Away in a Manger

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7 ESV). "Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols. The two most-common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James R. Murray (1887). Away in a Manger is usually the first carol that children are taught. Away in a Manger was originally published in 1885. The publication of Away in a Manger was in a Lutheran Sunday school book and this created the misconception that the lyrics were actually written by Martin Luther himself. The real author is unknown. Here are some of those lyrics: 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 in the hay. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes. I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky And stay by my cradle til morning is nigh. We read a lot about the retail economy during the Christmas season. We also hear a lot of complaints about all the commercialism. Isn’t Christmas really about love and peace and goodwill? Appealing as such things, the Bible doesn’t start with them when it tells the Christmas story. It starts with the headlines of the day: “A decree went out from Caesar Augustus.” Caesar decided he needed to update the empire’s tax rolls in order to deal with that perennial government problem, the budget deficit. Who could have imagined that all this effort was being superintended by God just to bring Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of her baby? And of all the millions of souls numbered in Caesar’s great census, surely none was as insignificant as this poor Jewish child. Augustus in the imperial purple in Rome and Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger are worlds apart. Yet today Augustus is only a name in a history book, while Jesus lives and reigns in the hearts of hundreds of millions and on the throne of the universe as well. When we think of the “little Lord Jesus” we must not forget about the Creator, Redeemer, and King of all sitting on His throne!