Day 1: Animals? In the Nativity?

By


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? 


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?

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel

By
Image
Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel And Israel (previously named Jacob) had 12 sons who didn't all get along (despite their Father's dying attempt to gather them together for blessing and peace...). These sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Genesis 49:1-28  God could have chosen any tribe or any family lineage--God could have skipped the family drama and tribal violence of the Old Testament tribes, but God chose to remain faithful to those ancient promises. God chose to root new  life and new  peace in a previously violent story. Praise be to God!  Just for fun: Which of the Twelve Tribes of Israel are you? (online personality quiz)  Tribe of Jesus: · Matthew 1:1–6 and Luke 3:31-34  describe Jesus as the tribe of Judah . ( “Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” ~Revelation 5:5) ·   Mary, Jesus’ mother, was also related to ...
Read more

Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's Clay Pitcher

By
Image
Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's clay pitcher The Israelites enter the promised land, but the next generation stops worshipping God. When enemy armies attack and conquer them, the  Israelites turn back to God and cry out. God--in grace--raises up a judges (like Gideon) who leads Israel back to victory.  Gideon 6:11-16, 7:19-23 (or all of 6-8 if you're feeling ambitious)   Gideon--Peace by Karlie Harper I love the story of Gideon because it is an underdog story. In this story we see a man who is so full of doubt of himself that he does not recognize the Spirit of the Lord sitting right in front of him. For someone like me who battles doubt and anxiety, this story is particularly meaningful.  In the verses we see the Lord trying to build up Gideon’s courage by calling him a “might warrior” and telling him “Peace, do not be afraid”. But Gideon, not unlike myself, doesn’t listen to his Lord right away. If we read the story we go on to learn how Gideon—...
Read more

Twelfth Symbol of the Jesse tree: Ruth's wheat

By
Image
Jesse Tree Symbol #12: Ruth, shaft of wheat I n the days of the Judges, famine left an Israelite woman named Naomi widowed and without both her sons. As she moved back to her hometown, one daughter-in-law (Ruth) stayed with her. This  penniless  foreigner--this outsider--Ruth was cared for and brought in to the Israelite family tree... the roots of Christ  Ruth 1:6-9,15-18; 2:1-12 and 16 Matthew 1:1-5                                       Reflection b y Peg Powell After reading these passages in Ruth, I was reminded of one of my favorite stories. Long ago, there was a mayor who lived with his only son in the hills of China. None of them in this village owned a horse, but one day, out of the blue, a stallion appeared at the mayor’s home.  All of the people exclaimed, “How lucky you are.” The mayor said, “We’ll see.” A few days later, the stallion disa...
Read more