Standing in the Creche By Beth DeCristofaro

Standing in the Creche By Beth DeCristofaro

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) - Mass During the Day

 

Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the LORD comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:9-10)

 

All the ends of the earth have seen
   the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
   break into song; sing praise. (Psalm 98:3-4)

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:1-5, 14)

(Vatican, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46591761 )

 

Piety

Happy Birthday, Jesus!  May I live standing in the love of the creche and know the certainty of salvation which you gifted to me.

(Vatican 2019, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-blesses-100-nativity-scenes-near-the-vatican-35262 )

 

Study

Like so many of you, I love Christmas creches.  Putting up the creches is my favorite decorating moment for the season.  Each little figure brings childhood memories back and words of Scripture, Old Testament and New, which tell the tale of a baby born, God breaking into history.  Each also has a story to tell of our hearts.

 

The innkeeper had no room.  Maybe we experience days -or more – of not having room for another.  Perhaps we have no room for the birth of new truths God is bringing to us.  The shepherds, sleepy and isolated, can show us what it is to be surprised and frightened when God’s glory is revealed, and to abandon their tasks to check it out!  According to our creches, they raced to the stable, bringing some of their sheep to see for themselves.  And animals have stories too:  the loyal little donkey and the ox which warmed the stable.  They were what they were meant to be, created by God.  How often can we relax into who we are meant to be, God’s very beloved child, to experience God’s inner peace and offer that, warming the world?

 

We can look at others, the persistent wise men, and the refusal of Herod, whose world view and authority was threatened.  Of Mary and Joseph, we see so much.  We witness the possibility of “yes,” the potential of putting ourselves at the mercy of God’s will, the fidelity to God through uncertainty and danger, and the love binding family together.

 

(Vatican 2020, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-christmas-display-to-be-a-sign-of-hope-during-pandemic-76603)

 

Action

How do the figurines of the creche challenge you?  We look at within, rejoicing while asking for God’s grace to be always –hopeful even in difficult and painful times – standing, bathed in the exuberant love of the baby, the Savior, our brother Jesus.