Fr. McPherson mentioned the Annunciations last Sunday; tonight I want to focus on the Nativities in the exhibition and especially on the Minneapolis nativity. It is relatively small, probably part of a traveling diptych or triptych; but in its smallness there is such a satisfying composition containing all the elements of the gospel just heard and more. Compared to many nativities this one is deceptively simple with just the basic elements of the biblical narrative present: Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus; some shepherds on the distant hillside and some angels; but with one non-biblical addition, the ox and the ass. The central scene at the manger is all framed with a plain, rustic construction, suggesting an animal shelter. In the background are a tree and some hills all under a gold sky. The baby Jesus lies on the bare earth between Mary and Joseph.

Several things struck me which bear upon our celebrations tonight.

First is the sense of awe and wonder about the whole scene. There is no doubt that something extraordinary has taken place. Fra Angelico began like the artists of Byzantium with a gold background in this case a golden sky which suggests another world, God’s world, intersecting with this world. This is a moment in time when heaven and earth come together in the birth of this child. “For unto us a child is born; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” “For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Fra Angelico catches this moment in so many ways in the picture in addition to those mentioned. The postures and placing of the central figures give the whole composition such balance and harmony heightening this sense of the awesomeness of the moment. Mary and Joseph are totally focused on the baby between them. Mary has her hands together in reverence and devotion; Joseph hands are apart in wonder and amazement. There is a quietness and stillness in their posture and gaze which heightens the sense of awe, the sense that what has taken place is of a different realm. Even the ox and the ass, those later additions to the nativity scene, but appropriate given that the place of the birth was an animal stall, they too are looking intently at the child. And then you notice that both the animals are kneeling on their front legs in adoration for the Christ child. Above on the roof of the construction which frames the scene angels cavort in a circle, perhaps in a circle dance, suggesting heavenly harmonies matching the scene below. And then on the distant hillside the shepherds fall backwards covering their eyes at the divine light irradiating the whole scene. This sense of awe reminds us that on this holy night long ago the very gates of heaven were opened in the birth of this child, Jesus, recalling us to our origins and our destiny.

But there is more to this simple nativity; this so familiar manger scene. There is something extraordinary in the composition. And that is the circle of figures surrounding the child and mirrored in the angels on the roof. Mary and Joseph, the ox and the ass, circled around the child suggest that this child is at the heart of the created order and that that order finds its connectedness in him. This is highlighted more by the fact that he lies directly on the bare earth. After all we believe that this child is none other than “the Maker of heaven and earth” as we will affirm in a few moments. Here in Fra Angelico’s exquisite picture there is a wonderful sense of the harmony between animate and inanimate creation, between humans and animals. The child Jesus is at one with his creation. Jesus the creator of all things is also the Savior of all things. This child born in a manger by his death and resurrection will be the Savior of the World. I must comment on the animals for a moment because they are integral to our manger scene. The tradition is that not only did the animals kneel as they recognized their creator but that they kept the child warm with their hot breath. They are often up close to the child with their muzzles reaching into the manger as they were used to doing breathing on the child and keeping him warm in the process. I cannot help making the link to the Lord God breathing the creation into being. The animals like all else in this creation have their place and purpose in the whole design. This harmony in creation brought about by the birth of Christ and mirrored so delicately in the Fra Angelico nativity recalls our need to be aware of, sensitive to, respectful of the whole fragile created order of which we are an integral part.

Last but not least are the human figures of Mary and Joseph and the baby. There is nothing especially otherworldly about Mary and Joseph. They are dressed in carefully detailed clothes of the period; their faces are decidedly human; their gestures are those of everyday. But above all as I inferred earlier there is in their posture something which suggests an attentiveness to the moment; something which speaks of their faithfulness, their preparedness for this moment; something that proves them to be expectant of what had come about. Mary and Joseph are Advent People in the best sense. They were there, ready and prepared when that amazing moment arrived; when heaven and earth met in the birth of this tiny child who is God with us, Emmanuel. And last but not least is the baby, tiny, naked, and very much alive with arms and legs in motion. This child is fully human, like us. He is the Word made Flesh dwelling among us as John’s Gospel expresses it. In that moment one glimpses the whole ground of hope for the human race. Here in the Christ, the Word made Flesh, is the future hope for all us. Christ by being born one of us has taken our fallen humanity and begun the process of restoration. The consequence of this stupendous truth is that each one of us, whoever we are, however we view ourselves, is caught up in this grand restorative enterprize which God has launched in and through his Christ.

Tonight we come to worship and adore; we come to celebrate our humaness and the redemption God brings to us in his Christ; and we come rededicate ourselves to all that promotes the things of God: Peace, Joy, Love, Truth and Justice.   Amen

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