Jesus says that if we take to heart his words and make them the basis of our actions, our lives are built on a rock-solid foundation
That raises some questions. First have I built a set of convictions that I try to live by? (These would be comparable to the house in the parable above.) Or, do I more or less operate on a vague desire to do right?
If I do have convictions, then another question is this: What are they based on? The “rock” of God’s word? Or the shifting sands of what seems generally acceptable in our society?
When the rain and floods and winds come into my life – and they do – I need solid footings. As a disciples of the Lord, I commit myself to more that following the Gospel whenever possible and/or convenient.
Just for starters…Do I forgive when I feel like it, or do I have a conviction based on the “solid rock” of what Jesus taught about forgiveness? Or prayer. Do I pray “when I get a chance,” or do I have a rock-solid pattern of prayer?
I need to spend some time taking stock of the foundations on which I have built my life.
Animals at the Birth of Jesus
Christmas cribs usually include various animals. This because Luke’s account say that “they laid him in a manger” because there was no room for them in the inn. This suggests that Jesus was born in a place where animals were kept thus the popular reference to a “stable”. In the Gospel text, however, there is no mention of animals.
· The Gospel does mention shepherds, and that is undoubtedly why sheep are frequently in nativity scenes.
· Camels are often included because they were popularly associated with the Magi.
· An ox and a donkey are popular too. Artists included them because of the (unrelated) passage in Isaiah 1:3 which has God saying: “An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”] Legends tell of how the ox and donkey breathed on the infant Jesus to warm him on a winter’s night.]
Even a lion is sometimes included, along with other animals, because of another passage from Isaiah: “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, with a little child to tend them.”
Other animals placed in various nativity scenes or legends include the lizard, leopard, goat, peacock, owl, stork, and badger.