One of the things we expect to
see in church during the Christmas season is the Crib. Our
service for children on Christmas Eve is based on the building up
of the Crib scene as the youngsters are invited to bring the various
figures in. Then, later on that evening the Crib is
dedicated at the beginning of the Midnight Mass. The
picture below shows HolyTrinity's Crib as it appeared last
year.
St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity
scene in 1223 in a cave in the hills above Greccio in
Italy. It was a living one with both humans and animals
cast in the Biblical roles. Such nativities became very popular and
spread throughout Christendom. Eventually statues replaced the living actors
and so the crib as we know it came to be an important aspect of the
celebration of the birth of Christ.
The tradition of the 'living' nativity is maintained by the
countless nativity plays performed by children in schools
and churches in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
But what motivated Francis to create this nativity scene? It seems
that as he prepared to celebrate Christmas 1223,he
remembered his recent visit to the Holy Land in which he
had been shown the traditional place of Christ's birth. He
wanted to help people understand what God has done for us by sending
Christ into the world by making it 'come alive' for them. The nativity scene
would illustrate St. Paul's teaching in Philippians that Christ Jesus
'though he was in the form of God ... emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness'.
Francis wanted everyone to understand that Christ came to
share our hardships, especially the sufferings of the poor and those on
the margins of society. So he wished to emphasise the
poverty of the stable in Bethlehem.The Son of God came into
our world to share our lot and to save us from our sins
through his death on the cross.
Perhaps St. Francis would not approve of some of our modern
Christmas Cribs. It could be argued that sometimes they
present a rather too cosy picture of the stable in
Bethlehem - all is peace and contentment and there is little
hint of what it must really have been like to give birth in a stable!
The poverty and 'emptying out' of the incarnation is
largely absent from the scene.
The whole purpose of Francis' nativity is in danger of getting
lost in what can so easily become pure sentimentality. I'm
not sure whether our Crib at Holy Trinity manages to convey
the true discomfort and poverty of Bethlehem or not. But it
certainly does invite us in to the mystery of the incarnation. Look
at the picture of the Crib. What you will see is that the figures -
Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds and the Magi - are all
gazing intently at the figure of Christ. They are not
simply looking all 'gooey eyed' at a new-born child. Rather
they are lost in love and praise' in their contemplation of
their Lord and Saviour.
The purpose of the Crib is surely to inspire in us a similar sense
of devotion to the new born Christ that we see in the faces
of the crib figures. So this Christmas go and have a proper
look at our Crib - go and spend some precious moments there
with your Lord and Saviour. Let the Crib speak to you of
the Lord who indeed emptied himself and took the form of a servant for your
sake.And reflect on the fact that he wishes us to serve him in the poor
and needy in our world today. St Francis would certainly
approve of all that!
On behalf of everyone at the Rectory, I wish everyone a very
joyful Christmas!
Fr.
John
