The Nativity Scene

During the speech, the Holy Father asked those present to imagine themselves as Mary and Joseph, anxiously waiting to hold the divine child in their arms, and invited them to rediscover the tradition of setting up the crèche in the home. It is a “simple and eloquent way,” to remember the real meaning of Christmas, said Benedict.

The crèche, in fact, speaks to us of the meeting between two protagonists: the divine and the human. We need to hear that story now just as much as our ancestors did in 1223, when Francis of Assisi reproduced for the first time the scene of the Nativity in a cave in Greccio.

As in Francis’ times, humanity today stands in great need of God, and thirsts for a love capable of breaking through the terrible solitude oppressing so many human hearts; humanity stands in need of a love so strong as to be able to bring to an end the numerous brutal conflicts raging throughout our war-torn planet.

“Setting up the crèche,” is therefore today, as never before, an invitation to peace and hope, a gesture of love which is sure to heal many a moral wound, a gesture that speaks a universal language to all human hearts.

The divine is represented by the scene which gives meaning to all the others: the mystery of the Incarnation. It comprises the figures of the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who stand between the ox and the donkey. The fact that the scene depicts the place where the Eternal makes contact with the dimension of Time is indicated by the presence of the angels, who proclaim that henceforth Heaven will dwell upon earth.

The other protagonist, the human, is represented by three different types of people. In the first place are the shepherds, the poor herdsmen whose hearts are open to God’s surprises, and to whom the Angel announces the presence of Christ among them. Then the Three Wise Men, who represent all the peoples illumined by the light of the star, in other words, the peoples who are receptive to the Gospel message. Finally, the rest of humankind, that is, the cold and wayward multitude, represented by the guests of the village inn, which had no room for Mary and Joseph.

The Nativity Scene, with its truly Christian message, does not ignore our smaller companions, the animals. None are left out, from the most familiar, like dogs, donkeys and oxen, to the most exotic, like camels.

Finally, we have the plant and the mineral kingdoms: trees, bushes, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes… It is as though the whole of nature were ready to receive the Redeemer into its womb.

The crèche is therefore not only something to be admired, but above all a lesson to learn. The encounter between the two protagonists, the divine and the human is not represented as the celebration of an event which took place in the long distant past, but as something referring to the present – the crèche bears witness to the fact that Christ was not present “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” but is present here and now.

Let us protect the authentic spirit of Christmas by recovering the good old crèche tradition which our godless day and age would gladly stifle.

“Indeed, the crib can help us understand the secret of the true Christmas because it speaks of the humility and merciful goodness of Christ who, ‘though He was rich He made Himself poor’ for us,” said Benedict XVI. “His poverty enriches those who embrace it, and Christmas brings joy and peace to those who, like the shepherds in Bethlehem, accept the Angel’s words, ‘Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes’. This is still the sign for us too, men and women of the third millennium. There is no other Christmas”.