Tonight's carol: "Away in a manger" was once known as "Luther's Cradle Hymn" but the association with Martin Luther is somewhat uncertain. It is, however, a beautiful children's hymn that helps us see beyond the glitter of the Christmas season and teaches us the true significance of Christ's birth.
Millions of us will sing this carol this Christmas, and will have in our minds the shallow trough used by cattle or horses to eat from in a stable into which the baby Jesus was carefully laid. In the absence of a comfortable cradle, that wooden framework served as a cot for the infant Christ - hence the line "no crib for a bed.
It is, of course, a poem describing a scene which may or may not be accurate. But the display we witnessed at Days Acre tonight reminded us of the beauty and simplicity of the nativity. You don't need to analyse every line to sense the power of this ostensibly simple narrative. Yet one's imagination could run riot - for example, imagine the conversation between the innkeeper and his family at breakfast the next morning. I wonder what comment was passed about the pregnant woman arriving on the back of a donkey the previous evening.
Or perhaps nobody noticed at all. After all, this was an incredibly busy and exciting time for everyone in Bethlehem. So the fact that God had entered the world as a baby went largely unnoticed...except by some early shepherds.
The first Christmas began in a manger. Divinity had arrived. If you have noticed God's arrival, you, too, might sing "I love Thee, Lord Jesus...I ask Thee to stay close by me forever..." as an expression of your love for Him this Christmastime.
No comments:
Post a Comment