The Manger & The Mass
(Abridged Christmas Homily)
Whenever we see a manger scene, a donkey always seems to be included in the mix of animals present at the birth of our Lord. Tradition always has us picturing Mary on the back of a Donkey on her way to Bethlehem, so I guess we are to assume that the one in the manger is the one who bought her there. It is interesting to note that among the very first witnesses to the savior of humankind were creatures that were not human at all: A donkey, probably some sheep and goats, and maybe a cow and some oxen,(whatever you might find in a 1st century barn in ancient Israel.)
The manger scene, with all of its animals, is very quaint and cute; but it is much more than this. The setting and the presence of these animals suggest a prophetic backdrop to St. Luke’s Gospel account of the Birth of our savior which connects the new born savior with our Lord in Holy Communion. There are two prophecies which are evoked by these elements: First –as to why Jesus ended up being born in a barn, laying in a box of hay meant for feeding a farmer’s animals— the prophet Jeremiah says, “Oh hope of Israel, O Lord, our savior in time of need! Why should you be a stranger in this land . . . like a traveler who has stopped but for a night.” God had become a stranger, even to his own chosen people. In fact, the Baby Jesus demonstrates that it’s even worse than that: “There was no room in the inn where travelers lodged.” God has been relegated to the smelly barn full of dumb animals! The humans are all too busy for God . . . too busy treating the world itself like it is God, rather than his creation! And this leads to the second prophecy, from Isaiah, which St. Luke places in association with that of Jeremiah. The Prophet Isaiah says, “An ox knows it’s master, and a donkey knows the manger of it’s lord; but Israel doesn’t know me. . . my people don’t understand!”
There are two further elements which complete the connection between the manger and the Eucharist: Bethlehem, the name of the town in which Jesus was born, translates into the English language as “house of bread:” And, secondly, the word “manger” means “to eat:” A manger is nothing but a box full of hay left for Donkeys and Cows to eat in the barn! So, Jesus is born in the House of Bread, and his very first moments of life are spent in a feeding box full of hay! (pause) We have a connection here with Holy Thursday! This very earliest moment in the life of Jesus foreshadows that moment when he took bread, said the blessing, broke it and handed it to his disciples saying, “take this bread, all of you, and eat of it . . .this is my body which will be given up for you.” Or, as St. John records in one of the sermons of Jesus, he says, “my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life within you, (Jn 6:51ff)”
Herein is the profound, two-part message at the core of Christmas: Just as God assumed the form of a human being, he also assumed the form of a food to feed us. It is no ordinary food: The hope we have, through Christmas and the Sacrament of Jesus in Holy Communion is expressed like this: “May we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” And, I would just end by applying the words of Moses to this mystery which is at the center of our Catholic Faith: “Take to heart these words you hear today! Drill them into your children! Speak of them at home or abroad, whether you are busy or at rest! Take care not to forget the Lord who has rescued you from slavery.”
