The Christmas of Mangers and Feeding Boxes

A manger is a cattle's feeding box

The cliché: Jesus was born in a manger.

As a city boy, I find it cruel to know that someone has to give birth or be born in such gruesome conditions. I thought even homeless folks could go to a public hospital for that.

But as it was, this happened to Joseph and Mary, and the baby boy Jesus.

Background: The first census mandated everyone to go back to their hometowns for registration. Mary was already on her 9th month - on her 40th week, due for labor. And yet, they have got to go and obey the decree. I guess disobedience would be fatal. But don't pregnant women hurt themselves when they travel out for a long time? Either way was fatal.

Mary just sat there, on a camel or a donkey, and she would feel those birth pains, and it was aggravated by the bumps on the way. It would have been hot by day, and cold at night. And still they went. How far was it then? How many straight hours or days did it take?

Each bump is a discomfort

“…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” ^{(Luke 2:7 NIV)}

And when they got to Bethlehem, no inn nor lodging were available. Here was Mary, tired, exhausted and worn out from the journey, and no family was kind enough to help them. No one cared to let them in. No mother or father's heart was touched at Mary's plight. No sister or brother's emotions were stirred by their helpless condition.

And so they found themselves in a stable, and Mary went into labor. How do women give birth in those days? Wouldn't they need to use some hot water? Was there a midwife to assist Mary on her firstborn Child?

And out came the Light of the world at nighttime. He was wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger. In a feeding box. A trough. Was this ever cleaned and sanitized? Isn't the saliva of cattle and horses not clean for a baby?

If that was not barbaric enough, then how about putting hay and fodder as cushion. Wouldn't those produce skin irritations, to both mommy and baby?

Are you allergic to hay?

And there was baby Jesus, tender and delicate, born in the company of livestock, in living conditions so debased of human dignity, and yet He came.

If you were a king, how would you want your son to be born? If you were God, in what incarnation-form would you want the Redeemer to be?

We would think of a man of steel, with super human attributes and qualities, born in a palace or a place of glory. But our Lord Jesus was born in a stable, placed in a feeding box, and later grew up as a carpenter, and at the prime of His earthly life, He bled and died, horribly – on an ugly tree.

My Lord Jesus did this all for me. No other human being was as so debased as to be born without professional medical attention and to be placed in a feeding box. A feeding box.

The nativity scene is being replicated every December on shopping malls and some other public places. It’s cute and exotic, but it’s not where we would want to live in.

Nobody wants to inhale all those dust and hay, let alone sleep on them. Nobody wants to put their lovely newborn baby in a feeding box. Nobody wants to be refused of shelter. Nobody wants to be inconvenienced to travel long distances while pregnant on their month of delivery.

And yet these things happened, and it keeps on happening. There are some parts of the world where women are mistreated, helpless families are refused shelter, and babies don’t receive medical attention.

Has Jesus been born in you?

Share your story here.

Come to think of it...

This Christmas, in all the fun and laughter, gift-giving, receiving goodies, and more food that we could ever eat in one sitting for consecutive days, let us remember how and why Jesus came. He came so we could have fun and laugh our hearts out, and enjoy gifts and food. He came so we could share all those wonderful stuff to others, to spread the spirit of Christmas to those who especially needed it the most.

The Christmas of mangers happened because the Father doesn’t want to leave anyone out. The Son came to save us, from the lowliest to the loftiest, to free us from the poverty that ruins and the pride that destroys.

Come to think of it, we are the mangers. Jesus is born in us. We are the filthy dusty vessels that embody the epitome of Holiness. God the Father decided that we carry His Son in our lives. We are the feeding boxes that offer the Bread of Heaven to the hungry and weary. We surrender the hay of our lives - the dead and unconnected to Life - to Him. And God uses our humanity as a pedestal where shepherds and magis come and witness the glory of the King.

Comments

The Curse of the Thief

I n the middle of audit week, our company accountants decided not to show up. As it turned out, they embezzled some money. What struck me the most was that the people who did it were not strangers; they were like mothers and aunts. We saw them almost every day, smile at them, laugh with them, and made plans together. As part of the management team, we ate out and had a friendly good time. It was heartbreaking to realize that the people in the news for some criminal activity had the same profile as those that I had warm and cuddly relations with. But loyalty goes up. My love for God supersedes any other relationship. I feel sad, yes, but I have no inkling to cover for them. If anything, I am upset because I was this close to them, and yet, clueless. My colleagues and I were mixed emotions. On one hand, we felt betrayed. The suspects were like family. We confided in them and planned activities with them in all sincerity and warmth. But maybe, just maybe, they were truthful and sincere...

So...What? Get to Know the English of the Bible

And so I was reading through my Bible one day when I came across this verse: So let me remind you of the Eternal’s enduring love, and why we should praise Him. Let me tell you again how the Eternal gives and gives and gives. All God’s wonders and goodness are done for Israel’s benefit according to His great mercy and compassion. (Isaiah 63:7, Voice ) Then I remembered my email from Dictionary.com : Subsequently, the word “so” just got so interesting. Here's a summary (for my quick reference): How is 'so' being used? 1. as a filled pause, much in the way that “well,” “um,” and “like” are used in conversation 2. To begin with ‘so,’…is to signal that one’s coming words are chosen for their relevance to the listener.” Speaker 1: So, how do you know Myra? Speaker 2: College. Speaker 1: So, I met Myra rock climbing at Yosemite… In this example, the sentence-initial so is being used in tw...

Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Yes, has God said, “You must not eat of every tree of the garden?”” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You must not eat of it, neither must you touch it, lest you die.”” 4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die; 5 for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.” 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves apro...

My Baby Promise: In Due time

Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. (1 Samuel 1:2 NIV) Dear Father, for a long time now, I have been labeled as 'the one with no child.' In my family, peer group, and office, and even in church, almost all my batch mates have children, except my wife and I. So Father, only You can change this. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. (1 Samuel 1:5 NIV) Receiving a double portion is fine and wonderful. But what good is it if I can’t enjoy it with my own child? Oh, dear Lord, please open my wife's womb. I am done asking why it is this way, but by Your grace, You have stretched my faith to ask you instead to open my wife's womb. Oh Lord, You are always good. There are things I don't fully understand, but it doesn't mean You have been unkind. Just because my wife has not been pregnant all this time doesn't mean You are unkind. But You have given us this promise, not to tease us, but for You to f...

No to XXXmas Party Games

I'm a team player. But I have limits. There are a lot of occasions that these limits are tested, even on Christmas parties. These scenarios could really dampen the joy of the season, but someone has got to say no. Someone has got to voice out the truth. I choose the joy of the Lord. As it was, for being part of a company management, and being known as a Christian, I was tasked to do an opening prayer and prayer for the food. And pray I did. Then the games began. In a company of mostly women, the guys are always picked. In fact, we were so few that we had to recruit the men from the caterers. But just before this program, my wife sent me a text message. It was very timely. And so there I was, standing in front with my game partner and other players, when my jaw dropped in unbelief as they demonstrate how to execute the game with the balloons. My game partner is a fellow Christian though from another church. Immediately I told her, “I’m opting out...

Genesis 13

And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai, 4 to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord . 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their property and goods were great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and ...

Genesis 19

KJVx And there came two angels to Sodom at even, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 2 and he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.” And they said, “Nay, but we will abide in the street all night.” 3 And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” 6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door aft...

Genesis 18

And the L ORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground 3 and said, “My Lord , if now I have found favor in your sight, pass not away, I pray you, from your servant. 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will fetch a morsel of bread and you comfort your hearts. After that, you may pass on, for therefore you have come to your servant.” And they said, “Do so, as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, and he hastened to have it dr...

Genesis 9

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you will be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives will be meat for you; even as the green herb, I have given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life in it, that is, the blood in it, you must not eat. 5 And surely your blood - of your lives, I will require. At the hand of every beast I will require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man's blood, by man will his blood be shed: for in the image of God He made man. 7 And you, be fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it. 8 And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “And I , b...

Faith vs Godlessness: Re-Crucifying Jesus To Public Shame

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV) I don't get it. How can a pastor become atheistic ? On the day I read this in my email, a lot of Scriptures came rushing into my heart. (I’ll try to sort most of them below.) I was bothered, and it seems that the only way to get peace about this is to confront it head on. And so I prayed: I put on the helmet of salvation to protect my mind, to protect how I think. I put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect my heart, to protect how I feel. I put on the buckle of Truth to keep it all together... (Ephesians 6:14-17) I can't help but think that in the course of studyi...

writonautics

Search This Blog