“The Matchless Gift of God’s Divine Son”

Esther Merino (Peruvian, b. 1944)
La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) Nativity Wreath (2024)
Textile, 25 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches
Courtesy of Springville Art Museum

Art Companion

Esther Merino’s La Sagrada Familia is a special kind of Christmas wreath. The unfolding scene is a Peruvian countryside, filled with ordinary labor, animals, neighbors, and daily rhythms. But follow the circular story to the top, and you’ll discover the familiar Christmas stable under a star. In this setting, Christ’s birth is not set apart from daily life, it is woven into it.

The circular form of the wreath suggests continuity and return. Christ enters the world quietly, among people going about their lives, and His presence continues to move through those same spaces.

This echoes the Christmas lesson’s invitation to see Jesus not only as a figure of the past, but as a living influence whose life, resurrection, and promised return shape the present. The Savior’s story doesn’t stop at the manger—it comes full circle in how we recognize Him in our own surroundings.

While on the earth, Jesus "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). What specific "good" can you do for someone this week? How have you benefited from "good" done by Jesus? How have you benefited from "good" done by one of his followers?
2. Why do you want to be like Jesus?
3. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." What can you do to show appreciation for this indescribable gift?

For Children & Youth

This artwork looks like a Christmas wreath, but instead of pine branches, it’s filled with people, animals, and places from the artist’s home in Peru. Jesus is born right in the middle of everything—near farms, rivers, and families going about their day.

The circle shape reminds us that Jesus is part of our lives not just at Christmas, but all year long. Even when things feel ordinary, His story keeps going—and we’re part of it.