The math teacher in me just loves days like today when the numbers show such synchronicity. What better day is there to think about the miracle of Christmas?

So today I decided to visit Sacred Heart Cathedral to look at the collection of nativity sets that are on display there. I’m not Catholic, but Sacred Heart Cathedral is a beautiful place to sit and meditate, even when they don’t have a special display. The organ pipes are a mile high. The stained glass windows are everything that you’d expect at a cathedral. The baptismal font is made from beautiful marble, bigger than a hot tub. And the stations of the cross are a magnificent deep red and gold, that when stuck by the light, leave you speechless.

                                                          But I was there to see the nativity sets. They are part of a collection belonging to my friend Jan Archibald. Jan has collected over 600 sets in her extensive travels around the world. Many of the creches are from places in Latin America, but there was one from Egypt, one from South Africa, and a few from places in Europe.

            What I love about the creches is that they are all so alike and yet so different. They all contain the Holy Family, the necessary three. Many have a manger, the shepherds, the wise men and animals. The most variety was in the animals. Traditional creches have sheep and camels, maybe cows. In this display I saw a pig, a rabbit and an anteater as each culture adapted the Christmas story to its own story.

Isn’t that what Christmas is all about – taking the Christmas miracle and making it relevant to our own lives? Two thousand years ago God came down and dwelt among us. My Christmas prayer is that we all take time to feel His presence among us today.