The Christmas Crèche

Rector’s Roundup for December, 2021

Parish Family-

Happy Christmastide to all of you! I hope that you have enjoyed the celebration of our Lord’s Incarnation and Birth and have had a chance to gather with family and friends. I also hope that you have had a chance to spend some time pondering the great and wonderful mystery of the event we celebrate. Although we may be inclined to sentimentalize or secularize the Feast of Christmas, we do well to remember that it is not primarily about presents, good feelings, decorations, carols, or indulgent foods (although we all enjoy those things very much!). Rather, it is the yearly commemoration of the extraordinary event that changed the course of human history forever, and around which all of human history has come to find its purpose. The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar put it wonderfully when he said, “Christmas is not an event within history, but is rather the invasion of time by eternity.” What happens in the Incarnation is the entrance of God into his own creation. In becoming Man, God revealed the fullness of his nature and divine life to humanity, and he expressed the unfathomable depth of his love for us. In the first chapter of his Gospel (which was our lesson at Mass this past Sunday), St John attempts to grasp how it can be that the one who cannot be contained by anything came to be a tiny child in the womb of blessèd Mary. John teaches that Jesus is the divine Logos – the Word – who was God and is God. The climax comes in verse 14, when he says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” What Jesus reveals at Christmas is the fullness of God’s glory, because he himself is God-in-the-flesh.

There are many different ways we can pause to reflect on these wonderful mysteries at the core of our faith. Most of our Christmas decorations and traditions, at their root, are intended to communicate theological truths to those who observe them. It was St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226 AD) who popularized the devotional use of the crèche (“nativity scene”) within the western Church. Both at home and in the parish, the crèche serves as a visual and tangible reminder of the manner in which God chose to become one of us… not in splendor, pomp, or power, but in lowliness, fragility, and poverty. Such is the extent of God’s love for us. Notice too that each of the things in the crèche can help us meditate on some aspect of who God is and what he has done:

  • Jesus is born in Bethlehem. In Hebrew it is called, “Bet Lehem,” which means “House of Bread.” Jesus will one day teach the world that he is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and he will take bread and give it to his Church as his Body (1 Cor. 11:24).

  • Jesus’ birth is foretold by a star, since he is the one who placed the stars in the heavens (John 1:1-3).

  • Jesus is surrounded by animals in a stable, since he is the Lord of all creation, and he saved them through the flood with Noah in the Ark.

  • Jesus is adored by the humble shepherds, since he is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).

  • Jesus is worshiped by the magi – three kings from the East – because he is the true King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14).

  • Jesus’ birth is announced by the angels because he is the one who created them, and they serve as messengers of his glory (Matt. 26:53)

  • Jesus is nursed by his blessèd mother, who he will give to the Church to be a spiritual mother and exemplar (John 19:25-27). He is protected by St Joseph, whose humility and obedience are to be modeled by all Christians.

  • Jesus is laid in a manger – a feeding trough for animals – because his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink, and those who eat of him will live forever (John 6:56).

  • Jesus is wrapped in swaddling cloths because he will one day be wrapped and laid in the tomb, from which he will emerge triumphant over evil and death.

  • The magi lay at his feet gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The traditional antiphon for the Magnificat on the Feast of the Epiphany explains the significance of these gifts: “From the east the Magi came to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures, they offered costly gifts: gold to the great King, incense to the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial. Alleluia!”

As I experience Christmas afresh every year – and as I begin to see it in a new way through the eyes of my children – I continually find myself amazed at how much more there is of God’s beauty and glory in what he has done. No matter how many times you have celebrated Christmas, there is always more to be gleaned from it. And this is what keeps Christianity so incredibly interesting. No matter how frequently we come back to the fundamental truths of our faith, there is always more of God to be seen in them.

This Christmastide may our incarnate Lord Jesus Christ fill you with love, joy, peace, and wonder!

Please note some of the things going on in the next few weeks:

  • Jan. 1st – The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus – 10am Low Mass

  • Jan. 2nd – Second Sunday in Christmastide – 8am Low Mass, 10:30am Choral High Mass
    Parish Potluck & Bingo – 5pm in the Parish Hall

  • Jan. 6th – The Feast of the Epiphany – Noon Low Mass with Blessing of Chalk

  • Jan. 9th – The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord
    8am Low Mass, 10:30am Solemn High Mass with Baptisms and Blessing of Water

  • Jan. 23rd – Annual Parish Meeting
    9:30am combined Choral High Mass; meeting immediately following

  • Feb. 3-6th – St Gabriel’s Conference – Camp Crucis in Granbury

  • Feb. 11-12th – Diocesan Men’s Conference – St Peter & St Paul in Arlington

“Almighty God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word: Grant that the same light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.” (2019 BCP, pg. 604)

In Christ,
Fr Joseph Francis SSC
Rector