And they came with haste and found Mary
and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Luke 2:16*
When my family lived in Ecuador, S.A., Christmas was a big deal, especially in the underdeveloped rural area where we lived. There, the people were so poor that almost no one got presents, but each school child in the country did receive a small bag of candy sent in from the governor of each province. Christmas there was not December 25, but whatever day the grade-schoolers had their program and the goodie-bags were handed out.
In the jungle, the schools almost always presented a living Nativity. An open-front thatched-roof hut was made with bamboo poles. The stable was full of animals (chickens, turtles, monkeys, iguanas, and dogs). School children played the roles of Mary, Joseph, angels, wise men, and shepherds, and the school teachers surveyed the audience to find a suitable “volunteer” for baby Jesus.
The babe that was chosen was usually a newborn wrapped in swaddling. This not only served as a diaper, but the tightly wound length of cloth made the infant feel secure so he’d sleep for hours. The new candidate for baby Jesus was laid in a box of fresh banana leaves, where he lay quietly until the commotion of the program was over. He was supposed to be the main attraction of the day, but was almost forgotten when candy was given out.
Bethlehem’s Babe, too, is often overlooked with all the distractions of the holiday season. The focus of Christmas day is usually under the tree and not in the manger, where the Savior of the World was laid, where the incarnate God was sleeping. Angels announced Him as Christ the Lord and shepherds worshiped before Him. He was Immanuel, God with us, in the body of a Babe.
*see also Luke 2:12
December 25
