Returning from continental Europe recently, I had bought a plaster statue of the baby Jesus to put in my Crib at home this Christmas; the previous one was cracked and beginning to look a bit shabby.
When we think of it, what an eloquence there is demonstrated by such a representation of the divine child! It tells of the ‘condescension’ of God – and how God the Father sends his only Son into the world to become one of us.
How vulnerable is a newborn child! St Paul tells us that ‘the state of Jesus was divine but he emptied himself’ (Philippians 2) In this poignant symbols of the Christ Child, God the Father has stooped down to save us – to share his divine life with us – ‘and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1).
As we contemplate the baby Jesus in the Crib this Christmas, let us say of Jesus with the Beloved Disciple: ‘Videte qualem caritatem dedit nobis Pater’ (1 John 3) – ‘See what love the Father has bestowed on us!’
A very Blessed Christmas to you all.