THE MANGER

Unlocking the Mystery
October 18, 2009
Pastor Vera Johnson

Perhaps some of you are thinking, “Christmas music in October?”  There’s something about that music; it makes it feel like Christmas, doesn’t it?  We even got snow!  As we continue our message series, “Unlocking the Mystery,” in our study of the Bible, we will focus on “The Manger” today.  

In order for us to unlock the “mystery of the manger,” we need to go back to the “The Garden” when our first parents, Adam and Eve sinned.  As a result of their sin, they were “cast out” from the Garden of Eden by God. Their sin broke that intimate relationship with Him—not just for themselves but for all humankind. 

Brothers and sisters, this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.  You see, God created us to be in relationship with Him.  When Adam and Eve sinned, that relationship was damaged.  God found a way to restore that relationship again; He had the perfect plan. 

Luke’s gospel gives us an account of how this plan unfolded in Luke 1 (Read verses 26-27; 30b-32).  In chapter two we learn that an angel of the Lord appeared to a group of shepherds with “Good News” for all people about the birth of a Savior:

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.” 
—Luke 2:10b-12

The manger makes us think of Christmas again—decorated trees, lighted homes, Christmas goodies, Christmas cards, gift-shopping, and Christmas carols.  However, with each passing year it seems like Christmas is becoming just another holiday. 

We as Christians often get caught up in all the commercial hype that surrounds this special day.  Sadly, while we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we have allowed our culture to shift our focus of Christmas from the birth of a Savior to just a “cute little baby” in a manger. 

Our culture will sing about the birth of a baby but will reject Jesus’ authority as Lord over all.  Our culture will adore Jesus as an infant but will not bow down to Him as God.  Our culture will embrace the accompanying events of Christmas—the manger, shepherds, wise men, angels, even Joseph and Mary, but it will not believe the advent, the coming of God in human flesh!

Clearly, from what the Bible says in Luke’s gospel, the “cute little baby” is really God’s Son.  Needless to say then, Christmas is not merely about the birth of “baby Jesus” but rather the celebration of God’s entry into the world as our Savior. 

With the birth of Jesus, God did the unbelievable.  He became real to the world in human form.  God became man!  In theological terms, this is what we refer to as the Incarnation. Yes, brothers and sisters, when God chose to live on this earth in the midst of human weakness and pain, He became one of us!  Does the humanity of Jesus matter?  Absolutely.  Only man, as in humankind, can bear the punishment of man’s sin.  The Son of God took on human flesh and became one of us so He could stand in our place and face judgment for our sins. 

When Jesus came into our world, it changed God’s relationship with humanity and humanity’s relationship with God.  No longer were humans separated from God nor was God separated from humans.  Jesus bridged the gap between God and us forever.   When God took on flesh, it brought Him even closer to us.

To become flesh is to know joy, pain, suffering, and loss.  It is to love, grieve and someday, to die.  In His 33 years Jesus experienced all this and even more.  He felt weak and got tired.  He got hungry and felt thirsty.  He even felt abandoned.

Jesus was like us in every way except one.  He is holy.  Jesus is holy in His character and very nature.  The holiness of Jesus opens up a whole new world of hope for us to be transformed and become new creations in Him.  How is this possible?  When Jesus took on human flesh and became a man, He did not cease to be God.

Does the Bible’s claim that Jesus is God matter?  Absolutely.  It matters, because only God can reconcile humankind to God.  You see, Jesus doesn’t look like God, He is God revealed to us in human flesh!  In other words, to look at Jesus is to look at God.  To know Jesus is to know God.  To believe in Jesus is to believe in God. 

Now that we have established Jesus’ humanity and divinity, one question about His birth still remains:  why the manger?  Couldn’t God have done better?  Couldn’t He have found a more sanitary place to be born than a stable with barnyard animals?  What does the “manger” say about God? 

The manger gives us a powerful image of a God who wants to identify with the poor and humble, the marginalized and disenfranchised of society—the homeless, the “classless” people, those who don’t count in society. 

The “manger” speaks to anyone who feels insignificant.  It makes a statement about a God who cared enough to enter the muck and mire of our world; a place of suffering and disease.  God demonstrated His love for humanity in a concrete way.  He humbled Himself by becoming human. 

It’s hard to wrap your mind around that, isn’t it?  It just doesn’t make sense that God, the Almighty Creator, chose to become human in His Son Jesus, just like you and me, to live side by side with humans in the garbage and chaos of the world. God did all that simply because He loves us.   All this happened over 2,000 years ago.

What difference does the incarnation make in our world today—to that person struggling to make ends meet, the child whose parents are getting divorced, or the teenager who struggles with low self-esteem? What does it say to someone suffering with cancer, to that person languishing in a nursing home, to someone struggling with depression, to that person who’s lost a job, or to someone fighting an addiction?
 
The incarnation tells us that this God who became human to suffer and die for us still cares. He still suffers with us and feels our pain. He still comforts us with His presence. He still walks with us each day in our struggles and says, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Brothers and sisters, our salvation began in a manger, but it didn’t stop there.  It went all the way to the cross and ended with the empty tomb.  As I reflect on Jesus’ life it makes me wonder what the incarnation means for you and me as His followers, how we live each day—the ministry that we do in Jesus’ name.

If the incarnation was only about our salvation, then why did Jesus spend day after day healing the sick, caring for the poor and disenfranchised of His society?  Why did He sit by the well in the scorching afternoon heat talking with the Samaritan woman or give a dishonest tax collector like Zacchaeus the time of day? Why did He wash His disciples’ feet and talk about being a servant and of loving our neighbor and caring for others? Why did Jesus do all that?   Think about it.  If we don’t follow His example, then Jesus just wasted His time. 

Yes, the birth of Jesus in a simple stable where shepherds and wise men came speaks volumes about our God. Above all, it demonstrates His love for all people—rich and poor, the “nobodies” and the “somebodies.”  Jesus is God’s gift of a Savior for ALL people.  Amen.