Silk or handwoven?

One of the points in our minister's sermon today was that the flight into Egypt was a horrible hardship. If you think about it, he's right. A young family, fleeing into Egypt, which to them would have been the place of slavery for the Israelites. They were heading to no home, no "job," no family, and fleeing from certain death of their child. It was a long, long trip with a newborn baby. Have you ever traveled with a newborn baby?

I was struck today by this piece of artwork. It reflects none of that hardship to me. Mary is wearing what looks like expensive silk. The baby is in a perfectly happy mood, comfortable. Joseph is wearing shoes that even look like they tie (maybe I'm imagining that). Is this a good artistic rendering of what happened?

Do we do that? Just like my post yesterday about dusting under Jesus, do we "pretty things up?" Do we ignore the hardship for the glory of the gospel story? Do we skip the trip to Bethlehem for the brightness of the star? Do we ignore the smell of manure in the stable for the shininess of the gift of gold? Do we forget about the crucifixion and go straight to the resurrection?

Do we accept the silk clothes and ignore the pain?

Image: The Flight into Egypt, Vittore Carpaccio