Advent 2019: Why a Manger?

I found the following article by Ship Heitzig @ Connection Communications very inspiring. And so I share it with you.

A few years ago, my mom gave me a Nativity scene that was in our home when I was a kid. It evoked wonder in my early years and it’s still wonderful, but there’s something not quite right about it. For one thing, the figure of Jesus looks more like a two-year old than an infant. For another, He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and from what I know of the Middle East, I have kind of a problem with that. Obviously, this Nativity set was crafted by a European!

And the manger is made out of wood. Of course, that’s how most of us think of it. But the word in the Bible translated “manger” could mean either a feeding trough or an enclosure for animals. In that part of the world animals were kept in caves, and feeding troughs were made out of stone, so Jesus was probably born in a cave around Bethlehem, and laid in a stone trough.

Now, I have destroyed a lot of your mental pictures of Jesus’ birth. But the important question is “Why a manger?” Why wasn’t he born in a palace, and his birth heralded in the Jesus Post?

The answer is in two words: Humility and Accessibility. His mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, like any present of the time. The Great gift came in simple wrapping. The one who would be called “Wonderful, Counselor Mighty God, Everlasting Father”-the Creator-became an embryo, and then a baby. It’s amazing, and the more you think about it, the more staggering it becomes. This humility would depict His entire life and ministry. And when He died He was buried in a borrowed grave, another cave similar to the one He was born in.

Because He was Humble, He was Accessible. Going into a throne room to see a king would be intimidating, but there’s nothing intimidating about going into a cave and approaching a feeding trough. You don’t need special credentials, you don’t need to have an appointment. The shepherds could just come in. And again, this marked not only His birth but His entire life. Jesus was always accessible to people. He said “Let the little children come to Me”. He also welcomed the woman with the incurable disease because of her faith.

So it’s not really important what your Nativity scene looks like. The important thing is what you think about the Child who was laid in the manger. In the words of an old Christmas carol. “Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle stall; oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the babe is Lord of All.”