Did you know that St. Francis of Assisi was credited with creating the first creche scene? He was enamoured with the humble surroundings of Christ’s birth, the humility, the simplicity and endeavoured to recreate the scene in miniature as an inspiration and an icon.
At home I have a creche scene made of olive wood. The housing is basic and unadorned and the figures are beautifully carved, in simple and smooth curves, no details, no faces. Yet we recognize each one because we know the story of that holy night so well. Each king or wise man has a name and each shepherd has his sheep. The frame may be basic, but we know it to be a stable, just as we know the curved oval must be the manger and the little wooden peg must be Christ. We have the story in mind and we know what each part of our creche scene represents, and this is as firm in our traditions as Christmas cake.
However, in Palestine the story is slightly different, because there it is well known that Christ was born in a cave. The cave was a common humble attachment to a house that allowed the animals to stay in the home with people and provide heat during the night. Christ was still known to have been born where the animals were stabled and laid in the manger, but in a cave rather than a stable.
Over time though, it seems that the church felt that this humble setting was unworthy of our lord, and the church felt the need to dress it up a bit, back in 2008 I had the opportunity to travel to Bethlehem and while there I got to visit to the church of the nativity, which was built over the place where Jesus was said to be born. The church of the Nativity was built starting in 327 and worshiped in almost continually since, the church is vast and lavish.
Imagine if you will….a church filled to the brim with hanging oil lamps, tapers and incense rising from bronze stands, Constantinian frescos and mosaics on the walls and columns, icons of the Madonna and child covered with silver and gold, and in a side room stands an altar surrounded by very expensive, and very old fabric…under this altar ….surrounded by icons and encircled by a silver star on the floor is hole.
People come from all over the world to put their hand in that hole…and if you do…. you will feel a cold, smooth stone… the roof of the cave where Jesus was born. The whole magnificent church was build to cover that rock, to provide a magnificent housing for the humblest of creche settings.
Nearby another crèche is full of busy, devout people. This place is called La Creche, and it is an orphanage run by catholic nuns. It houses Palestinian children who have been born in the most desperate of circumstances.
Each year the nuns of La Creche take the children to visit the church of the nativity and they tell the children the story of Jesus. How the Son of God came into the world, born out of wedlock, in very similar circumstances to each of them and how he loves and saves them. It gives the children hope, it helps them know they aren’t alone.
We love to romanticize Jesus’ birth, to fill the manger with clean straw and have respectful, handsome shepherds visit with well behaved lambs…we like the blue robed, healthy happy Mary cradling the blond blue eyed baby, and her adoring husband to be Joseph looking on.
We celebrate Christmas with evergreen trees decked out with lights and tinsel, exchange gifts and eat till we can eat no more …and we love every bit of it! And I’m not knocking it! Tomorrow at my place we will have our Christmas breakfast…and sit round the tree opening our stockings and later we will have my very boisterous family over in the annual gorging.
However, in this sparkling wonderland…full of lights and presents it is easy to gloss over the reality of Christmas. To focus on the gold decor rather than the cave and the reasons Christ was born there. It is important to remember the humble beginnings of our Christmas celebrations, the dirt, the stable, the humility; something that is especially important to remember as this year the birth place of the prince of peace, is once again surrounded by war. The need for a prince of peace is unforgettable for those in Bethlehem, but can be more difficult for we who are privileged and safe. When we look oat our creche scene’s we need to remember the local realities that make the Christmas Cheerboard, and Manitoba Harvest a necessity.
Christ came into this world in a very real way…crying and messy like every other human child…so that he could know and experience what our lives are like. Christ came teaching a radical message that was revolutionary in ancient Israel and is no less radical or necessary today. The message that God walks with us and dwells in the most humble circumstances, among the lost and sinful, amid the hopeless and those in need. That is among each of us and Christ call us to do the same.
Christ calls us to live our lives in love and charity toward our neighbour. Christ calls us to step out of our comfort zones and come face to face reality. Christ calls us to spend time, quality time with those on the margins of society. Christ calls us to follow him. Being grateful for what we have, and
Our Lord chose the path of love over the path of prosperity throughout his life and in tonight we hear that even before he was born…his life was a humble one. The church of the Nativity is full of silver and gold, artworks and statuary beyond price, but the real point of value is a rock. We may try to keep Christ surrounded by that which we find impressive, but Christ is always found most clearly in humble circumstances.
As we worship this day, as we spend the rest Christmas delighting in the gifts we exchange, as we feast with family and friends…I pray that we will take time to recall how Christ spent his life … and the reason this little babe came to be born into our world so long ago. I pray that we can reflect on Christ’s life, remembering our humility in the midst of our prosperity.
In this blessed season where generosity and humility go hand in hand, may the Holy Spirit which directed Christ’s]
life in humility of service direct all of our relationships in the ways of humility, charity and love.
Amen.