Since he was a boy growing up in Missisippi, Father Tim has lived what he calls “the life of the mind.” Except for cooking and gardening and washing his dog, he never learned to savor the work of his hands. And then he finds a derelict nativity scene—twenty figures, including a flock of sheep, that have suffered the indignities of time and neglect.Could he give the small company new life? Restore the camel’s ear, repaint every piece, replace a missing nose on a wise man? “You can’t teach a...