the birth of our savior. What a shame! ”Wrote one user
Another thought that the scene was a very powerful exhibition.
“Do the world's most famous and worshiped refugees separated in cages make you feel uncomfortable? … If it does? … Good!".
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