Luke 2:1-7

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”  vs. 7

We don’t know if Luke embellished his story of Jesus’ birth, it’s certainly different from Matthew’s, but we love the picture he painted, and nativity set depictions of the scene can be found in nearly every home at Christmas. St. Francis began the practice when he got permission to set up a manger in a grotto, complete with an infant and sheep, about 1223, and the practice has become universal. Creches now abound–children love to play with them and move the figures around–but they’re more than decorative, and certainly more than playthings. They are a testimony to Jesus’ humble origins and a reminder that there was nothing remotely royal about his background or his ministry. He was as totally human as anyone could possibly be, and he did not come from a family of privilege or power. Throughout his life he mixed freely with ordinary people, a man well acquainted with poverty and exclusion. Luke could have written a treatise about Jesus’ origins, but he did something better, he told a story, one that has captured our hearts and cemented itself in our imaginations. Now nearly everyone everywhere knows about the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay–it’s a marvelous origin story for the One who would be the Savior of the world!

Thought for the Day: What part should Santa Claus play in our Christmases?