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Gospel: Luke 2:15-20
When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Merry Christmas!
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I’m sure most of you have a Christmas tree standing tall at home, fully decorated with ornaments and gifts beneath it.
Some may also have a nativity set, depicting the birth of Jesus that first Christmas night.
A number of our children made their own nativity scene in faith formation last week to help them imagine the scene.
This is a tradition that dates back 800 years to Saint Francis of Assisi, who assembled the first nativity scene.
However, his was much simpler than ours. Today we often see nativity scenes crowded with figurines. But Francis included only three: Jesus, an ox, and a donkey.
No Mary, no Joseph, no shepherds, no angels, no magi, no star. Only Jesus, an ox, and a donkey.
Why was his so simple?
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Saint Francis boiled the meaning of Christmas down to its essence.
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We know why Jesus was placed there. We’re celebrating his birth, which is nothing less than the miraculous arrival of God in the flesh.
But why the ox and the donkey?
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They are first mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, who foretold the coming of the Lord.
In the opening lines of the Book of Isaiah, the LORD says, “An ox knows its owner and a donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know me; my people have not understood.”
What is it that our Hebrew ancestors did not understand? Or what was it that Saint Francis wanted us to see?
Time and time again, Israel failed to recognize the LORD in their midst, who often revealed himself through his Word and the prophets.
Although an ox recognizes its owner – it’s the one who feeds, nourishes, and shelters them – “Israel does not know me,” the LORD says. “My people have not understood.”
Israel failed to see the Lord in their midst, much as the innkeeper failed to see God present in the Christ-child that first Christmas night.
This is why Francis chose the ox and the donkey to be in his nativity scene, to encourage us to see what the animals see, to recognize that our master is here, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.
Jesus is “Emmanuel,” God with us. God “for” us. He has come to usher in that kingdom of peace foretold in our first reading.
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There are two other aspects of our Lord’s birth that we are invited to “see” this Christmas.
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From the very beginning, Jesus is setting the stage for what he will leave behind: his resurrected presence in the Eucharist.
This is emphasized by the fact that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, meaning, “house of bread,” and in a manger, literally, “a feeding trough.”
Do we “see” this?
Do we recognize Christ in the Eucharist, first born in Bethlehem – the house of bread – born in a manger?
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The other aspect of the nativity scene is what we don’t see: the closed door of the inn.
The Gospel tells us, “There was no room for them.” Anyone staying inside the inn was, literally and figuratively, distanced from Jesus.
But we who look upon the manger this Christmas are near. We are out in the elements, standing, gazing, pondering, what his birth means for us.
Like the donkey and the ox, we recognize our Master and we want to “see” him.
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This is what brought each of us here.
A desire to “see” God fully alive in this child.
To “see” him fully present in the Eucharist.
To “see” him still working wonders in our lives.
While our nativity sets will soon be returned to storage for another year, may the essence of what it teaches us remain – God fully present in this Christ-child, who feeds us in this Eucharist, who is still acting in our lives today.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, Merry Christmas!
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