This time of year seems to come faster each year. I think that is the definition of aging. I love symbolism and the messages they communicate and this time of year is full of them.
Take the manger. Whether it was a feeding trough of wood, or a hewn rock to hold feed, or whatever you imagine, the couple made due with what they had.
Do you think couples are still doing this today?
Joseph and Mary were supposed to be met by family who were to house them because … they were family. Something always seemed strange to me about this story—no room in the inn. What? Did they think because Joseph took an “adulterous’ woman as his wife they couldn’t suspend judgment to help them? WTC! The expecting couple were coming from Nazareth because of the stupid governmentally imposed census and you can’t house them? Some family you are …
Do you think couples are still dealing with this today?
Angels are the spoilers of this judgmental attitude. They give the message of the Messiah’s birth to stinking shepherds. Next to the cross-dressing tax collectors, shepherds were on the list of the lowly discreditables.
So what do we do with the signs and symbols of the Messiah’s birth?
A sign is any object, action, etc. that conveys a meaning. A symbol is something used for or regarded as representing something else.
As a Bible reader, I am accustomed to signs and symbolic usage in Scriptures: dove, ark, oil, cross, cup, bread, water, baptism, shepherd, angels, bear, beast, crown, door, dragon, snake, fire, goat, gold, harvest, honey, horn, incense, keys, lamb, lion, locust, sun, moon, stars, purple, rainbow, ram, ring, rock, seed, sword, trumpet, 24 elders, white, wind, wine, just to name a few.
Luke 2:12 states, ”And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” The sign was definitely for the shepherds who were going to be testifying about the angelic manifestation and news. But did the news go viral? Well, it was symbolic. It was a sign. It was going to need translation.
In the world of emojis, the meaning of signs and symbols can be misunderstood. Why did God send an angel for this job anyway? Wouldn’t this obscure the symbolism? Not if one reviews the symbolism of angels in biblical history. And this event was ofbiblical proportions.
Newborns not wrapped, bundled, or swaddled with a wrap for carrying the baby meant it was abandoned. This baby belonged to someone. Lying in a manger? Odd. He should be inside with family, but this baby was outside. So, the sign was definitely for the shepherds’ consideration. Did the shepherds find the baby? Wrapped? In a manger? They sure did!
In case you didn’t know, angels are never wrong.
The sign was about the Messiah. Did he come the way thought?
Which leads me to ask, Will Jesus come again in the way thought?
If the glory of God in heaven is revealed in the coming of His Son, the effect for those on the earth would be: Shalom—wholistic peace, or the full sum of blessings associated with the coming of the Messiah, aka, a new way of peace between God and man.
There were three responses to the sign represented by the shepherds, Mary, and the hearers.
Go look and see.
Then answer, What will your response be? Have you found The Way in the Manger?