Manger and Mangia

 

        Do you know the song, Away in a Manger? The first verses go: Away in a manger, no crib for his bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

Jesus slept in a manger. It’s called a manger because it’s related to our mandible or jawbone. We move our jaw or mandible to chew food. Cows do the same. So, a manger is the box where farmers put food for their cows.

        Most churches and homes have a little manger display like ours. Often, we see a stable, barn or cave with Jesus in the manger, Joseph and Mary on each side of him, and an ox, donkey and sheep. Some have angels, shepherds and wise men holding gifts.

        Churches did not always have nativity scenes like this. A man named Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene. He asked real people to bring their animals to a cave near his home in central Italy 800 years ago. There they acted out the birth of Jesus. And soon, these nativity scenes were everywhere.

        I think it’s interesting that Jesus was born in a manger because it is a feeding box, and God feeds us through His Word. Jesus is the Word of God, and He feeds us by teaching us the Word of God.

        We love and obey Jesus, who feeds us the Word of God, and we also remember that He feeds us His Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

        Before you eat your Christmas meal, make sure you take a few minutes and feel deep in your heart the love you have for Jesus as an infant and adult who feeds our hearts, minds and souls every time we hear His Word and take His Body.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.