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).
Swaddling clothes described in the Bible consisted of a cloth tied together by bandage-like strips. After an infant was born, the umbilical cord was cut and tied, and then the baby was washed, rubbed with salt and oil, and wrapped with strips of cloth. This custom is at the very heart of the first Christmas. Our reading tells us that the shepherds come to the stable to find a rag-wrapped baby lying in a makeshift crib. By itself, that’s not so unusual. Babies show up when and where they happen to be born. Mothers must deal with it, ready or not. And they do, whether the baby is delivered in a hospital, in a taxicab, or in a stable on a dirt floor.
However, what’s unusual
here is not the rags. Mary improvised, using what was available. And what’s
unusual is not the manger. That was just a smart solution to an urgent need.
No, what’s unusual here is the baby himself. Of course, we see the common in
the birth of this child. He had the usual number of fingers and toes. You just
know that Mary counts them. This baby has the usual smooth, soft skin. You just
know that Mary adores his little cheeks. And this baby makes all the usual
sounds: coos and gurgles and wails. You just know that Mary takes in these
sounds as music to her ears.
What’s unusual about
this baby is not his actual flesh and blood, not his appearance, not his
behavior. No, what’s unusual about this baby is the identity veiled by his
helpless human form. Because this baby is the God “through [whom] all things
were made” (cf. John 1:3). This is a wonder. The almighty Creator of all has determined
it necessary and right to come from His throne in the heavenlies and take the
form of an ordinary human being. He looks like any other newborn child; he
sounds like any other newborn child; and he is dressed as any other newborn
child. Yet he is anything but normal. He is the Son of the Living God and
Savior of the world! If we forget that in the midst of our holiday celebration,
we have forgotten the essential nature of our only Good News!
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