CHRISTMAS DAY

December 25, 2025, 9 am

Saints Matthew and Mark, Barrington, R. I.

 

Luke 2:8-20

 

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.”  (Luke 2:12)

 

By reliable tradition, the birth of Jesus took place in a grotto or cave. The New Testament itself says nothing about this cave. But from the first and second centuries, Christians in the vicinity of Bethlehem handed down the memory of the exact spot—a cave among trees at the end of a ridge, or so it was said.

 

Saint Justin Martyr wrote of this cave in the mid-second century, as did Origen of Alexandria in the third. Then, in the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine constructed a Christian church over the site. Rebuilt by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, the Basilica of the Nativity still stands today, restored and renovated many times over the centuries. It was my privilege to visit this holy place almost four years ago, in April 2022.

 

Inside, pilgrims line up, sometimes for hours, to descend the stone staircase leading to the Grotto of the Nativity, located directly underneath the high altar. Set in the stone floor, a fourteen-pointed silver star marks the spot with the Latin inscription: “Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.”

 

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Joseph’s ancestral home of Bethlehem to be counted in the census, one of the villagers—perhaps a relative of Joseph’s—would have given them lodgings. Family dwellings in that area were often built against hillsides and incorporated natural or man-made caves used to shelter animals at night. Mary and Joseph probably received accommodations in just such a cave. Hence, the presence of a manger, a stone feeding-trough for animals, ready for use as a makeshift cradle.

 

Early Christian writers such as Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine point out that the Lord’s birth in a cave, wrapped in swaddling bands and resting in a stone manger, foreshadows his burial in another cave, wrapped in a linen shroud, and lying on a stone slab.

 

This parallel suggests that the Lord’s death on the cross fulfills the purpose for which he was born into the world in the first place. Other writers note that in Hebrew, the name Bethlehem means “house of bread.” So, when we go to the Altar Rail for Holy Communion, we form our hands into a cradle to receive the One who is the true bread from heaven.

 

We don’t know the exact time of the year when Jesus was born. In the early fourth century, the Church settled on December 25th for reasons of its own. Still, Mary bundling him in cloth bands does suggest that it was cold. 

 

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." The sight was sufficiently distinctive that the shepherds knew instantly that they’d found what the angel told them to look for. The sign’s purpose was to confirm the truth of the angel’s announcement: "I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."

 

Without the prior announcement, the sight of a swaddled newborn lying in a manger wouldn’t have signified anything much out of the ordinary. Conversely, without the confirming sign, the angel’s proclamation of the Savior’s birth would have gone unverified. The shepherds’ unique calling was to put the two together, the announcement and the sign, and then to go and bear witness to what they’d heard and seen.

 

The shepherds fulfilled this mission admirably. They went as quickly as they could into Bethlehem to see this thing that the Lord had made known to them. When they found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger, they related what the angel had told them concerning this child. All who heard their testimony were amazed. The shepherds thus became the first human preachers of the Gospel, the good news that the Messiah, the Christ, had come into the world. Finally, they returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God. The true preaching of the Gospel always leads to worship and adoration.

 

As we celebrate Christmas, a temptation for us may be to join in the seasonal festivities, sing carols, exchange greetings, attend family gatherings, and give gifts—and then forget all about it until next year, and again until the year after that. Perhaps that’s what the shepherds did—maybe they carried on with the rest of their lives just as before, save for occasionally remembering the strange proceedings of a winter’s night and wondering whatever became of that charming young couple and their newborn in the manger …

 

But Mary’s reaction was unique. Luke tells us that she treasured all these words, pondering them in her heart. Here she holds up an example for us. If some aspect of this year’s Christmas celebration touches you, even if you don’t understand all at once what it means, don’t let it go. Hold on to it. Ponder it in your heart. Who knows how it may grow, and where it might lead?