When I Think of Baby Jesus Lying in a Manger

by Dick Buckingham, Administrator

When I think of the baby Jesus in the manger, I hear crying.

This little Infant wrapped so tightly in the swaddling clothes and lying suspended on a bed of hay was as comfortable as His mother could make Him. And yet I’m sure I can hear crying.  He, though God the Son, was also completely human, and human infants cry.  The Bible doesn't specifically say that He cried, and our manger scenes always depict a pleasant faced Child, and even some of our carols claim “no crying He makes,” yet I am sure I hear crying.  Babies cry when they are hungry, tired, uncomfortable, or just when they want to be held and loved.  Jesus was a baby just like us, and had the same needs and desires, so I’m sure there must have been crying.  What led the shepherds to the manger where Jesus lay?  Yes, the angels told them they would find Him in a stable in Bethlehem, but there was certainly more than one stable.  Did they have to search each one of them until they found Him?  Or could it be as they entered the quiet, sleepy little town that they paused with hand cupped to ear, straining to hear the distinct sound of a newborn infant’s cry?

When I think of the baby Jesus in the manger, I hear crying.

But perhaps it is not His cry that I am hearing.  Maybe I am hearing the future echo of wailing and weeping, mothers mourning the loss of their own young sons.  For it was to this very town King Herod sent his men in search of this One, but in the process of searching, all male children under two years of age were killed.  Oh, the mournful wails these mothers must have made as they grieved over their children.  Could it be that the Infant in the manger, though not responsible for their losses, grieved with them as He was the One who was targeted by this senseless decree?  Perhaps it is His tears of loss over these little ones that I hear in the manger.

When I think of the baby Jesus in the manger, I hear crying.

Yes, I think it is the sound of mourning that I hear, the mourning of a mother in the funeral procession of her child.  But the town I see now is not Bethlehem, but the little village of Nain, and the woman, a widow; the dead child, her only son.  Yet the One from the manger is here too, grown now, and with great compassion He stops the procession, and for a moment, His face shows grief.  But then the tears of mourning on the mother’s face become tears of joy as the boy in the procession is raised to his feet by Jesus – alive!

But once again the sound of mourning fills my ears and I turn to see another parent pleading with Jesus to come, heal his sick child.  Jesus leaves with him immediately, but on the way a message is delivered to the father, “too late, the child is dead.”  Oh, had Jesus only been found sooner, if only they had rushed more quickly to her side.  But now only grief, and sorrow, and tears.  Yet Jesus walks on to the place where she lay and as before He raises her to her feet.  She too has been brought back from the dead!  Though Jesus warns the father not to tell anyone, he cannot contain the joy from bursting forth.

Once again the sound of crying is heard.  This time, in another place a woman in tears comes to Jesus.  It is difficult to tell what grieves her so.  Perhaps it is something within her that causes her to bow at His feet, and with her own tears she begins to wash His feet, and dry them with her hair.  Though Jesus is criticized for this woman’s actions, it is clear something wonderful has taken place.  She had entered the house a sinful worldly woman.  But now she leaves with tears of joy.  What just happened here?

There is no time to linger, as once again the sound of crying rings out.  Two sisters mourning at the loss of a brother.  And Jesus arrives much too late to save this man, a friend, not a stranger.  I am sure I see a tear on His face as well as he approached the tomb.  Others are present mourning the untimely loss of this member of the community.  In the midst of the wailing I hear Him cry out, “Lazarus! Come forth!”  And as before with the children, the dead man is raised to life and steps out of the tomb, no longer bound by the clutches of death.

Yet the crying continues and I am compelled to seek it once again.  This time it leads me to the hill outside of Jerusalem.  It is hard to approach for the crowds are there, shouting and jeering.  A mad howling mob.  I push my way to the front and am astonished by what I see.  There before me and all the rest of the crowd, three crude crosses with three men hanging on them in crucifixion.  What a commotion as the mob screams out their contempt for the one in the middle.  A small group of women stands mourning to one side.  Soldiers are casting lots for clothing at the foot of the central cross.  For a moment I study the face of the One to whom all this attention is directed.  He looks familiar, yet I’m not sure who it is.  He is so beaten and bloodied it is hard to make out.  Just then He cries out, “Father, forgive them.”  I look closer.  Wait!!  Could it be?  Yes!  It is Him!   It is the One who was in the manger.  Jesus, who raised the dead children to life, whose feet the woman had washed and who brought Lazarus out of the tomb.  It is He who hangs there – dying?  I don’t understand.  Could not the One who brought life to so many save His own?

Dazed and confused I begin to run for the sight is too much to bear.  There are thoughts I don’t understand running through my head.

I am startled once again as I come upon a single woman, kneeling before a tomb.  She is weeping.

  Could it be her child that lays here, perhaps her brother or husband?  It doesn't matter.  Jesus, the one who was able to turn tears like these into cries of joyous praise is dead.  He is no more.  Sorrow overwhelms me as I slip to my knees on the ground a distance from her.   I bow my head and begin to cry tears of my own.

But wait!  What is that sound?  I look up to see the massive stone that had been rolled against the tombs opening begin to move, slowly at first, but then more quickly.  I don’t know what is happening.  There is no one on the outside pushing the stone, it could only be someone…on…the inside.  Finally the stone is moved completely and my eyes are riveted at the entrance when what appears to be a man steps forward.  He leans down and raises the woman up.  He touches her face so tenderly.   When she sees Him, she cries out with joy and astonishment.  I look carefully at the man.  Could it be?  Yes!  Yes!  It is He!  It is Jesus!  He is not dead!  He is alive!  He who raised others to life has been able to defeat death Himself!

In my amazement and surprise, I failed to realize that the crying I have been hearing had not ceased.  Who could be weeping at a time like this?  I looked up to see that it was Jesus!  And He was looking at me!  “You are dead in your sins, my child,” He said to me.  “Come forth, come forth from your bondage to sin.  Let me set you free.”

Now I understand why the woman who had washed His feet with her tears was crying.  She had not lost a loved one whom Jesus had raised up again.  She had been dead in her sins and Jesus had set her free.  Now I understand the utter joy of the parents and the sisters as they welcomed back their loved ones.  I am alive!

When I think of the baby Jesus in the manger, I hear crying.

They are my own tears of joy, for Jesus has given me life.

Do you hear the crying too?  Is Jesus weeping for you, calling you to come forth from your death in sin?  O come, O come, come to this One in the manger and let Him raise you to new life.

The Manger and The Cross

by Dick Buckingham
Administrator

If your home is anything like mine, you probably have a nativity set or two set up to celebrate and remember the birth of the Savior of the world.  In my home, we have three.  The first is just a large Mary, Joseph and Jesus made out of plaster.  These were decorated by our sons a number of years ago and given to us as a precious gift.  They still find their place underneath the Christmas tree.  

Another is a hand-painted ceramic set that my wife carefully crafted for our family many years ago.  It is fragile and shows the wear of many Christmases.  The donkey’s ear is broken off and one of the kings is missing his hand.  Yet it is a wonderful set that I greatly enjoy putting out each year as it is unique in that the camels are large and beautifully ornate.  It is given the honored place of the mantle of our entertainment center, easily viewed but not likely to be bumped.  

The final set we found a few years ago is made of plastic and is specifically for little hands to pick up and examine and enjoy.  If you press down on the angel atop the manger, the strains of “Away in a Manger” are played.  This one we display at a level where the grand kids can see and feel free to explore.  We have this one on the bottom shelf of a table we have in our living room that is in full view.  It is one of the first places our grand kids visit when they come to our home at Christmas time, because it is there for them. 

Each of these sets is special and precious to us.  The last two, in addition to the holy family, are complete with heavenly host, shepherds, sheep, a cow, a donkey, camels and three kings adorned and bearing gifts.  The one for the children even includes a border collie and a west highland terrier, the two most recent pets we have had in our home.

But there is one thing in our manger scenes that you don’t typically find in most manger scenes.  Each year, after I have arranged all the pieces just so, I add the final piece to our scene...a cross.  Yes, a cross.  Now I am fully aware that we most often think of the cross at a different time of celebration: at Easter time and specifically Good Friday.  So why put a cross in the manger scene?  The manger seems so lovely as we celebrate the Infant’s birth.  Why put a symbol of death, and a particularly cruel death at that, in such a wondrous scene of joy?

I think that Christmas is a very appropriate time to think of the cross.  After all, why else would the world celebrate this birthday?  The church has not set aside December 25^th to commemorate His birth just because he was born in a lowly manger.  Nor is it because a host of angels attended or that he was visited by humble shepherds and wise men from a distant land.  We do not sing carols of this event because He lived a sinless life, even though He did, or performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  It is not because of His incredible teaching that we recognize the One in the manger.  

There is one act and one act alone that is the reason we celebrate this birth.  The angel announced it to Joseph (Matt. 1:21) and the host proclaimed it to the shepherds (Luke 2:10-12).  This One’s birth was important for one and only one reason.  This Baby born to the virgin Mary would save His people.  Save His people.  And this He did on that cross.

And that is why you will find a cross in my nativity scene.

We at Faith Christian School would like to wish you the most blessed and wonderful season of celebration this Christmas.  May you come and adore our Savior, Christ the Lord!

Urgent!

by Meridith Borta
Elementary Principal

With Christmas sneaking up on us and the hustle and bustle of the season beginning to swirl out of control around us, you can literally feel the sense of urgency in the people around you. In the stores, shoppers are searching anxiously for the perfect gift for their loved ones while others scurry frantically about gathering food and other trimmings for their holiday parties. These observations got me thinking about how often we are led by that sense of urgency—by something that just has to be done right now.

(Now if you have been reading my past blogs, you know that I have written about STRESS, HURRYING and WORRYING, and TIME. You may be wondering if this blog entry is going to be much the same. While this holiday season definitely has a place in each of those blogs, don’t worry, this is something new.)

First, what should we really have a sense of urgency about? We rush and rush trying to find gifts that our loved ones may or may not even need, when as Christians we hold the key to life! We have the good news of a Savior that should create in us such a sense of urgency to tell others, that we can hardly contain our excitement (like the anticipation we feel when we know someone is going to just love the gift they are unwrapping.)

Why should we feel such a sense of urgency to share?

James 4:14 (ESV) states,  “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Psalm 39:5 "You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath."

Proverbs 27:1 "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."

Knowing that we are not guaranteed tomorrow, how important it is that we tell people the good news while we (and they) still have breath. What greater sense of urgency should there be than to tell people about our indescribable Jesus.  While we may not know how God will move in the lives of the people we share with, we DO know that we cannot stay quiet. We can tell dying people how to have life!  That is something that calls us to act.

If we truly lived like tomorrow was not guaranteed, we would surely live our lives proclaiming God’s love to the people around us. This holiday, as you feel yourself getting swept into the hustle and bustle of all of the urgent things you need to accomplish, remember the urgency of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to those around you. After all, Jesus IS what Christmas is all about.  

The Meaning of Advent

One of my favorite things to teach in English class is etymology - it is the study of the parts of words.  If you know your etymology, you can define a lot of words without ever looking them up in the dictionary.  So, how would we define "advent" with etymology?  "Ad-" means "to or toward" and "vent" means "to come" - therefore, "advent" means "come towards."   Advent is a very special time as we "come towards" Christmas.

However, because our society can be so materialistic this time of year, it can be difficult to keep our children's eyes and hearts focused where they belong: on the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  Here are some ideas that will remind your children of the reason for the season throughout the month of December.

Many make a paper chain that kids tear off throughout the month.  Why not make a paper chain of Scriptures?  Read one each night.

Implement a family devotion every night you can (and don't ever feel guilty about the nights you can't).

• My family is doing Max Lucado's "Celebrating Christmas with Jesus" - a devotional I found on sale after Christmas last year.  They are very short and one of us reads it at dinner each night.  
• If your family likes music, a friend of mine recommends  the "Behold the Lamb of God" CD by Andrew Peterson. Her family has done their own advent with different songs each night and this year they have the new advent book that goes along with it. On Christmas Eve they usually watch the whole concert on DVD.
• If a devotional isn't handy, read one chapter of Luke each night.  It has 24 chapters - perfect for the advent season!

One year my grandma made a tree full of Jesus symbols.  If you have an extra small tree laying around, make it your "Jesus tree."  Have your children make ornaments that represent the names of Jesus or symbols that represent them.  Here is a link I found that shows you how to make easy names of Jesus ornaments: 
http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/BibleCraftsChristmasNamesJesus.html

I was researching what "Elf on a Shelf" was as many of my friends were talking about it.  As I did, I came across a Christian elf on a shelf tradition. Cyndi Spivey would hide Mary and Joseph somewhere in the house for her children to find - they are on their way to Bethlehem, but make various stops along the way.  Come Christmas morning, they should be found with Jesus.  Here's the website if you want to read more about it:  http://cyndispivey.com/2011/12/02/my-christian-version-of-the-elf-on-the-shelf/#comments

Another of my friends had a wonderful idea centered on the nativity set.  Don't set out the nativity all at once.  Wrap each piece and count down to Christmas by unwrapping one piece each night.  Attach a scripture about that piece to the outside and read it before unwrapping.  For example, attach to Mary a verse about her, such as Luke 1:30:  "Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."  Save Jesus for Christmas morning!

As Christmas cards come, open them over dinner and take turns reading them.  Then pray for each person or family.  We have just started this tradition with the first card that came last week.  It was a very sweet time praying for part of our family that we never get to see.

Does your family have a unique tradition that helps keep the focus of Christmas on "coming toward" Jesus rather than a bunch of presents?  Share them in the comments below!