Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Dear God,

The purple pink hippopotamus with the fancy silver hat and jewelry still sits at the nativity scene. I had two creches, one made from olive wood that sits on top of the piano, and one fabric one that sits on the floor by the piano. The fabric one is intended to be accessible to children who want to learn the story of Jesus and his friends.

I had placed the fabric creche on the floor the first week in December. I knew my grandchildren would come and play with it. We could talk about it. But they hadn't been by. My family was busy with shopping, baking, wrapping and all.

It was December 26 when I was straightening things up from having 17 family members for dinner and gifts. Ribbons, paper, boxes, gifts were strewn all over the living room. When I cleaned up by the piano I found the nativity had been rearranged by one or more of the grandchildren. All the characters were there...Jesus, his mom and dad, the shepherds, wise men, and angel, and the animals, the donkey, the lamb and the camel. But there just below the angel, next to the wise man in front of the camel sat the hippo. In all her finery she smiled, just like she belonged there, bringing her own gifts to the Christ child.

At first I started to remove this puple pink wonder, then I stopped. Why not? Why should I remove this creature? Why not add a hippo to the creche? And for that matter, why not a spider, a giraffe, a dog, a human?

I remembered standing atop a mountain in Italy. We were just above the clouds. All I could see was the monastery and the clouds. It was a dreary gray day, but mystical and mysterious. I heard the animal sounds as I stood at the Church of the Nativity, the site of the first nativity ordered by St. Francis as a way to offer gratitude to you. Were these animals from some nearby farm? Or were they the animals that first were welcomed into a rudimentary stable where a light burned brightly in a manger?

Strange things happen in a creche at Christmas. Perhaps the hippo had her own story to tell.

All,
yes all
are welcome
in the stable,
your home.
Grateful.

Love, Andrea