CHRISTMAS II

December 24, 2023, 10 pm

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Warwick, R. I.

 

St. Luke 2:15-20

 

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.”  (Luke 2:12)

 

By reliable tradition, the birth of Jesus took place in a cave or grotto. While the Gospels of Matthew and Luke say nothing about this cave, from the first and second centuries, Christians in the vicinity of Bethlehem kept alive and handed down the memory of the exact location—a cave among trees at the end of a ridge, so it was said.

 

Saint Justin Martyr wrote of this cave in the mid-second century, as did Origen of Alexandria in the third, even though the Emperor Hadrian had turned the site into a pagan shrine of Adonis in a vain attempt to wipe out all vestiges of Judaism and Christianity in the region. Then, in the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine constructed on the site a Christian church, the Basilica of the Nativity, rebuilt by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, and still standing, restored and renovated many times, to this day.

 

Throughout the year, pilgrims wait in the basilica, sometimes for hours, to descend the stone staircase to visit the Grotto of the Nativity, located directly underneath the high altar. Set in the stone floor, a fourteen-pointed silver star marks the spot with the Latin inscription: “Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary.” Close by, a small side chapel marks the location of the manger.

 

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Joseph’s ancestral home of Bethlehem to be counted in the census, one of the villagers—perhaps a relative of Joseph’s—would have given them lodgings. The customs of hospitality demanded no less. Family dwellings in that area were often built against hillsides, and they often incorporated natural or man-made caves that were used to shelter animals during the night. So, Mary and Joseph probably received lodgings in just such a cave—and this would account for the presence of a manger, a stone feeding-trough for animals, ready-made for use as a makeshift cradle.

 

In Luke’s Gospel, the Greek word translated “manger” is derived from the verb “to eat,” and denotes a stone feeding trough for animals. The English word “manger” has a similar derivation, coming from the French verb manger, to eat.

 

Early Christian writers such as Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine point out that Jesus at his birth, wrapped in swaddling cloths and placed in a stone manger in a cave, foreshadows Jesus at his death, taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud, and placed on a stone slab in another cave not so far away. The parallel symbolism suggests that the Lord’s death fulfills the purpose for which he was born into the world in the first place. Other writers note that in Hebrew the name Bethlehem means “house of bread,” so that in the manger we see the one who’s the true Bread from Heaven. When we go to the Altar for Holy Communion, we make a cradle of our hands to receive Him.

 

We don’t know exactly at what time of year Jesus was born, but Mary’s bundling him in cloth bands does suggest that it was cold. In any case, the sight was sufficiently distinctive that the shepherds knew instantly that they’d found exactly what the angel had told them to look for.

 

“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." For the shepherds, then, the sign’s purpose was to confirm the truth of the angelic announcement: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

 

Without the prior angelic announcement, the sight of a swaddled newborn lying in a manger might have been a bit unusual but wouldn’t really have meant anything out of the ordinary. And without the sign, the angelic proclamation of the Savior’s birth would have gone without verification. The shepherds’ unique mission is to put the two together, the announcement and the sign confirming it, and then bear witness to what they’ve heard and seen.

 

The shepherds fulfill this calling admirably. Their immediate response to the angel’s message is to go as quickly as they can into Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to them. And when they find Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger, they relate what the angel has told them concerning this child. All who hear their testimony are amazed. The shepherds thus become the first human preachers of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ come into the world. Finally, they return to the fields, glorifying and praising God. For the true preaching of the Gospel always leads to worship and adoration.

 

But Mary’s reaction is unique. Luke tells us that she treasured all these words, pondering them in her heart. As we celebrate Christmas, a temptation for us may be to join in the seasonal festivities, sing the carols, exchange greetings, join in family gatherings, and give gifts—and then forget all about it until the same time next year, and then again the year after that. Perhaps that’s what the shepherds did—carry on with the rest of their lives just as before, save for occasionally remembering the strange proceedings of a winter’s night and wondering whatever became of that couple and their newborn son in the manger …

 

But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. Here she holds up an example for us. If some aspect of our Christmas celebration touches you this evening, even if you don’t understand all at once what it all means—nonetheless, don’t let it go. Hold on to it. Ponder it in your heart. Who knows how it may grow, and where it might lead?