Day 1: Animals? In the Nativity?

Reflection by Amanda Ross

Have you ever noticed that most nativity scenes come complete with a Mary, a Joseph, a baby Jesus, some Shepherds, a few Wise Men, and... barn yard animals?  There is relatively little biblical justification for those animals. 

In fact, nowhere in the gospels does it ever mention animals in association with the birth of Christ.  So how did our modern day Nativity scenes come to be?  

We have to look back in the Old Testament to a prophesy espoused in the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah 1:3 says, “Even the animals-the donkey and the ox-know their owner and appreciate his care for them, but not my people of Israel.  No matter what I do for them, they still don’t care (NIV).”  From this verse many past historians made assumptions concluding that if Jesus was laid in a “manger” such animals must have been present at His birth as a symbol of the Gentiles who would choose to follow Jesus, as opposed to many of the Jews who would refuse.  Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, took this idea a step further.  He is credited with the creation of the first Nativity scene.  He created a living Nativity complete with ox and donkey in Greccio, Italy in the year 1223.  

So this leads into the second question I set out to answer in this devotional.  Why was it important that animals be present at the birth of Christ? What a blessing to be represented at the birth!  The meek and lowly were represented by Shepherds (Matthew 5:5); the rich and powerful by the Wise Men (Matthew 19:24) , but how do the animals fit in?  

Perhaps they remind us that Jesus was sent because God so loved the world (John 3:16). Not just us. Not just people. God created all the creatures of the earth—people too—on the same day (Genesis 1:24-31) and called humans to care for this creation.  You see, the world begins with peace between God, humans, animals, and the Earth. Hosea 2:18-20 promises that in the end, we will return again to a state of peaceful harmony.  Likewise, God's plan for redemption and re-creation is one that stretches over all of creation in Romans 8:19-23. 

 Until that time, however, we are called to be good stewards of all that God has given to us and this is truly a blessing.  By caring for animals, the Earth, and even ourselves, we are assuming responsibility for our blessings and demonstrating our gratitude.  How better to reinforce this ideal than to allow a few lowly animals to witness the miraculous birth of the Lord our Savior? 

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Read Genesis 1:24-31 and Luke 2:1-7 Are animals mentioned in Luke? (surprisingly, they’re not).
….but think of all the ways that animals in the manger scene might have taken care of Mary and Joseph. They might have shared their space. If they were cold, animals might have kept them warm. If animals had been there, they invited Mary and Joseph to their table (the manger) just like we invite everyone to our Communion Table….

God created you special—in God’s image—and one way that we can serve God is by taking care of God’s creation. How can you do that?