Catholic Diocese of Broome

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a very low doorway so that in order to enter you have to bow down in a manner of forced reverence. When I first experienced this humbling entre into the celebrated birth place of Jesus Christ the Saviour, I remember thinking how fitting it was that we approached the crib scene in such a way. Our body language was that of supplication and respect, bent over as we were.
At home, far from the precinct of Bethlehem, the crib scenes on display in our churches fill me with a similar sense of admiration. Some cribs are simple and uncomplicated, while others have the details of a well produced movie set. It doesn’t matter really what they look like. What cries out for our acknowledgement and prayerful recollection is the inspiration for the crib scene – the Gospel infancy narratives that announced to humankind, ‘Unto us is born a Saviour. He is Christ the Lord’.

The suffering and sacrifice of Mary and Joseph is evident in their squalid surroundings. The child is born in a stable meant for animals – a shed that speaks of poverty without any deprivation of love. They bear the injustice of their surroundings with dignity and resolve, powerless but strangely grateful for the bare shelter made available for them.

The presence of the angels is the divine touch assuring us that this human birth that appears like any other is yet at the same time like no other. This birth of a boy-child will forever change the history of the human race. God, through this birth, has entered into human life binding with his creatures in a covenant of love.

The wise men present gifts in gratitude and veneration, not for each other we note, but for the Son of God. They came as strangers driven by curiosity and a quest, searching for the sacred. They are grateful for having witnessed a moment of epic proportions that heralded a new relationship between God and humankind, sealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ some thirty-three years later.

It would be a sad loss for us if the lessons of the simple crib scene in our churches passed us by unnoticed. Last year I saw a mother and father together with their three children pointing out the details of the crib at a Church. The presence of angels, wise men and the Holy Family were spoken about in a manner that would please any competent catechist.

The Christmas story is a beautiful one filled with hope, new life and bright promise. It truly is a family story with a familiar faith dimension so striking that to pray about the message will bring us to our knees in wonder and awe of God’s love for us. Let us pray that we may reverence God and each other, being always grateful for life as God’s gift to us. May the peace of Christmas and God’s choicest blessings be with you and your family.