Sometimes when I am throwing toys for my dogs to fetch they lose sight of the toy. I’ll try to point to the toy, but instead of looking where I am pointing, the dogs look at my finger. They get focused on the sign and miss where the sign is pointing.
Sometimes people make that same mistake. At Christmas time we look at all the signs, the symbols of Christmas, and miss where the Lord is leading us. Consider the manger. Luke mentions the manger three times in this passage. Luke says Mary laid Jesus in a manger; the angels told the shepherds they would find the new born Messiah in a manger; and the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus lying in a manger, just as they had been told.
The manger, which was not made of wood but of carved stone, was a feeding trough. There is some symbolism at work here. Jesus begins his life in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means city of bread. Jesus will be known as the bread of life. At the last supper Jesus takes bread and breaks it and tell his followers the bread is his body.
Mary laid Jesus in a manger. The angels announce to the shepherds that the Messiah has been born and if they go to Bethlehem they will find the Messiah lying in a manger. That’s where they found him. When they knew they had found the Messiah they shared the news of their encounter with the angels with Mary and Joseph – and any others who would listen. Mary and Joseph were blessed to receive yet another confirmation that God was at work in their lives.
Thus the manger is a sign pointing the way for the shepherds to find the Messiah. The manger, a feeding trough, is a sign pointing to Jesus’ ultimate gift: “Take, eat, this is my body given for you.”
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
NOTE: Tomorrow’s reading really is Matthew 2:1-23. Luke does not include the visit of the Magi or Joseph’s escape to Egypt. I wanted to include them here for the overall continuity of the story of Jesus birth.
26-Dec-11 Matthew 2:1-23
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