As we approach Christmas, most carols, hymns or readings speak about Jesus being born in a manger.
But where is that manger in Bethlehem?
Sadly, no lone manger exists by itself there, because a huge basilica has been built at the very place where the greatest message of humility was expounded to the world, that God did not need to be born in a palace, or a huge building, but the King of Kings showed that the trappings of glitter and dazzle was totally foreign to Him.
In everything Jesus did, from the picking of ordinary fishermen as disciples, to being born to a humble carpenter, in washing the feet of disciples, being put to death like a criminal, all beginning with His birth in a manger, Jesus was telling the world something…
Something we have lost as we started building huge cathedrals, lofty steeples, spires built to impress the uneducated poor of those days; that this God was so big, He needed huge columns and impressive ceilings.
And the bigger the better.
Those cathedrals, palaces, and intimidating buildings were meant to scare people into awe and terrify them into submission.
And thus, the whole message of Jesus’ humble birth was lost.
It’s not the fright of God’s mighty power that needs to make you His follower, but it’s the simple use of His power within us that should make us run to Him, like the shepherds did, and the wisemen too.
Through that humble birth, man realises God’s availability, God’s keenness to be approached, and God’s total willingness to be harnessed.
As I see political leaders moving around in monstrous cars, wearing extravagantly expensive clothes, there’s one thing that comes to my mind; they feel so insecure in themselves that they need to have such gigantic, external props to lean on.
In fact, the bigger the size of the chair they sit on, the bigger the Audi or Mercedes, and larger their mansion, reveal in ratio, how large their insecurity is!
Our Jesus was born in a humble, dirty, smelly manger, but not for an instance was His greatness, or His power lessened. In fact, those who dwelt in palaces were afraid of His birth and His life. King Herod was so afraid of the ‘manger baby’ that, coward that he was, he ordered all children born below a particular age to be killed. The high priests and Pharisees were equally frightened and saw to it that an innocent Man was crucified.
Today on December 1st, the beginning of the Christmas month, do realise that someone born in a filthy stable has a following of one third of the world, or two billion people calling themselves Christians!
From today, let us look for the manger in people and reject outright pomp and pageantry.
Let’s begin this month from a lowly manger in Bethlehem..!
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and author. He blogs at www.bobsbanter.com and can be reached at bobsbanter@gmail.com
