From the Friars: The God in the Cave
“The God in the Cave” is the name of a chapter in an extraordinary book called The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton. It is a historical defense of Christianity, about the creature called man and the Creator who was born as a man in Bethlehem. The author insists that Jesus was born in a cave, and tradition and archeology offer much evidence for this. The subterranean cavern then serves as a metaphor to explain how this infant paradoxically turned the world upside down.
Adoration of the shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst – Public Domain, Link
The human race, through its mythologies and philosophies, strove in ancient times to discover and explain the meaning and purpose of the universe and ourselves. The shepherds of Bethlehem, representing the ordinary man, after looking up at the heavens with wonder, now gaze upon the tiny newborn. They found Heaven under the earth. The Magi, men of science and philosophy, discover a Truth that is infinitely broader and deeper than anything reason alone can conceive or instruments measure. Their limited and partial truths found their completion in the Eternal Word, born in the confines of a cave.
The cave also serves as a hideout for a covert infiltration into enemy territory. The ancient serpent, prince of this world, is behind King Herod’s attempts to kill the little King in the cave. Mary’s baby has come to initiate a revolution against a doomed empire of evil. This rebellion is called His Church, which also begins underground but emerges to show itself the only true fulfillment of the deepest longings of the human heart.
Chesterton had a rare combination of genius and humility. Reading The Everlasting Man was a major influence on the atheist C. S. Lewis, who returned to his faith and became the most popular Christian author of the 20th century. It is a challenging book but well worth the effort to read it. It would be a great antidote to our screen-addicted and shallow thinking present age. This is mainly because it helps us to renew our wonder and gratitude for the world God created and for the hidden away child Who is that very God.
O Come All Ye Faithful, let us bow our heads and egos to enter the cave, and adore Him.
–Fr. Peter