The Womb, The Manger, The Hillside: The Advent of Jesus
This week on Creative Thinking, we’re stepping into The Places of Advent, beginning with the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2, and Isaiah’s prophecy of hope in the wilderness.
From the womb, where Christ took on our humanity, to the manger, where His humility was revealed, to the hillside, where the invitation of heaven was first announced; every place points us to the beauty and majesty of God’s redemption.
The story of God’s redemption has always been rooted in place.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”
Isaiah 9:2
Adventus (Latin): arrival, coming.
1. The womb is the place of Christ’s humanity.
“God descends to re-ascend… down into humanity, down to the very roots… to bring ruined sinners up with Him.”
C.S. Lewis
2. The manger is the place of Christ’s humility.
“The Word of the Father, by whom all time was created, was made flesh and was born in time for us. He, without whose divine permission no day completes its course, wished to have one day for His human birth … The Maker of man became Man that He, the Bread, might be hungry; that He, the Fountain, might thirst; that He, the Light, might sleep … To endure these and similar indignities for us, to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all ages, deigned to become the Son of Man…”
Augustine
3. The hillside is the place of invitation.
“The joy of God has gone through the poverty of the manger and the distress of the cross; therefore it is invincible and irrefutable.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”
Read Revelation 3:20
The Artwork: The Nativity, 1597
Federico Barrocci, (1530-1612),
Oil on canvas, 53×41
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
