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Narrative: Mary, chosen by God, gave birth to Jesus in a cave used as a stable for animals. She placed him in a manger as a star shown brightly in the sky to announce his coming.
The cave, an iconographic symbol of encounter with God, is imaged in this icon as the place of honor where all may find IMMANUEL – God with us. The creator of the cosmos is born as human in the womb of Mary and the earth. He is light in the darkness, infinity incarnate.
Mary gazes outward, presenting her Son as the Way, Truth and Life. The Christ Child is embraced by his mother, adored by the stable animals and sheltered by the mountains which appear as steps leading us to the Lord of Creation. Despite the serenity of the scene, we are reminded that Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes, a prefigurement of his burial shroud. His manger is also a sarcophagus. The truth of the Incarnation is terrifying. Its joy, sobering. The Lord of all creation has been born to die, so that his death might bring life to all who would accept his mother’s invitation to accept and believe.
Christmas Card Message : And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them at the inn. (Luke 2:7)
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