The Animals at Jesus' Birth

What the presence of animals in the stable means today

Welcome to Being Animal. This newsletter explores the intricacies of human-animal relationships. Through personal stories, commentary on current events, and thought-provoking debates, I hope to challenge your assumptions and deepen your understanding of how animals are treated in our society. How we treat animals matters— for our own health, for our planet, and for our sense of morality and humanity.

I want to make the world a better place for animals. To do this, we have to change how we think about animals. This week, I’m getting ready for Christmas and reflecting on the simplicity of animals attending Jesus’ birth. It’s a story I love, and one that has relevance today, too.

This will be my last post for 2024! I’ll be back in early January with new writing for a new year. Happy holidays, and happy new year!

Most nativity scenes feature sheep and other farmed animals attending Jesus’ birth. It’s a curious detail: sheep, cows, donkeys, and camels all circled around the manger.

The Gospel of Luke recounts that Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable because there was no room at the inn. The Gospel of Luke continues the story, explaining that an Angel of the Lord appeared before nearby shepherds who were guarding their flock by night and instructed them to go to Bethlehem. “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” the angel said, before telling them to look for a baby in a manger. The shepherds did as they were told, and then shared the news of the miracle they had witnessed.

Jesus’ birth is the story that gives us Christmas, a beautiful celebration of light in the season of darkness. The imagery of Christmas is everywhere this time of year as we move through the season of advent, waiting for the day to arrive: Mary and Joseph leaning over a baby in a manger; three Wise Men bearing their luxurious gifts; an angel announcing the good news; and shepherds in their simplicity as witnesses and evangelists.

But there were other creatures there, too: sheep, of course, and often cows or calves, goats, donkeys, and sometimes a camel. Jesus was born in a stable, after all. He was not born in the realm of humans, but in the home of animals. He came into being while all creatures—humans, angels, and animals alike—watched and worshipped in awe.

It’s easy to dismiss this detail of animal attendees as merely part of the setting of the story, or as just a symbol meant to signify Jesus’ humility and lowliness. But I think there’s more to it.

To me, it’s an incredibly moving detail.

First, it says something about the animals—that they are capable of reverence, awe, generosity, and gentleness. They share their space with Mary and Joseph, they adore the baby Jesus, and they peacefully welcome the visitors and strangers into their home. It’s a beautiful sentiment: that the animals experienced real meaning and joy just like the humans around them did.

Second, it says something about the humans involved. Mary gave birth in the most animal of spaces: a stable. Mary is, of course, an animal herself—a human animal, composed of flesh and bone. The location of Jesus’ birth highlights how animalistic a process birth is. Humans and animals coexist in this story in a way that reminds us how beholden to our bodies we are. Animals, all of us.

And lastly, it says something about Jesus himself. The Gospel of John describes Jesus’ birth as “the Word made flesh.” That choice of words is important. Jesus was not the Word made human. No, he was the Word made flesh. The Greek word used there is sarx, which refers to both human and animal flesh. The incarnation gave Jesus a body, which made him both human and animal. He sanctified all bodily forms, not just human ones.

In other words, Jesus’ birth didn’t only bring him into the realm of humans; it brought him into the realm of animals, too.

And the animals at Jesus’ birth—cows and donkeys and sheep, all farmed animals, all animals used and deployed for human use and consumption—remind us of the universality of Jesus’ message. He brings good news; he brings salvation; he brings light in the darkness.

Who needs a message like that more than the lowliest among us? And who is lowlier than farmed animals, bred and raised and slaughtered in due course? I think, though it may be a radical thought, that Jesus’ birth was meant for the animals, too.

I love the Christmas story because it brings all of this together: family, love, joy, kindness, generosity, and interspecies community. It’s a model of what our world can look like, built around hope and the promise of a better future. It’s a beautiful idea.

Even if you’re not Christian, reflecting on the story at the root of the season can help infuse meaning into this time of year. And animals are undoubtedly a part of the story. They shared their stable with Mary; they adored Jesus after his birth; they followed the shepherds to the manger; a donkey may have carried Mary and Joseph away from Bethlehem after the birth.

This Christmas season, I hope you reflect on the animals of the world. Those who share our planet, our air and our water. Those who exist in bodies just like ours. Those who feel joy and suffer right along with us. Christmas is a time for reconnecting with family, rekindling hope, and celebrating the beauty of the world we’ve been given.

And animals are undeniably a part of all of that.

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This will be my last post for 2024! I have loved writing this publication every week, and I am so grateful to all of you for taking the time to read along.

I’ll be back in early January with new writing for a new year.

Happy holidays, and happy new year!