Sirach 3:3-7, 14-17/ Colossians 3:12-21/ Mathew 2:13-15, 19-23
The most prominent symbol of the feast of Christmas is none other than the Nativity crib.
The Nativity crib has to be the most prominent and the central symbol of Christmas.
Take that away and it is as good as taking the “Christ” out of the word Christmas, and as such it wouldn’t make sense.
Well the Nativity crib goes a long way back to the year 1223.
That year, St. Francis of Assisi set up the first Nativity crib, which would eventually spread across the whole Church.
His intention was to help the peasants, who were illiterate, to have a visual understanding of the situation and circumstances in which Jesus was born.
So there is the stable with a cow here, and a donkey there, and the baby Jesus lying in the manger, which was the feeding trough or the feeding tray of animals.
There is Mary and Joseph, and a couple of shepherds with a couple of sheep surrounding Jesus.
The scene is one of poverty, and it shows us that the Saviour of the world came in such humility.
Indeed the Nativity scene is a wonderful scene that is filled with many heart-warming aspects.
That is why as part of the Christmas celebrations, there is usually a Nativity play put up by children, to highlight the Christmas message.
Well there was this catechist who was preparing her children to put up a Nativity play.
As a warm-up to the preparations, she asked her children to write a composition on this very simple topic – Who do I want to be at Christmas?
Obviously they can say that they want to be Mary or Joseph or one of the shepherds or the angel or one of the wise men.
So after the children had written their compositions, the teacher collected it and was reading through it.
Then she read one that really surprised her, and she was stunned.
The topic was supposed to be – Who do I want to be at Christmas?
This composition began like this – At Christmas I want to be the tv in my house.
I want to take its place. I want to live like the TV in my house.
Have my own special place, and have my family around ME.
To be taken seriously when I talk.... I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions.
I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives when it is not working.
I want to have the company of my father when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired.
And I want my mother to care for me ! Because when she is sad and upset, she ignores me...
And I want my brothers to fight to be with me...
I want to feel that my family just leaves everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me.
And last but not least I can make them all happy and entertain them...
So at Christmas I want to be the tv in my house.
We may remember that last Sunday we saw some replies to a survey conducted among some parishioners.
We may have seen some needs like children wanting their parents to spend more time with them, communication problems between parents and teens, families not praying together, parents being worried about the influence of the internet on their children, etc.
Those were worrying trends, but Christmas has got good news for the family.
The profound message of Christmas is that when God came into the world, He was born into a family, the family of Mary and Joseph.
The Nativity scene was one of poverty. But it also shows the love and warmth of the family – the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
That is what makes the Nativity scene so attractive and heart-warming .
In it, we see the love and care Mary and Joseph had for each other and for the baby Jesus.
So even if there is a tv at that time, they won’t be watching it or paying much attention to it.
Simply because they had each other, and God was with them.
But if people wish they were a tv, or a handphone, or a computer game, then something is seriously wrong.
At Christmas, God became man so that He can be with us.
It is because God is with us that we can truly be with each other.
Well I am sure we know what a porcupine is. So let me ask you this : What sound do porcupines make when they kiss?
Answer : Ouch!
Let me share with you the story of the porcupine.
As we know, a porcupine has many needle-like spikes, actually it is called quills, on its body.
When it is threatened, it curls up and these quills deter its enemies from harming it.
But during winter or in a cold season, the porcupines will come together to share body warmth.
But as they huddle together, their quills also poke at each other, causing each other pain.
But if they stay away from each other, they will die from the cold.
Just as porcupines gather together when it is cold in order to survive, we are born into families to be nurtured in love and life.
But just like the porcupines gathered together will poke and prick each other, living together as a family can be difficult and painful at times.
But just as the porcupines will bear the pain in order to live, we too must bear with the failings of our family members in order to grow in love and forgiveness.
And we can bear this pain because Jesus has come to be with us. He is the Emmanuel – the God is with us.
And God is with us especially in our families.
And Jesus will help us bear the pain with our family members, because He Himself was pierced for our sins.
So as much as we have the Nativity scene here in church, let us also have that Nativity scene in our homes and in our families.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph care about our families.
God cares about our families.
Let us now look at the replies to that survey again.
Let us ask Jesus to make our families like the Holy Family.
And Jesus will do it. Because He knows what’s it like to be in a family.