Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

Luke 2: 7-16

"You will find the babe … lying in a manger"

I love the wonderful traditions of Christmas. We have the secular aspects of this holiday complete with Christmas trees, ornaments, Santa Claus, and presents. In North America, we combine these images with winter images of sleds, snowmen, and candles. We Christians hold onto the religious holiday by celebrating Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus in a stable, surrounded by quiet animals and worshipping shepherds. We love these warm, familiar images.

But is the traditional religious image of the stable historically accurate? We get the stable scene in our minds due to one word in the Luke’s Christmas story. "She … placed him in a manger." The key to the stable image is the word manger. Since a manger is a feed trough where animals eat, then he must have been born in a stable. Right?

This word manger is repeated three times in Luke’s Christmas account. The first instance is when Mary wraps the baby and puts him in a manger. Then the angels announce that the shepherds will find the baby in a manger. Finally, the shepherds arrive and find the baby in a manger just as they had been told. From this repetition, we conclude that the manger was an important sign of his humble birth. Thus, it is a short step from an animal feeding trough to the image of the stable. But Luke didn’t actually say that the baby was in a stable. What if a manger doesn’t require a stable?

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another,

"Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

Luke 2:7-16

Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on the historical accuracy of a stable as a required location for a manger. In those days mangers were not confined to barns or stables for animals. Most shepherd families brought their animals into their homes at night. In those little one-room homes, living rooms were built as split-level rooms with an animal holding pen at one end and the family dwelling at the other end. The pen for the animals was generally a few feet lower than the main floor of the living room. Then a few steps up took you into the family part of the living room. Commonly there was a manger right where the animal pen met the human part of the living room. The Christmas manger, then, was probably in a house.

So what actually happened that Christmas night? Hearing that Mary was in labor, some relatives, probably an ordinary shepherd family, opened their home to Joseph and Mary. Since it was last minute, they placed Jesus in the manger there in the middle of the house. This is probably a more historically accurate image of Jesus’ birth.

So how did we get baby Jesus from a house into a stable? The answer is that we interpreted the Christmas manger with European and American farming eyes. We took Middle Eastern sheep and goats and turned them into European cattle. Our farming ancestors assumed that a manger belongs out in the barn. If baby Jesus was placed in a manger then he must have been born in a stable. Thus, we took a simple shepherd home and turned it into a cattle barn.

Did I ruin your traditional Christmas image? Here is the problem with the traditional Christmas stable. It is an old image that removes the birth of Jesus from our every day lives. Most of us don’t live on farms with animals any more. Who of us has a stable in our neighborhood? The only time we hear about a stable is at church on Christmas.

This Christmas I invite us to consider an "Un-stable" Christmas. What if we moved from the ancient stable image into a modern equivalent? How about a garage? If Jesus were born today, we would most likely tell the story that Jesus’ parents didn’t make it to the hospital. Instead, Mary gave birth to the baby in a garage. If it happened tonight, the angels would tell the neighbors to look for the baby in a garage. This Christmas I invite us to picture Jesus in an ordinary garage.

What do you picture when you think of a garage? For some of us it is the place where we store all the stuff we don’t have room for. Two car garage? Right! More like one half of the garage is stuffed with boxes and the other side can barely park a car. Garage is the place where dad goes when mom and dad get into an argument. Can Jesus really understand these ordinary parts of our lives? Indeed he can. He was born in Bethlehem and placed in a manger.

When Kate and I first arrived in San Diego we wanted to register in time to vote. We had never lived in a city as big as San Diego. When we got our voter’s registration information we wondered where we would vote. Expecting to vote at a church or library like the small town where we lived in Arizona, we discovered that we were to vote down the street at a neighbor’s house. Double checking the address I asked Kate, "Do you want to walk together to go cancel each other’s votes?" We walked down to vote shortly after five that November evening. While we stood in line, it grew darker until someone inside a voting booth complained that they were having trouble reading the ballot. I watched in amazement as the homeowner hit the garage door button and lowered the door just enough to activate the little overhead light bulb. Over the next few minutes while we waited I watched as they hit the garage door opener every few minutes to give enough light to vote.

Can you see baby Jesus in that garage? Can you see the neighbors coming to see the baby as the homeowners hit the garage-door button to activate the light bulb? That is probably a more accurate image of the baby Jesus’ birth than our traditional image of a stable.

The more I think about baby Jesus in a garage, the more I like the implications. For most of us, the garage is a place that we allow to get messy. We stack stuff there with good intentions, but don’t always get back to arrange it properly. It can become a place where we avoid neighbors. (We hit the remote button from the car and drive straight in without stopping to visit. Close the door as soon as we park.) It can be where we go to get away from conflict inside the house. It can even be a place where we hide our addictions.

Do we really believe that Jesus is willing to come to the garage to be with us? This is the Christmas message. Jesus comes to us in the garage. He wants to release us from those things that keep us hiding in the garage. He invites us out to meet the neighbors and connect with family. He invites us to come out of the garage and join him as he loves our neighbors and brings joy to the world.

Follow up

So Jesus comes to meet us in the garage? Why would he do that? There is an ancient Christian saying. "Jesus became like us so we could become like him." Let me say that again, "Jesus became like us so we could become like him." How does that work?

His birth in Bethlehem is just the beginning of the story. Jesus came from heaven to live a perfect human life as our example. Then he gave himself to die on the cross to bring us forgiveness and a fresh start. He rose from the dead to prove his power over sin and death. Jesus promised to give us his Holy Spirit to help us live our lives like him if we ask. Have you asked for his forgiveness? Have you asked for a fresh start in life? Have you opened your life to his Spirit living inside you? If not, why not ask him now? Pray with me a simple prayer….

Jesus you know what my garage is. Thank you for coming to me and inviting me to follow you. I ask your forgiveness for my sins. Please give me your Spirit to help me live life the way you did. I need your help. Amen.