The manger within !

The above sights during a walk at day break brought some insights from the events in nature!

The photo of a baby wrapped in warm clothes, while carried most likely by the child's father, took me back to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was kept warm in a manger covered in swadling clothes. 

I took time recently to get familiar with the Palestinian traditions, Jewish practices and Middle Eastern way of life to get an introduction to the time when Jesus of Nazareth lived and fulfilled His mission. It happened incidentally while Anna was cataloguing our books at home. I found some clusters of books, I had not visited for sometime. The above three was one such cluster.

 

As we are in the season of Christmas, I was particularly fascinated by the background information which Kenneth E. Bailey provided in his book, Jesus Through the Middle Eastern Eyes about the manger where Jesus was laid after his birth.  

The drawing of the two types of houses in pages 29 and 33 of the book, as given above, of low and middle income households, at the time of Jesus, gave me some clarity about the different opinions that exist about the manger of Jesus. 

The first two drawings are of one type of house. The house has a large living room which has one or two mangers cut into the stone, which separates the living room and the stable next to the living room. 

Let me quote from page 34 of the above book: " To summarise, a part of what Luke says in his gospel, about the birth of Jesus is that the holy family travelled to Bethlehem, where they were received into a private home. The child was born, wrapped, and (literally) "put to bed' (anaklino) in the living room in the manger that was either built into the floor or made of wood and moved into the family living space. Why were they not invited into the family guest room, the reader might naturally ask? The answer is that guest room was already occupied by other guests. Or that house did not have a guest room. The host family graciously accepted Mary and Joseph into the family room of their house". (what is in italics is my addition based on information from another page of the book).

A symbolic meaning that occurs to me from the manger scene is how Jesus was received at His birth. The safest and warmest place, the manger, was offered to him. 

The man in the photo above held his child close to his heart by enclosing his child on his chest with the blanket, which to me was the highest expression of endearment to his child. 

It was a similar gesture that Jesus received at his birth, when he was placed  close to the heart of the living space, where the warm manger was located. 

The manger scene we create of the Christmas event is a manger surrounded by sheep, shepherd and wise men. That represents only one part of the sequence of events. The central and earlier part of the birth of Jesus is all about the manger where Jesus was placed! 

Let me quote a carol composed by Emily E Elliot (1884) based on scriptural passages, John 1:11-12 and  Philippians 2:5-7  to expand this theme further:

" Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy 

kingly crown,

When Thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem's home was there 

found no room

For Thy Holy nativity. 

 

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels 

sang

Proclaiming Thy roayl degree;

But of lowly birth didst Thou come to 

earth,

And in great humility. 

The foxes found rest, and the birds 

their nest,

In the shade of the forest tree;

But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou 

Son of God,

In the deserts of Galilee. 

Thou camest, O lord, with the living 

word,

Thou should set Thy people free;

But with mocking scorn and with 

crown of thorn,

They bore thee to calvary.

When the heav'ns shall ring, and her

 choirs shall sing,

At Thy coming to victory,

Let Thy voice call me home, saying

"Yes there is room 

 There is room at my side for Thee".

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,

When Thou comest and callest for 

me".

The Christ of Christmas was Jesus born at Bethlehem who lived to travel to Calvary at the appointed time of His life. 

Where He was born is a message worth remembering and repeating because, the manger offered to Him was the symbol to Him of people waiting  to receive to human hearts. It is the manger of our heart that can be the dwelling place when we receive His coming. 

The three birds, a grass hopper, a spider and a butterfly appeared at home in each of their resting places. A child was made safe and secure in the arms of the father!

That safety in the arms of Jesus was what the Hymn writer, Fanny Crosby (1868) described for all to receive:

"Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast,

There by His love o'ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark, 'tis the voice of angels,

Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory,

Over the jasper sea. 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world's temptations,

Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow,

Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials,

Only a few more tears.

Jesus, my heart's dear refuge,

Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the rock of Ages, 

Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience,

Wait till the night is o'er;

Wait till I see the morning

Break on the golden shore."

The advent of Christmas is therefore a season of preparing to receive the coming of Jesus in ways that can touch, move and change us. Jesus in return holds us to lead us to safety in our journey of life!

This Barbet above, kept gazing at me in our garden. Its intent was regard and attention while I waited and watched its movements. I remembered a verse from the book of Psalms in the Bible, while receiving this caring look from a Barbet.  

In Psalm 121:8, the psalmist said: "The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and for evermore".

Jesus and His coming at the first Christmas was to bring the gift of God's love to humankind and accompany us in our life's journey!

Let me close this text with a quotation from the book, Jesus Through the Middle Eastern Eyes, Page 36: "Middle Eastern people have a tremendous capacity for showing honour to guests. This appears as early as in the story of Abraham and his guests (Gen.18:1-8) and continues to the present. The shepherds left the holy family while praising God for the birth of the Messiah and the quality of the  hospitality in the home in which He was born. This is the capstone to the story of the shepherds. The child was born for the likes of the shepherds- the poor, the lowly, the rejected. He also came for the rich and  the wise who later appeared with gold, frankincense and myrrh".

Let me therefore suggest that, the manger where Jesus was laid, was in a warm and friendly home and not in a cold and lonely stable. Kenneth Bailey pleads:"Jesus was born in a simple two-room village home such as the Middle East has known for at least three thousand years. Yes, we must rewrite our Christmas plays..."(p36). At His birth the Holy family received hospitality and care. He was born as a commoner, which was why the common people heard Him, followed him and came to Him to be healed ! 

How do we make the person of Jesus a friend and companion of the commoners as well as the privileged!  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)