December 24, 2023 - Pastor Message
04/30/2024“Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).
Mary laid the newborn Jesus in a manger for his bed. This part of the Christmas story is easily overlooked, a mere practical necessity since they did not have a room in the inn or a quaint image to stir sympathy or nostalgia. Like so many details of the nativity, however, it bears powerful meaning for our salvation, the very reason Christ came and was born on Christmas day.
A manger is a feeding trough. Just as today, people in Jesus’ time would fill mangers with hay or grain as food for their farm animals, normally sheep, goats and cattle. This food provided essential nourishment and life so that the animals could perform their service of providing nourishment and life to the people, even the sacred duty of serving as sacrifices on the altar of God, giving thanks to God for his blessings and atoning for sins.
By placing Jesus in a manger, the story makes clear, even from his birth, that he came as food for the world. Read the Christmas story beside such passages as the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John (6:22-59), the feeding of the multitudes (Mark 6:34-44), or the story of the Last Supper (e.g. Matthew 26:26-30). Jesus instructs his disciples to eat of his flesh and informs them that, if they do not, they will not have life within them. He himself is Spirit and life, our nourishment on the long, hard road to the Kingdom of God, where alone we will know the fullness of life.
Of course, Jesus does not mean that we should eat his flesh literally. Like the lambs destined for the altar of sacrifice, Jesus gave us the means by which to receive the life he brings by sacrificing himself on the altar of the cross, atoning for our sins and giving us the gift of the Eucharist. Now, everytime we celebrate the Eucharist and receive his Body and Blood, we are nourished and strengthened by his gift of divine life to continue our service as his disciples. Also like the animals that fed from the manger where Jesus lay, we too are called to provide the nourishment and life we have received to all people by inviting them to the feast through the witness of our actions and words, even to the point of sacrificing ourselves with Christ.
“Give them some food yourselves” (Matthew 14:16). Jesus spoke these words to the disciples at the feeding of the multitudes, despite their selfish fear and doubt. Ultimately trusting in him, they followed his command, giving what little they thought they had. Only then did they realize that Jesus himself was more than enough food for all of them, the disciples included. This Christmas, as you and your family gather around the manger, remember all that it means. Place your trust in him by renewing your commitment to receiving Christ in the Eucharist regularly, and, on behalf of the entire parish, may you and yours have a blessed and life-filled Christmas and New Year!
Fr. Marc Stockton
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