In mythological storytelling, the birth of the hero often serves as more than an origin—it is a prophecy wrapped in narrative. The circumstances surrounding the hero's arrival characterizes and foreshadows their life's meaning and symbolic destiny.
In the Christian tradition, the nativity of Christ is no exception. The multi-layered details of this birth scene hold profound significance. But at the core of it all, in my estimation, is the concept that characterizes the ultimate function of the figure of Christ in the Christian story. And that is the concept of Christ as mediator.
At the heart of the Christian narrative, he is the one who bridges divides, unites opposites, and reconciles all things to their intended harmony.
What is mediation?
Mediation is the art of resolution. A mediator is a go-between, someone who facilitates a relationship or resolves conflict. But conflict doesn’t always mean dispute—it includes any form of incoherence, disparity, or fragmentation.
To do their job properly, a mediator must accurately and fully represent the perspectives, needs, and interests of each party. The mediator brings harmony not merely by proposing a compromise but by crafting a greater, overarching vision that unites both sides, creating harmony through a shared purpose.
This vision must encompass each party’s interests, satisfy their demands, and is the thing to which the union must be aimed.
The star & the manger
This is the cosmic role Christ assumes in the Christian narrative. The nativity scene foreshadows this. Consider the juxtaposition of the star and the stable.
The star represents what is highest—the divine, transcendent, and eternal. The manger, in contrast, represents what is lowest—the carnal, earthly, and animalistic. Christ is born into a fractured cosmos where the high is severed from the low, where the collective psyche was fractured into factions. Not only was Israel in conflict with their Roman occupants, but the Jews themselves had rifts between ideological groups. Christ entered the scene as the unifying figure to heal a fractured cosmos—starting with the spiritual dissonance within the individual soul.
The symbolism runs deep. Carl Jung might say that the stable, with its animals, reflects the unconscious—the primal instincts and the raw foundations of human nature. The divine child, lying amidst this setting, integrates these opposites: the conscious and the unconscious, the divine and the carnal, healing the whole person.
It’s often said that the birth of Christ in a manger was meant as a sign of the humility of God. But I think it’s more than a matter of optics; it’s a necessity. Transformation always begins in incubation. The universal images of the womb, egg, manger, and child all come together in this scene. Christ as a child signifies the process of birth and renewal, hearkening to the new birth for believers. The light of the divine must be incubated, birthed, nurtured, and matured until the individual is likened to a new being, full of life, love, and joy.
The shepherds & the magi
The visitors to the Christ child further expand this theme of reconciliation. The shepherds and the magi represent opposites that Christ unites.
The shepherds were the poor, uneducated, and mundane. They were the closest to the earth anyone can get. The magi, by contrast, were wealthy, learned, and prestigious. Their gaze was fixed on the heavens.
The shepherds belonged to the in-group, the native Jews; the magi were foreigners, outsiders, and pagans. The shepherds looked to the earth; the magi looked to the sky. And they both find their convergence in the Christ child, the mediator who brings together the near and far.
The cross
The nativity scene never went away, and instead developed and reached a climax point in the crucifixion. The cross is a cosmic diagram that brings together everything we just talked about. The transcendent star and the earthly manger form a vertical axis, the meeting of heaven and earth. The shepherds and the magi form a horizontal axis, reconciling the familiar and the foreign. And Christ hangs at the nexus, unifying them all.
The location of the crucifixion—the hill of Calvary—is no accident either and is profoundly symbolic. The mountain is where heaven meets earth and where man meets God. Christ on Calvary echoes Moses on Sinai, where he stood as a mediator between high and low, between sacred and profane.
Christ’s position on the cross repeats this pattern, but with a universal scope. On either side of him hang two criminals, equally undeserving of grace. Yet one receives forgiveness. Why? Because he turns his aim to Christ, the unifier, and as a result becomes reconciled with the wholeness that the mediator brings. This is the essence of mediation: a unifying vision that restores wholeness to fractured parts.
But even here the story isn’t finished…
The nativity and the crucifixion are seminal moments in a larger arc. They mature into the ultimate image in Revelation, where every tribe and tongue gather in unity under the vision of Christ. Christ mediates not only between the high and the low but also between the near and the far.
This is another reason why the depiction of Christ as child is not an accident and more than an optical choice in humility: the divine light that begins humbly must grow to illuminate everything. Christ introduces the highest vision that, if adopted, unites humanity and brings to life that vision of heaven.
In this way, the Christian story unfolds continually—reconciling not only humanity with the divine but humanity with itself. At its heart, this story invites us to an upward striving for unity, wholeness, and peace in our own fractured lives and world. The ultimate mediator bridges divides, transforming them into paths of convergence, where all things find their rightful place.
Stay purposeful.
– Nathanael
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