The Holy Images, the Icons one will find in every Orthodox Church, are something much more than an historical art form. These images show us reality, but they are much more than a photograph or an artistic rendering of Scriptural events. Icons show us deeper meaning and insight into Orthodox Theology. They also present an opportunity of self-awareness and reflection of the place our own souls are right now, and offer hope and direction towards where we are being called to.
The Nativity Icon shows us many of the virtues God calls us to hold in our hearts and to share with one another. It also gives us a deeper understanding of just how unique and profound this event in Bethlehem truly is.
- The Center of the Icon: In the center is the infant Christ lying in a manger. Christ being born in a cave is not in the Bible, but it is part of Holy Tradition, dating back to the first and second centuries. He is dressed in burial clothes to foreshadow His death. His location in a cave also foreshadows the grave in which He would be buried and from where He would resurrect.
- A most profound and ponderable image, Mary The Theotokos is the largest figure in the icon. It should not surprise us that she features prominently at center, and is the closest human being to her newborn Son, the Savior of the World. But why is she not facing Him? We recall Luke 2:15: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
- These same shepherds who heard the blessed Good News from the angels, turned and told Mary and Joseph. Heard and told, heard and told. Do we emulate this same sharing of The Good News, which the shepherds show us, with our family and friends? Do we take time to “ponder these things in our hearts?” Do we, instead, stay caught up and distracted with worldly pursuits?
- The Virgin Mary (Theotokos) is beside Him, and an ox and an ass (donkey) are behind Him. In the ancient Church, the ox symbolized the Jews, for it was a clean, kosher animal that they could eat. It could also be easily trained to pull a plow and assist in various ways. The Jews had the Law of Moses and it helped them to remain faithful and obedient to God.
- The donkey, on the other hand, is a stubborn and wilder animal. It is unclean and not kosher. It represents the Gentiles who did not have the Law of Moses
- By taking the form of man, Christ brings these two seemingly opposed groups together to form one people, one Church. From Scripture: For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (Eph. 2:14).
- These are the two animals mentioned in Isaiah 1:3: “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” There they are, two dumb creatures, the closest to the very person of the newborn Lord of All Creation, making a statement of remarkable proportions: the dumb animals recognize the Messiah, but Israel does not! In light of Isaiah 1:3, a deeper meaning of the two animals appears: The ox and the ass know their master. Do you? Do I? This is an invitation to conviction.
- Reflection: While we have faithfulness and obedience in our hearts, we also have stubbornness and rebellion. Which is that others see in our own actions and choices in this life?
- The Lower Left Corner: At bottom left, we find a curious scene. Joseph is being tempted to divorce his wife: “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly” (Matthew 1:19).
- Unlike most icons that feature both Christ and the Virgin Mary, she is not looking at Him. Instead, she is looking at her husband Joseph, interceding for him. After the birth of Jesus, he walked out of the cave, battling doubts. The figure next to him is supposed to be the devil who is, of course, is filling his mind with all sorts of doubts and probably angry thoughts
- We may sing “What Child is This?” but Joseph’s question was “Whose child is this?!” since he knew he was certainly not the father. Yet Joseph has a halo, which indicates his sanctity.
- Sometimes when God shows up in our lives, it raises questions and doubts. God bestows His grace upon us, but then He seems to withdraw a little bit, allowing difficulties to test and deepen our faith. We may wonder why things happen the way they do. But if we persevere, we have a doubting saint to whom we can look as our example.
- Reflection: How well are we holding up in these times of fear, doubt and difficulty? Do we ask for the presence of God and His Guardian Angels to help us persevere in these dark times?
- The Bottom Right Corner: The women at the bottom right are midwives who display that the Son of God was truly born as a human, and did not merely appear to be human as some early heretics claimed. There is a fountain that they are about to wash the Christ child in because He had, in some sense, an ordinary, messy birth.
- Though the divine “Existing One” or “He Who Is” as shown in His nimbus, He is a human child. And what do you do with a newborn baby? Clean him up, wash him, and wrap him tightly in a blanket!
- The Top and Center: At the very top is a blue shape sometimes called a mandorla. It signifies the presence and the glory of God. It beams from the heavens, pointing to the Christ child, which shows His descent from heaven to the earth. Note that the very same mandorla surrounds Christ in the Icon of The Resurrection, when he throws open the gates of Hades and frees Adam and Eve.
- The Mandorla is shown as brighter on the outer edges, but then becomes darker in the interior. This is a symbolic message that the “light of knowledge and reason” will bring us closer to Christ but that alone is not enough to fully appreciate Him and to understand more clearly. Scholastic and intellectual efforts bring us closer to Christ, but that alone is not enough. It is with Faith and the Grace of God, working in harmony with the searching and labours of our intellect, that will bring us to that blessed place and time.
- On the left, the three kings (magi) are traveling from afar, following the star in the sky.
- Reflection: Do we take time in this life to expand the knowledge of our Holy Orthodox Faith? Do we search for the Christ Child as the Magi do in this Icon? Do we open our souls to hear the Good News and share it?
- Moving to the upper right of the Icon, we see two shepherds, who are eagerly receiving the news from an angel who blesses them with the name of Jesus on his fingertips. The angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). This is truly an inspiring passage, because it is literally evangelism: “Be not afraid, for behold I ‘evangelize’ you: a great joy shall come to the people today!” The Lord Christ is born! And here is how you can find and recognize Him.
- Reflection: Can we be inspired as the shepherds are to be messengers of The Gospel to our friends and neighbors?
The Troparion of Nativity:
Your Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!
For by it, those who worshipped the stars, were taught by a Star to adore You,
the Sun of Righteousness, and to know You, the Orient from on High.
O Lord, glory to You!
By Fr Charles Baxter
St. Anne Parish Scarborough Ontario