Faith Works 12-23-22

Faith Works 12-23-22
Jeff Gill

A manger is also a library of sorts
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When you look at a manger scene, or crèche as some call them, you see a visual sermon that goes back to St. Francis of Assisi, we're told.

He arranged what today we call a "living nativity" outside a church at Christmastime, and you still see those, but from Italy now around the world it's common to see manger scenes in ceramic or plastic, woodcarved or handcrafted in any number of media, to depict the scene of Jesus having been born in Bethlehem.

We don't know there were three magi, but we go with it because of three gifts; the wise men are in a completely different account than the shepherds adoring the child born to be the Christ, in Matthew versus Luke's account where the stable setting may or may not be accurate to the time and place.

However, I want to sing out loud and strong on behalf of crèche sets and manger scenes, whether anachronistic or historically accurate. With good Francis and many other manger aficionados I celebrate how the classic crèche actually nods to a wide range of prophecies and citations from across the Bible to get us to that holy night. It's a library in miniature, the Bible fleshed out in an assembly of figures.

First there's the overall setting of Bethlehem, which we get from Micah 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

As for the stable, however you translate "ketaluma" from the Greek, there's Isaiah 1:3: "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand" as the prophet notes that people in general will not realize what's going on, but everyday farm animals might.

A little further on in Isaiah, chapters 7 & 9, we get the young woman, a virgin giving birth, a baby to save the nation: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder - and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

In Hosea 11 we hear of how the Messiah will come "out of Egypt" and in Psalm 72 the kings of the East come with gifts and gold; again we hear from Isaiah in chapter 60, "A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD."

In fact, the star they follow along with the idea of distant kings coming to draw near and worship is foretold all the way back in Numbers 24, with the narrative of Balak the king and Balaam the vessel of God's blessings, and specifically in verse 17 "a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel."

And shepherds are all over scripture, but Isaiah 40:11 gives us a familiar picture of God: "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young."

Your manger scene is a three-dimensional Bible waiting to be read by you this Christmas.


Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's got a few manger scenes around the house with stories of their own. Tell him your tales at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.