Justin Appel

Beloved in Christ,

Today, as we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, I would like to consider the traditional icon of this feast, and in particular, the famous version by Saint Andrei Rublev:

Rublev's Nativity Icon

As with Byzantine iconography, this Russian icon depicts multiple events surrounding Christ's birth in a single, all-encompassing image. We see some angels beholding the mystery, while others proclaim the new of Jesus' birth to shepherds, who are in a posture of receptivity and yet who come and tell Mary and Joseph what they were told. Higher in the corner, we see the Wise Men traveling on multi-color horses and following a star in the East, reminding us that the Gospel (Good News) of Christ is for people of all ages and all ethnicities. Below we see faithful Joseph, with the Devil whispering doubtful thoughts into his ear, and to the right the midwife and her assistant bathe the newly born Christ-child. In the center, Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos) reclines meditatively, pondering the mystery of this birth.

Significantly, Jesus appears to be lying, not in a cozy straw-filled manger, but in a coffin, and his swaddling clothes resemble burial clothes.

The central image in this icon reminds us that although Jesus was the Son of God, the Alpha and Omega, the Existing One (as it says in Jesus' nimbus), that he lowered himself to take a human nature, to become like us. It also viscerally reminds us of the mortality we share with Christ as embodied people living in a fallen world. Like the Christ Child, we are thrown into the world, helpless and dependent. Like him, we face the reality of our mortality and of our death.

However, through the mystery of salvation, we understand that Christ came in the flesh to restore humanity, by dying, and by dying to destroy death, which is humanity's great enemy. Even as Christ 'trampled down death by death', so we too are invited to enter into Christ's death when we are baptized -- which significantly, is called our 'new birth'. Baptism is in fact a sacramental anticipation of our own death (Fr. John Behr's language here), when we will enter fully into the life of Christ, when we will become fully human!

So, because we have died with Christ (in baptism) and because we will die (in the flesh), the Scriptures call us to live as if we were already dead: through taking up our cross daily, by dying to ourselves, and by living sacrificially (Romans 6:8).

Today, let us ponder this marvelous mystery of our salvation, this mystery of God become Human, and let us take this Gospel to heart as we consider how to live our lives in love and service.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Yours in Christ,
Justin