Last weekend we re-introduced a custom that had been held in the parish for several years. We had a Greccio or live Nativity. 

First, I would like to that Rich Scanlon, and his wonder, dedicated team of catechists for all the work that they put in to make ready for the Greccio. The children who participated did a fantastic job, as well as being cute as a dickens. Special thanks to Jake and Katie for allowing their 6 month-old son, Jackson, to be our Baby Jesus. I am even thankful for the live animals and their handlers, which gave the Greccio that something extra – yes, even the llama (which the Bible doesn’t mention, LOL).

Some might be wondering why a live Nativity is called a Greccio. It all goes back to St. Francis of Assisi. In 1221, St. Francis made a trip to the Holy Land. He wanted to walk where Jesus walked, to see the sites that Jesus saw, and just to be were Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself to dwell among us. The visit to the Holy Land deeply moved St. Francis.

When he returned to Italy, he strongly encouraged people to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land so that they too could experience what he had. Of course, that was not just an expensive proposition, and time consuming (no planes back then, so they would have had to walk or take a boat, which would mean the trip would take weeks if by boat or months if walking). By 1223, conflicts between the Christians in the Holy Land and the Muslims also made the trip very dangerous, so St. Francis decided to bring Bethlehem to Italy.

With the help of a nobleman from the town of Greccio, St. Francis celebrated the birth of Jesus in a cave outside the town. He built a temporary altar in the cave, with a small crib in front of the altar. The nobleman provide a donkey and a cow (no sheep or goats – and no llama). St. Francis preached, and he was so moved that he could not say Jesus’ name, instead referring to Him as the Babe of Bethlehem. Accounts of Francis’ original nativity do not include much information about the congregation that gathered. We do not know if the Italian villagers standing in the cold on Christmas Eve nearly eight centuries ago were as moved as Francis was by the idea of an omnipotent God so capable of love and humility that he took the form of a vulnerable infant and was born outdoors among the animals.

We do know that the Friars of St. Francis’ order took the idea of a live Nativity on Christmas Eve to the various villages, towns, cities, and countries where they went in spreading the Good News. While live Nativities remained popular, static nativities (using statues instead of live people and animals) also grew in popularity as they allowed the scene of Bethlehem to remain on display for longer periods of time for meditation.

The popularity of nativity scenes indicates that over the centuries people continue to be drawn to the possibility of building their own Bethlehem. Setting up a nativity scene not only allows us to remember and celebrate the drama of Jesus’ birth but also the saint so enraptured with that drama that he brought it to life.