Icon of the Nativity of Our Lord
by Sr. Bonnie Komarnicki, ssmi, of the Ukrainian Catholic Religious Education Centre
The icon of the Nativity of our Lord is a rich source for meditation. In this icon we have all the characters of the beloved story of Christmas but we have so much more to discover.
Let us begin with the middle of the icon. It is startling with the darkness of the cave. Some may wonder why such darkness would appear on the icon. It is a reminder of the darkness of the world, the darkness of sin, into which Christ the Lord enters. We read in Isaiah 9:2 “ a people who walk in darkness have seen a great Light”. What is that great Light? It is a Child in swaddling cloths, it is the Son of God made human for our sake. The brightness of the cloths the Child is wrapped in outshines our darkness.
Inside the cave are a donkey and an ox. This is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, “the ox knows his master and the donkey his owner’s manger but my people don’t recognize me.” Always we see the ox and the donkey in the Icon because creation recognizes the Son of God who came Incarnate as a Child, the question is in the hustle and bustle of our lives, will we recognize God?
Mary, the Theotokos is turned slightly away from the Child Jesus. We may think that odd but it is not out of unconcern. On the contrary. She is actually is great awe of the mystery that has taken place. She is truly aware Who her Son is. Furthermore, her gaze rests upon her beloved Joseph in the bottom corner of the icon who sits somewhat dazed. There appears to be a stooped man talking to him. Joseph is for us the figure who looks at these events and ponders on them. He is a righteous man and when God calls upon him to protect Mary and the Child by taking them to Egypt, Joseph will not hesitate to do so.
Across from Joseph in the bottom right hand corner are the mid-wives washing the Child Jesus. It is a reminder to us that although this is truly God, He is also man and was born as a child. It is this simple act of washing the Child that reminds us of this fact.
In the top left hand corner of the icon, are wise men arriving from the East on horses. They have followed the star to find the Sun of Righteousness of which the Tropar speaks. They have studied books to come to find Christ and it is through book knowledge that they have discovered a path to Him. This shows us that there are many paths to Christ.
The middle of the top is the Star. It is brilliant and luminous shining over the place where the Child lay. There are three rays beaming out of the star that represent the Trinity. We are always reminded of our faith and strong belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
To the right of the Star, are the Angels telling the Shepherds the Good News: ‘Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) These Angels are messengers giving us Good News. It is not just Good News - it is GREAT NEWS, amazing news - God is with us. The Angels whisper this in our ears everyday if we are willing to hear.
Just below those Angels are the Shepherds. Poor and humble men who probably had no education. They came to believe in Jesus just because of what the Angels said to them and because they saw and believed. How many of us have such a simple faith? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a Shepherd and just believe without the need to prove anything?
The other Angels in the icon are the Heavenly Hosts that sing: Glory to God in the highest and peace to God’s people on Earth. (Luke 2:14) This the Christmas wish for all the world praise to God and peace on earth. Let us pray for peace - peace in our hearts, peace in our families and peace in our world.