I recently returned from a badly needed retreat to an abbey in the Northeast. It was such a refreshing experience and so freeing to go without expectation. So much good was gained and the experience was a God given gift, right down to the fact that I had no anxiety on the flights there and back. A great gift given my fear of flying. I most likely could write numerous essays about my trip but I'll just stick with one: The lamb, the dog, and the donkey.
Tucked into the woods, just off the road stands a three hundred year old barn. And in that 300 year old barn is a nearly 300 year old creche. 68 figures adorn this nativity scene, made from the finest materials of the day, with pain-staking detail which only devoted artists could create. Each character meant to last for years...hundreds of years. Amazingly, the town buildings and scenery are made of cork.
The creche and it's characters were presented to Victor Amadeus II, king of Sardinia on the day of his coronation in 1720. It stayed in his possession throughout his reign and then came into the hands of a wealthy family. Eventually, the creche scene made its way to the little abbey where it was restored. The fact that the characters and the cork have been preserved this long is in itself quite a miracle.
As I pondered this beautiful scene of towns men and women surrounding the Holy Family, I paused on each one, each face, wondering which ones would jump out at me and tell me it's share of the story. Were they curious, disinterested, or excited to greet the Christ child? But, it wasn't the people in the scene so much as just three of the animals.
To the right and behind Mary and Jesus, comes a man into the scene. His burden is a lamb. He carries the sheep who seems to be struggling, three legs bound and one loose (a hint to us of the one, triune God?). It's head doesn't hang, as if dead, but strains to look up toward Jesus, THE Lamb. Is this a forshadowing of the sacrifice to come?
The second animal which caught my minds eye was the dog. There are actually two dogs in the foreground. One is rather disinterested. But the second, the one closest to the main attraction is a very submissive dog; with it's tail down, ears back, and a longing in it's attitude, suggestive of the woman in scripture who tells Jesus that even the dogs eat the scraps from the master's table. The dog is on a leash of a very stately woman who approaches the scene with joy. Her right hand extends with an oh so delicate finger, and the leash is so very loose that one wonders why it is necessary at all. The dog is clearly devoted. It obeys it's mistress and therefore enjoys great freedom. It is a beautiful scene.
The last creature catching my attention was the dear donkey. This beast of burden was being led away from the holy scene by a man, and carrying a woman on it's back. The donkey looks back, straining even with wide eyes to catch a glimpse of the Holy Family. It has a look of longing as if there were a great desire to exchange it's load for that of Mary and Jesus...perhaps to escape to Egypt. Or, maybe, just maybe one day, a colt from it's own blood line would carry Christ into Jerusalem and palms would wave.
I could never know what was in the mind of the artisans as they created this amazing scene, but those three little animals spoke volumes to me. In a world of disposal and speed, we need to slow down, to create, to ponder, and to let God speak to us in the simplicity of His creation. We need to step away, to retreat, and let Him speak, and when He does, don't be surprised if He speaks not in the faces of people, but through that of a 300 year old lamb, dog, or little donkey.
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