A Mission Creche

"Mom, where's the baby Jesus?"

"When was Jesus born?"

"Christmas."

"Well, it's not Christmas, is it?  He hasn't been born yet."

"Ohhhh."

I couldn't help but laugh when I overheard this conversation at the Santa Barbara Mission's creche.  Hadn't I had the exact same conversation twenty odd years ago with my own two sons?  It's become one of those lessons mothers everywhere teach their children this time of year.  Life can become a little frantic.  Those wish lists for Santa become a little too long.  We begin to worry our adorable, but spoiled kids, are getting the wrong message. 

Well, way back in 1224 in the little Italian town of Greccio, St. Francis of Assisi began to worry about this, too.  The nativity scenes in the churches were coated with silver, gold and jewels.  The people were losing the original message--that Jesus was born in a humble stable.  He asked a local farmer to bring some hay, an ox,
and a donkey to a shallow cave on the edge of town where he set up a manger.  He said Midnight Mass there by candlelight and acted out the story.    I can only imagine how enchanting this must have been.