The Crib, the Tomb, and the Altar

Reflections for the Nativity of the Lord (Isaiah 62:11-12, Titus 3:4-7, & Luke 2:15-20)

“Altare est et dicitur praespe et sepulcrum Domini” (The altar is said to be both His crib and His tomb), wrote Germanus I of Constantinople in his Theoria. For the Patriarch of Constantinople, all three are memorial monuments, where Christ offers his own body as a sacrificial offering to his Father. Just as Mary ‘laid’ the baby in a manger (Luke 2:7), and as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus ‘laid’ the body of Jesus in a tomb (John 19:42), we continue to ‘lay’ the bread and the wine on the altar every time we celebrate the Eucharist. Christ’s self-offering in the mystery of incarnation, and the paradox of the tomb, continues to perpetuate itself in our celebration of the Eucharist. kenosis underpins the unity between the historical body of Jesus (in the manger), his resurrected body (in the tomb), and the eucharistic body (in the bread and wine).

There is yet another dimension to this curious unity between the crib, the tomb, and the altar. We discern a five-step process at work in the gospel scenes of the nativity (Luke 2) and the empty tomb (Luke 24).

1. Theophany: At the nativity, an angel appears to the shepherds shining in the Lord’s glory (2:9) and a multitude of the heavenly host appear singing the Gloria. At the tomb, the women are met with two men in dazzling clothes (24:4).

2. Terror: The theophany evokes terror and wonder in both instances. The shepherds were “overcome by fear” and the women “were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground”.

3. An announcement: In the case of the nativity, the angels declare the “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” (2:10-11). While at the tomb, the two men announce the good news of the resurrection, “He has risen” (24:6).

4. A mission: In both instances, there is an invitation to move, to go, to see, and to announce. The shepherds are asked to go and find the child born for them, and the women are inspired to bear the good news of Resurrection “to the eleven and to all the rest” (24:8).

5. Paradoxical signs: The shepherds and the women are confided with the good news of two extraordinary events (incarnation and resurrection). However, the signs that accompany the revelation of these events aren’t so extraordinary. While the shepherds are told, “You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” (2:12), the women are given the sign of an empty tomb, “He is not here” (24:5). The opposition between the signs and the signified is truly astounding. The mystery of incarnation appears in a child lying in a manger and the glory of the resurrection radiates through the doors of an empty tomb.

This five-fold process at work in the crib and the tomb continues to unfold at the altar of the Eucharist and the altar of our lives. The extraordinary revelation of God’s glory occurs in the ‘ordinary’ and paradoxical signs of bread and wine. As we receive this revelation with awe and wonder, we are inspired to offer ourselves to the mission of announcing the good news of God’s intervention here and now in our personal and common histories. It is at our eucharistic and existential altars that this dynamic of Christ’s kenotic self-offering is carried on.

This Christmas, the liturgy poses some serious questions: Are we open to God’s continuing theophanies in our lives?

• Does God’s intervention inspire the same sense of wonder, terror, and awe that overcame the shepherds of the first Christmas story and the women at the entrance of the tomb?

• Is the Church attentive to the good news announced in its dialogue with cultures, religions, and people movements?

• Does our piety inspire us to be on the move carrying out the mission to proclaim the good news to all nations and peoples?

• Do we recognise the significance of the simple and paradoxical signs of God’s presence and action in today’s mangers and empty tombs?

This Christmas, let Christ’s self-offering become a reality at the altar of our lives. Yes, the altar could well be His crib, His tomb, and His People.