At markets at the end of the year, Christmas and cribs are a perfect match, like relish on a hot dog. We know how important they are to the festivities – which explains the cot you see in front of you. Meanwhile, we let the figurines speak for themselves:

 “I am an angel despatched to bring word from God himself to Mary. I bring blessed tidings – she is now with child. But not one of Joseph. This is an immaculate conception, bestowed on Mary by none other than the Almighty. She is to bear a son, whose name shall be Jesus. He will be the Son of God.”

 “I am Mary and I find it hard to believe the holy words I am hearing! But I thank the Lord for making this happen and trust his choice to use me to make this miracle real.”

“I am Joseph. I admit that on first hearing this news, I felt leaving would be best, in secret and in silence. Who among you would relish raising the child born of another into the world?! But the angel graced my dream and reassured me, saying: 'Don't be afraid! Your child is of God!’ so I decided to stay.”

“We are shepherds and each night, after sundown, we sleep bathed in heavenly starlight. We were minding our own business when out of nowhere, angels appeared and turned our quiet lives upside down. Amid dazzling light, we stood there, dumbstruck and frozen with fear! But then came the voice of an angel, talking to us – NONE other than US!!! ‘Do not be afraid! Rejoice! For the saviour is born this very day and now lies in a Bethlehem manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes.’ We didn’t dilly dally – we headed straight there. And lo and behold, the angel was right! So we bade them farewell, ran through the town and broadcast the joyful tidings to all and sundry…the news of the child and what we saw and heard on this holiest of nights: ‘The saviour is born! God is now among us, embodied in baby Jesus! Bringing joy in his wake and enriching our lives!’”

“We are three wise men; hailing from the land of the rising sun. And though many take us as such, we are not royal kings. Our task lies in reading the stars and the stories they tell. And a look at the scriptures of yesteryear pointed to a new king, who would emerge in Israel and be signified by a special star in the sky. On discovering this heavenly star, we felt compelled to come and pay respects to this leader in waiting. Our quest took us first to King Herod, already in power in Jerusalem, but proved a false dawn: Neither new, nor accompanied by a child in the royal palace. Eventually our search was rewarded, in a wilder part of the region and far from the finest conditions. Our quest is over: What we have here is a king like no other. One who makes himself smaller, to make our presence seem grander. One of God. We’re too far back in time to have dummies or rompers, so the presents we brought along were the best we could do: gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

(You can also read this story in: The Bible: Gospel of Luke chapter 2; Gospel of Matthew chapters 1+2)

And there you have it – your crib. A symbol of Christmas! But far more than a piece of culture and a cosy tradition. It’s part of the nativity – something celebrated the world over. The manger in the ancient Israeli village of Bethlehem is proof to all around: God is not only in the heavens, but also on the ground. Among us. Having come from afar to grace us with his presence! He is by our side, not in our faces. God sees eye to eye with us – he chose to come to us and he is one of us. He was sent to bring us closer to God and his name is Jesus Christ. 

THAT much is clear to you: Your crib.

Pastor G. Burkhard Wagner / Pobershau