The Creche and The Cross

It is a scene displayed in churches and private homes and numerous other places around the world this time of year.  It is a scene that draws attention and focus to the true meaning of Christmas.  

 
There are the three wisemen bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, with their camels resting nearby.  There are the shepherds with their sheep.  There are the cattle and donkey.  Above there is an angel or several angels proclaiming God’s glory in the heavens.  There are the two proud parents, St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother Mary, beholding the centerpiece of this display.  In the center is the Baby Jesus lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.  

 
As I take in this scene before the altar of my local church on Christmas Eve, I am filled with the awe and wonder of what this scene represents:  the Word made flesh making his dwelling among us.  This is the Son of God taking human form, entering the world in a simple and humble way but at the same time, with a magnificence and power that is incomprehensible.  

And then my eyes drift upward to a far different scene behind the altar.  In an instant, I fast forward thirty-three years into the future from that Nativity.  There behind and above the altar is  Jesus crucified on the Cross and my heart breaks.  For in this slight shift of my gaze, I see what lies ahead for that precious baby in the manger.  I see the brutality and horror and violence that will happen to this beautiful baby when he has grown up.  

 
In the Nativity, a select few shepherds and wisemen glorify God and pay homage to His newborn Son.  At the Cross, an angry crowd reviles that grown up Son of God and celebrates his brutal execution.

 
The Cross is his destiny.  The Cross is the reason for the Son of God taking human form.  It is upon this Cross that the Son of God will willingly assume the burden and consequences of humanity’s sin and disobedience.  It is upon this Cross that that baby all grown up will pay the price for our transgressions.   And my heart breaks knowing that in the most joyous moment of the Nativity, the participants have no idea where this newborn baby will ultimately end up.  Of those witnesses to his birth, only his Holy Mother will witness his excruciating death upon the Cross.  

 
It is upon this Cross that evil and sin tried their savage worst to destroy the Son of God.  And when he breathed his last on that Cross, evil and sin thought that they had triumphed.  

 
But they were wrong.  

 
Evil and sin had their best opportunity to destroy the Son of God and with him, destroy humanity.  

 
But evil and sin failed spectacularly.  For three days later, that Son of God defied death and rose from the grave, and in doing so, opened up God’s kingdom to those who love and believe in the Father who sent him into this world.

 
Evil and sin will not get another opportunity to try to destroy the Son of God.  For when that Son of God returns again, he will not come back into the world as a helpless baby.  He will return as a conqueror, as the King of Kings, who will destroy sin and destroy evil for eternity, and bring his faithful back with him to heaven.  

 
I consider all of this as I look upon my Savior hanging on the Cross.  Though my heart is pained by his pain, I am comforted by the knowledge of his ultimate victory.  I am comforted by his great love for the Father and for the Father’s Creation which motivated him to willingly die on the Cross for us.  

 
And so, my gaze drifts downward again to the Nativity scene.  I look upon this miraculous baby being adored by the shepherds and the wisemen and by his saintly parents.  I join with them in adoring him.  The Cross remains in his future but for now, I will embrace God’s love manifested in the baby in the manger.