"Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of Yahweh, the splendour of our God." (Isaiah 35: 1-2)
	Christmas crib at Strathmore University

These are words which the Prophet pronounced foreseeing in spirit the happiness and joy of the Blessed Virgin Mary this night. Oh, how she longed for the day she would see him and feed and hold him in her arms. And she spent many hours that night repeating the name over and over again. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I love you, my son, my little Jesus. The Child seems to feel what she feels. He too is awake and waiting. She is convinced he must yearn for her as much as he yearns for him.

"Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult". She knew no man and yet what fruitfulness! Oh Mother, so motherly, Virgin of Virgins, "the Splendour of Carmel and Sharon" (These were hills in Judea renowned for their captivating beauty). This is the figure Mary portrays with the child in her arms. St Stephen was beside himself (enraptured!) when he saw the heavens thrown open and Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father. Today, Christ is in Bethlehem in the arms of his Blessed Mother....How absolutely captivating!

"And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." (Lk 2:12). Birth is always a miracle. The birth of Jesus was more of a miracle than we will ever know. God hides his mysteries in the darkness of such moments as wilfully as he hides himself. Mary wraps the child in swaddling clothes and lays him in a manger. "And here is a sign for you..."

Signs? Which signs? Angels of God, Messengers of the Most High, tell us... "Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." And so that you may not make any mistake about it..." here is a sign for you..."

That which is of great value requires many clear signs. Right from the very cradle of history, God gave signs of the Holy One of God (the Messiah): to Adam, to Abraham, Jacob, David, Isaiah.... But to know and recognize Christ, signs are of no value if they are not accompanied by a light from heaven - faith which is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).

The Jews also saw the signs but, blinded by their sins, they did not recognize him. That is why from on high "the angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them" (Lk 2:9). Without any provocation, the sheep huddled together in panic. The shepherds feared exceedingly. "And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy...you will find a baby...'"

"You will find a baby". A baby, an infant (this implies that he cannot speak). Isaiah says that with the birth of Christ "the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed." (Isaiah 40:5). Yet Lord, where is your glory, where is your majesty? Where is your sceptre of power?

There were times when God's glory was clearly manifest. This Babe who now can hardly speak once spoke to Adam: "Adam where are you?" So terrible was the sound of his voice it made Adam hide.

And in Mount Sinai, such was the power of his voice that the people kept their distance and said to Moses, "speak to us yourself... do not let God speak to us or we shall die." (Exodus 20:19; I Kings 3:11). Such was the awe with which people held their God then.

But it would seem that God wants to change the approach. He wants to attract. This is how St Paul sees it: "the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed." (Tit. 3:4).

"Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved." (John 3:16-17).

God's glory and honour is now made manifest in his mercy, tenderness and forgiveness... and Mary our mother, the type of the Church, gives him to you so that you may learn to treat him with care and get used to his company. How is your love for the Word of God, and the Mass and Holy Communion?

"... Wrapped in swaddling clothes..." The clothes we wear are a sign of our miseries, our sinful condition. Remember the tragedy of our first parents? "Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths" (Genesis 3:7). The lepers, who in biblical 'jargon' are a symbol of man's sinful condition, were compelled to move around in special insignia and bells... to announce their condition to the world. Clothes are the signs that we are traitors and children of traitors.

Wrapped in swaddling clothes...St Paul explains: "God dealt with sin by sending his Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin..." (Rom 8:3). Our good Lord has taken upon himself all the consequences of sin: cold, heat, hunger, thirst, pain...except sin itself. The child has already begun to pay for our sins. He was innocent but took on himself the weight of our sins (Cf. I Pet 2:24; Isaiah 53:4-5; 11-12).

Isn't this something for us to be happy and touched about? And do not forget that love is repaid with love. Let us make a resolution of never hurting him anymore with our sins.

"... and lying in a manger." Why would the Blessed Virgin Mary place her tender child in the rough, cold and inhospitable manger? Surely, aren't her warm motherly arms much better an abode for the child in the cold winter night? This is a highly symbolic gesture.

She wants to give Him to us sinners for "man when he prospers forfeits intelligence: he is one with the cattle doomed to slaughter....like sheep to be penned in Sheol" (Ps 49:12.14). In our sinful condition we are like cattle doomed to slaughter, like sheep to be penned in Sheol. Yet God seeks us out. He descends to the very depths of the abyss to rescue us from the pit of death. For with every mortal sin man sinks, as it were, into a bottomless pit with slippery sides. Left to his own devices, he can never come out. God comes for us in the sacrament of reconciliation. What wondrous love!

And when the shepherds had seen, they understood what had been told to them concerning the child. It was a long time before they left the stable to return to their flock. They praised God for all that they had seen and heard. "As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart (Lk 2:19).

(The writer, Fr Paul Mimbi, is the immediate past chaplain of Strathmore University)