A few years ago, Pope Francis wrote an Apostolic Letter on the Creche, the tradition of displaying the manger scene during the days of Christmas.  The Holy Father praised this beautiful custom and he encouraged all Christians to reflect on the manger scene because the creche and all of its figures and symbols have something to teach us about the wonder of the incarnation as well as the life of faith.  There is healing grace and instruction to be found in the manger scene. 

The simplicity and humility of the scene itself instructs.  God chose to enter into his creation in a simple and unassuming way.  God comes as a newborn infant in a scene marked more by poverty and simplicity than by power and comfort.  God so often prefers to come to us in such simple ways, so simple that we often do not even recognize it or might even take it for granted.  The beauty of a particular day, an act of kindness or honest human care and companionship, the simplicity of bread and wine that truly becomes the body and blood or our Lord.  Contemplating on the manger scenes helps to attune our hearts to how God enters our lives. 

Sometimes the manger is set amidst ruins.  There was an ancient story of a pagan Temple of Peace in Rome.  It was prophesied that the temple would collapse when a virgin gave birth.  On the night of the incarnation, the temple in Rome crumbled.  The “peace” that the temple proclaimed was not the peace of God’s Kingdom but rather the peace of the Roman empire – a “peace” built on conquest and oppression.  The birth of the true Prince of Peace continually overcomes this false peace built by all the Caesars throughout history. 

The shepherds in the field were the first to hear the good news of the birth of Christ.  They are the lowly ones of society – the poor and the forgotten by the world but not by God whose heart overflows in mercy.  On the Feast of the Epiphany, the three magi arrive to adore the newborn king, their journeys were long and often our journeys to Christ and the journeys of those we love are long and laborious.  The magi teach us the value of perseverance and hope. 

Mary and Joseph – their faces are turned in adoration of the Christ child but their hands always welcome each of us to also adore and behold in wonder.  They even invite us to cradle the newborn infant in our own arms.  At the heart of the whole scene is the newborn Jesus.  It is only when the baby is placed in the manger that the whole scene comes alive.  The apostle John reminds us that in Jesus, “life was made manifest,” (1 Jn. 1:2).  Beneath his weakness and frailty, is the power to transform and make all things new.  He is the word made flesh. 

I want to share three images from the creche that have spoken to me this Christmas.  The first is straw.  Being “laid in a manger” implies being among the animals of the field which implies straw and hay.  There is a Ukranian custom of putting straw on the floor of one’s house and hay under the dining room table cloth on Christmas in order to draw us into the scene itself.  The manger is the feeding trough, this newborn child is to be nourishment (the bread of life) for the whole world.  Blessed are we if we learn to receive this bread. 

The second image are the swaddling clothes – the tight bands put around newborn infants.  Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes at the beginning of his life with us and he is wrapped in burial cloth at the end of his life with us, his mission completed.  At the heart of each moment is God’s never-ending love.  Love born into the midst of our sin and error and love willing to take on the weight of our sin and die that we might have life. 

The final image is the quiet and darkness of the night itself.  Sometimes the darkness of night can be a fearful thing but I do not think so for this night.  A clear night opens us to the wonder of the stars and vastness of all creation.  A quiet night also brings peace to our souls.  The nativity was in a rural setting.  It was not in the noise of a city’s night but rather in the quiet and peace of the countryside marked only by the occasional sound of the field animals.  There is a peace that can only be gained when we welcome Jesus into our lives, when we make of our hearts a manger for the Christ child. 

May we learn the wonder of the creche.  May we welcome the Christ child this Christmas. 

Peace.