When Christ was born into this world of beauty and sin, it didn’t take place at some fancy hospital.  He didn’t have a doctor or birthing mother at the scene to announce His arrival to a family of friends and relatives.  Instead, we read about His birth taking place in a small stable on a manager of hay.  There are those who think even this description is too grand and it was really a cave.  A cave composed of hard rocks, dirt, damp air and darkness, which I’ve had the opportunity to visit in Bethlehem.  Nothing close to something we might envision for the birth of Christ.  He came not as a King, but rather an ordinary human of humble beginnings.  He came as what I might call, a man of the earth.  Someone connected to His creation and not one of our doing.  In its wake, we have signs and symbols of His birth, all also of earthly origin.  The star in the sky that led the shepherds, the goats, sheep and other animals, that I imagine provided some warmth to this chilly setting.  And there are the:  rocks, grass and straw that provided bedding for this baby in Mary’s arms.  All of these things continue to be signs and symbols to us at various times throughout the year.  There’s the star that hangs over my nativity set at Christmas.  Even the Nativity set itself, is a symbol to others who visit and a reminder to me of this incredible event that happened over 2,000 years ago. All of the signs and symbols at this event took root in a very earthly setting, again providing that connection between God and the beautiful world we’ve been given to enjoy.

In the past few weeks my husband and I have been working in the yard in an effort to create a pleasant setting for enjoying the beauty of God’s creation;  in the trees, flowers, birds and even the gecko’s, squirrels and other various animals that like to inhabit our yard.  There are also some signs and symbols of our own creation that depict the idea of a simpler life, or as they say, “living in the moment”.  This new catch phrase dominates the title or byline of almost every magazine on the newsstand today.   So, to help foster this idea and move forward with the “Marge” creation, I picked up a great find of two ferns at a great price to hang on each side of our porch. They are beautiful and truly something to enjoy while savoring our morning java on the patio.  But one morning, we noticed a lot of mocking bird activity occurring around one of them.  It appeared that these birds had decided this fern would be a great home for their next round of off-spring.  At first we weren’t sure if we should discourage this process, as it didn’t really seem like a good location for their nest and what would it do to our creation and vision of the yard?  In addition, there was also the issue that birds could be pretty territorial when birthing their young.  I wasn’t looking for a reprise of “The Birds”, out our back door.  Certainly not a sign or symbol of something I wanted to remember every day.

But as you can see from this picture, the birds won!

The nest was built over our concerns for their safety and ours.  A few days of building activity transpired and then just like that, it ceased, and mom wasn’t leaving the nest.  This could only mean one thing, eggs needing to be hatched.  I wanted so badly to get out the step stool and look into the nest, but I knew any human contact at this point might cause the nest and eggs to be abandoned.  I didn’t want that on my conscience after all their hard work of getting things this far along.  So, I waited, and waited and waited some more until one day, mom left the nest and mom and dad could be seen diving into the nest with the latest dead bug hanging from its beak.

The days went by and I was almost exhausted watching mom and dad continuing to hunt down bugs and feed them to their offspring.  But they never quit. I actually started putting out some apple cores and etc., just to see if I could help them out.  Not sure why I had become so engrossed with this process and their activities but then it occurred to me what a beautiful world our God has created for us and what a mystery.  If the yard was to be a place where God’s creations could thrive, then my enjoying these birds’ humble beginnings was part of that process.  Finding joy in the simple things and “living in the moment”.

As I waited in anticipation of seeing the actual baby birds, I was somewhat stunned at how I became semi-attached to their progress.  They’re just birds, I thought to myself!   And then one day it happened!   I saw a little beak poking its head up just enough to be seen from our kitchen window.  I was unable to stop the smile that had formed on my face as I watched their bouncing activity within the nest.  A couple more days went by and a couple more beaks showed up over the side of the nest.  As mom or dad approached with food, the babies created quite a stir with each other as to who should be the first fed.  This nourishment provided the needed growth and soon they started to spread their wings and climb up the wires of the plant hanger.  Full bodies filled with inquisitiveness could be seen while viewing from the kitchen window.  They were becoming quite the handful for mom and dad.  Not unlike my own children as they reached the age of taking flight with those first steps.  And then one morning, it happened.  Watching from the safety of my kitchen window I saw two little birdies hopping across the lawn, stopping every few hops to flap their wings.  It looked like an extreme effort to check out their flying skills, which were non-existent at this point, as they often fell heard over heels while flapping.   As I looked toward our fence I could see mom and dad sitting there watching their every move, just waiting to put the run on any animal or human form that should decide to check out these babies.  Again, I was struck with the idea, that maybe this is how God operates.  Sitting back from afar, watching how we take flight and ready at any moment to protect us from harm

Over the next couple of days, a little one would show up in the yard searching for food and making small starts and stops of flight, its wings becoming more developed.  Then I would see one sitting on the top of the fence as their growing wings allowed them to take longer and higher flights.  Soon Mom and dad fled the scene and were no longer around, as their offspring had become self-sufficient.  I was relieved, since I was a little anxious worrying about them as they bounced around the yard amongst other active prey for all the creatures of the backyard.  Freedom from worry is a great stress reliever.

As I pondered about the flight of the birds, I felt myself having mixed feelings about their departure.   There was not a sign of them anywhere or that they had even been here at all except for the empty nest. The fern was starting to recover and the backyard was back to its usual activity.   It was then that I reflected on our discussion of Catholic signs and rituals.  Are they necessary and why should we have them?   I remembered when I was a young child that we had a holy water fountain hung on the wall by our bedroom door, ready for dipping as we exited or entered.   Those fountains were also needed in the event we told too many ghost stories and then heard a noise in the house.  We would immediately head for the holy water fountain to be sprinkled and saved from our imaginations.  As I think about these simple traditions, signs and symbols, I realize we used them to remind us of the presence of God in the world and in our lives.

God is no longer physically visible to us on earth, just like he wasn’t physically there with me in that cave in Bethlehem.  But it was the earthly symbols of sitting on those hard rocks, feeling the damp chill in the air and singing songs that embodied the time of Christ’s birth that provided a remembrance of what happened so many years ago.  It is these same types of signs and symbols and rituals in our home that continue to remind us of God’s presence in our lives and His presence here on earth – connected – Heaven and earth.   As a child, a bible was always placed somewhere in the house as a sign of what we believed.   We didn’t really study the bible in those pre-Vatican days, but we knew it was God’s word and it was important to have it out in our midst as a symbol.

If, after Christ died and rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, no one had bothered to continue to tell the story, continue the rituals, create the signs, what would we know about Christ or God today?  Would I still be a Christian?    When someone asks me now why all these symbols and signs, what’s the point?  It’s an easy answer.  To remember.  To remember who Christ was and who He expects me to be.  As I look around our home, I’m reminded of God through so many things.  There are books on the shelf to read or that have been read, pictures on the wall, statues in various locations, a cross here and there, and the rosary in my purse.  Together it all reminds me to appreciate God and all of creation, even the birds.  They remind me to tell the story, so others will know what happened that day in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.  We rescued the nest from the fern and it is still in our backyard bringing a smile to my face each time I see it.