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BORN
AMONG ANIMALS
In
some cultures, being born among animals is considered
a bad omen, in others a sign of very good luck. Gods
and goddesses in several parts of the world are pictorially
shown in birth or in death with animals watching over
them in mute devotion. Perhaps the most well known tableau
is that of the baby Jesus in the manger, his parents
by his side, and the ox and the ass peering over his
little shoulder, while shepherds pay homage to him,
and their flock of sheep act as silent spectators. In
some nativity scenarios, the three wise men from the
East bearing gifts are also shown - then can their camels
be far behind?
 The
Bible itself unfolds the story of Christmas in the gospels
of Matthew and Luke -Mary and Joseph's exhausting search
for a place to rest their heads, eventually taking shelter
in a manger; the shepherd and the wise men and the Star;
they are all there - except for the animals.
Credit
apparently goes to St Francis of Assisi, patron saint
of animals, for making up the first Christmas creche
as we know it, filled with the animals. In order to
remind his friends of the true message of Christmas
(Jesus came as a poor man's child, his lot was cast
with ordinary people, and not the rich), he lined up
a cave in the outskirts of the town with a donkey, a
cow, some sheep, and actors to play the role of Mary,
Joseph and the shepherds. When the townsfolk came in
large numbers to see this "attraction", they
were reminded of their selfishness, and preoccupation
with material wealth, and went away, chastened, and
singing carols.
What
made St Francis chose these animals, and what do they
symbolise? Well, he reckoned that Mary rode up on a
burro (a type of donkey with a special stripe marking
on its back), and was hardly likely to have discarded
him on finding the manger. So there he was, a symbol
of servitude, a lowly stubborn animal that nevertheless
bore her weight over the long distances with patience
and strength. As for the ox, well, a manger without
an ox living in it would be hard to imagine. And when
shepherd come to visit, pretty soon their sheep will
follow. The symbolism behind the cloven hoofed ox and
sheep appears to be the fact that they "kneel"
down, before they lie down to rest or sleep. (Have you
observed this in goats and cows? It has a charm of its
own.) Kneeling down or genuflecting is the Christian
way of paying homage to God. The sheep also came to
symbolise Christ himself, as the Lamb of God, who was
sacrificed to take away the sins of the world, the lamb
traditionally being the Middle Eastern sacrificial animal.
 So
the next time we pass by a crib, and there will be many
of them this Christmas, on the streets and in homes,
let's try to focus a bit on the animals too - they are
there for a reason. They stand for service, devotion,
and sacrifice, just as much as the little baby who we
go to worship does.
Click
here
for a cybersermon called Menagerie at the Manger.
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