The Stall and the Cross

This wonderful time of year leading up to Christmas – and especially Christmas itself- is such a precious time of year for Christians. That our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth as the God-man, fully human and fully divine, born of a virgin teenager and the Holy Spirit, to love us beyond measure and save us from our sins.

Is it sometimes difficult for you to envision Him both as that little babe, born in manger over 2000 years ago, and as our risen and living Savior, one in the same? I must admit that sometimes it’s hard for me to grasp the width and depth of it all.

The opening words to one of my favorite Michael Card songs go like this: “Long ago He blessed the earth, born older than the years, and in the stall, the cross He saw through the first of many tears.” The stall and the cross; the cross and the stall: a paradox of love, a paradox of sacrifice - the consummate gift of His birth and death to mankind.

Surely this holiday must be filled with as many traditions as there are families who wake to Christmas morning or the sound of choirs singing, “Joy to the World; the Lord has Come.” My favorite tradition is to take out the nativity scene we gave to my parents while we were still in college - now passed down to me and soon to my children and on and on. I gently take down the box from the closet and gingerly unwrap the individual pieces, saying a silent little word about each one before assembling them on the mantel.

Then at Easter, I do it all over again, reassembling them on the mantel, just like at Christmas. This time adorned by a simple glass cross and some palm leaves rather than the pine bows and candles.

This special two-holiday ceremony reminds me of God’s entire and continuous plan for his birth and our salvation. It visually reminds me that the same little Christ child born in the stall is the same Jesus we worship at Easter time. Somehow, celebrating both sacred events with the comfort and joy that the little porcelain nativity scene provides, reminds me of the purpose for His life . . . to love you and me beyond humanly conceivable measure. And we know that He will come again and we will see him face to face.

Michael Card’s song ends with the chorus, “Love crucified arose: The Risen One in splendor, Jehovah His sole Defender has won the victory.”
The stall and the cross; the cross and the stall. Born is the King of Israel! Merry Christmas.

Tell us about your favorite Christmas traditions - whether they’re ones you still celebrate today or were ones your family celebrated when you were a child!!
Or maybe you’d like to share the title or a few words from your favorite Carols – and we’ll hum along. Randy, will you play the trumpet?

-Jane Terry-