Day 33

Before we leave our examination of the Icon of the Nativity, there is a very important theme that Archimandrite Vassilios points out that we should consider: "From the manger to the Grave."

Just as we saw a connection between the Nativity and the Death of Christ in the story of Jonah, so too does the Icon of the Nativity, and the hymnography of the Church, make such a connection. As Archimandrite Vassilios tells us, in almost every Icon of the Nativity, the cave that we have become so used to in our image of Christ's birth is depicted as a tomb. And if we look close, we can see that the swaddling clothes are shown as a burial shroud, or winding sheet. These two images from Holy Friday are placed here in the Icon of the Nativity of our Lord. 

We can hear a similar connection is the hymns from the two days:

Today, He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the tree. (Holy Friday)

Today, He who holds creation in the palm of His hand is born of a virgin (Nativity)

The Icon of the Nativity, and these hymns from both days, call us to ponder the reality of this part of salvation history. We are invited to wonder at the fact that He Who created all that we see takes on human nature and becomes subject to death. Archimandrite Vassilios puts it in even simpler language: "On Great Friday, the paradox is how can God, Who is eternal, who has no end, be killed? On Christmas Eve, the paradox is how can God, who is eternal, who has no beginning, be born?"

No beginning...no end...the Alpha and the Omega...this is what the Messiah is, who the Christ is. The beauty of the link between these two feasts is that together, they mark a watershed moment in salvation history. The Nativity then becomes, if you will, the beginning of the end. No longer do we have prophets because God will now walk among us again. When He who was "In the beginning.." takes on our human image, He reshapes it, restores it. And He then offers it as a sacrifice that we too might be reshaped and restored.

This chapter in our book concludes with "There would be no salvation for humanity without the Cross, but there would be no Cross without the Nativity.