Baby Jesus - Luke 2:12

Luke 2:12 "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

I grew up singing the Christmas carol, “Away in a Manger.” I loved this carol as a child, but as I got older I came to think of it as just a children’s carol. I was happy to sing it as part of a children’s program or to sing it as a way of showing our love for children, but there was a time when I thought that I had outgrown this simple carol. Now, in the later years of my life I have come back to this anonymously written carol with new appreciation. I no longer think of it as a child’s song; today, I think of it as a simple but profound reflection upon the Christmas message.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we find the comfort that our God comes as gently as it is possible to come to anyone. A baby is not threatening. World leaders usually stand on the stage of history because they have demonstrable power. Babies are weak and dependent, not threatening, but soft and gentle.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see his universality. Babies belong to everyone. A baby has no language. A baby has no culture. In a sense a baby has no nationality. A baby could be raised in any country and he or she would become a citizen of that place, but a baby does not start life with patriotism. Babies are not aware of race or ethnicity or even gender; they learn in time to see themselves that way, but they don’t start with such markers. Babies belong to everyone. Jesus came as a baby, and he belongs to all of us.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see that our humanity has eternal value to God. Clearly, God could have appeared in any form, but God chose to reveal himself as a human baby. In that sense God is a humanist. God cares about human beings. God loves us as we are: in all our humanity. Because of God’s affirmation in the incarnation, all human beings deserve respect and justice.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we know that God chose for Jesus to die because, as we know from Scripture, it is appointed unto us humans to die. By taking on flesh and being born, God in Christ chose to die with us. When the Creator takes death upon himself we know that death’s power is broken for God is eternal. As a baby Jesus brings the promise of life eternal.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, God has invited us to take him into our lives. Just as we can reach out and lift a baby from the crib to hold in our arms, so God has invited us to take him into our lives. We can know God because God has come to us in the Christ child.

Imagine yourself, reaching out and taking the Holy Child into your arms. Feel the gentleness of God. See how trusting this baby in your arms is: he belongs to you whoever you are. This baby is flesh and blood just like you, and he has come to bless every joy and overcome every trouble that is common to human beings. This baby will die on the cross, but from death he will arise to eternal life. Take him into your arms and rise with him. He is God’s salvation for the world and for you. Amen.