Thursday, December 05, 2019

Away in a Manger?



Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

                                       Away in a Manger, verse 1, Voices United 69

What is the favourite, "everybody knows it" Christmas Carol -- an actual carol rather than a holiday season song? Surely Away in a Manger would be right up there alongside Silent Night. Many of us have nativity scenes in our homes at this time of year and there is usually a feed trough or manger as part of the stable. There is no end of artwork depicting the Holy Family surrounded by farm animals, as well as shepherds and angels 

A week ago the Vatican returned a thumb-sized piece of wood set in a silver cross to a church in Bethlehem, a precious relic that is supposedly a sliver of the original manger in which Jesus rested after his birth. There is a lot of excitement in Bethlehem and statements about how this relic reminds us that Jesus' birth is more than a story, it was an event in human history.

This veneration of artifacts as holy relics is an aspect of Roman Catholicism which has always baffled me. There are enough pieces of the cross of Jesus to build an ark, not to mention bone fragments from saints and holy people.Why, why?  And pardon my incredulity, but who was taking souvenirs from the manger for future generations?  I have been to the hillsides around Bethlehem where we were told that stables in Jesus' time were usually caves in the limestone and mangers were cut from the same material. It was the medieval quest for relics which created a marker for items that were often suspect, if not  bogus

Image result for stone manger bethlehem

I appreciate the enthusiasm for recognizing Jesus' birth as the extra-ordinary, world-changing presence of God-With-Us rather than a sweet tale of the placid baby Jesus. I'm not convinced that this piece of wood does anything to deepen my faith in the Incarnation but I do thank God for the power of this gospel truth. 

Comments? 

Image result for nativity paintings contemporary

                                                                   Heidi Malott 




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2 comments:

  1. Judy3:38 AM

    Relics and icons , for the most part, have never done much for me - images that remind me of the gospel stories are much more significant. memorization of scripture passages as a young person have been valuable to me all through my life, especially in times of distress and sadness.

    * I remember feeling particularly "put off" when I visited a large RC cathedral in Montreal which housed the heart of a priest, and other body parts (bones and organs) of past "saints", and for which it was expected that visitors would pay a good price to see (YUCK!)

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  2. David Mundy9:47 AM

    It really is rather bizarre, although mainline Protestants tend to make idols of their aging, under-used buildings. Thanks Judy.

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