December 24,
2016
“His Bed is Made – The Straw of the Manger”
“His Bed is Made – The Straw of the Manger”
Tonight we gather to celebrate Jesus
Christ’s birth. We gather around a
simple manger to peer in on a small innocent child wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laying in a makeshift bed because there is no room in the inn. Tonight, Jesus Christ, Savior of the World is
surrounded in a lowly manger by simple straw.
Some use straw as bedding, others use it to
feed animals and still others only encounter it in the wind as they drive down
the interstate and see a blade pass quickly by or when it is pulled out of the
grill of their car or truck. But the
straw that cradles the Christ child isn’t ordinary straw. It’s meaning can be found in the annals of
Creation, the bins of combines, hay rakes and even some kids hair or clothes that
have played on the round bails or from the hay lofts in many a barn. But tonight the hay that cradles the Savior
of the World is the only cushion Jesus knows in a lowly manger in a small inn
on a back alley in the City of David, Bethlehem.
For tonight the question should be asked,
how have we who gather here prepared our hearts as we come on bended knee to
the manger? What do we bring to the
manger as our gift and simply is it enough?
Once a family had come on hard luck, the
sole bread winner had been let go right before Thanksgiving. The parents of three children were uncertain
what the future held, but decided that for one Christmas, their family would
break from their tradition of giving each other lavish Christmas gifts due to
the present circumstances. While sitting
around the table deciding what to do, Ann the mother received an inspiration. Why not this Christmas give each other the
gift of love and service that would be represented by small bits of straw that
would be laid in the family crèche that they used every year.
This year, their Baby Jesus would not be
placed in the manger until Christmas Eve so for the entire season of Advent the
family would anonymously perform acts of love and service to one another. By lot every Sunday the family would pick a
name for whom the acts of love and service would be rendered. And with every deed a small blade of straw
would be placed in the manger.
During these few short weeks the house was
full of kindness and love like they had never experienced before. The love shared and shown was clear, because
there were fewer spats’ and squabbles and less shouting matches. Weekly the increase in straw would be
noticeable only to the most discerning eye.
And with one day left before Christmas Eve the family gathered to pick names
for the last time. John the oldest was
last and in an instant, his face became a rush of emotions. You see John unbeknownst to everyone had
picked his younger sister Julie’s name each and every week. Like most siblings John and Julie had a
strained relationship. But this was the
last straw, John couldn’t take it or do it anymore. He shot from the table with the words, “I
can’t”.
John’s mother Ann let him alone for a few
minutes and finally found out the truth of the last four weeks. In desperation to keep her family together
for this last Christmas before John joined the military, Ann suggested she and
John switch names, with the understanding this would not be cheating. John surrendered and finally agreed.
That night as Ann went to Julie’s room to
anonymously turn down Julie’s bed for the night. In utter shock she found that Julie’s bed was
already prepared for her tonight. Turning
to leave Ann thought, John did have one final straw to place in the manger to
make Jesus bed comfortable and complete.
Tonight, our culture would ask, what final
straw do we need to place in the manger?
But tonight, we need to understand that the final straw isn’t placed in
the manger by us, but it is found in the sacrificial gift of the Babe wrapped
in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger named Jesus Christ.
For the straw that Jesus places and finds
the most comfortable in the manger is the gift He gives us with His entrance
into the world to give us the gift of eternal life. May the straw of the manger we find this
night remind us of God’s gift of love in His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ
Who comes to seek and save all of mankind, but especially each and every one of
us who understand the last straw is found in Jesus Christ gift of love for us of
eternal life as He is placed in the manger on the bed of straw. AMEN.
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