Christ in the Manger
"In Bethlehem in Judea, anyone looking in at the stable would have seen just a newborn baby cradled by his mother; a beautifully human, timeless, and perennial scene. Like any other newborn, the Christ Child was helpless, and utterly reliant on the love, warmth, attention, and care of others. But despite appearances, this was no ordinary Child. As one carol puts it, this “Offspring of a Virgin’s womb veiled in flesh the Godhead”. So, with the eyes of faith… Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men all saw that this needy baby was the Son of God; the one whom the angels worship. Today, in this Bethlehem, although we will look on what appears to be ordinary bread, we too know by faith that the Eucharistic Bread is the Bread of Angels. For beneath the veil of the consecrated bread and wine is the real and living Presence of Jesus himself; it is God’s Word made flesh and dwelling among us. And so, like the angels, shepherds, and Magi, we have come to Bethlehem to adore the Lord who is, so to speak, newly-born in the sacrament of the Eucharist. And the altar becomes the Lord’s manger; our feeding-trough, for from it we are fed with our heavenly food."
The rest of my sermon for Christmas day can be read here.
Detail from a stained glass window by Francis Spear (1953) in St Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow.
Christ in the Manger
"In Bethlehem in Judea, anyone looking in at the stable would have seen just a newborn baby cradled by his mother; a beautifully human, timeless, and perennial scene. Like any other newborn, the Christ Child was helpless, and utterly reliant on the love, warmth, attention, and care of others. But despite appearances, this was no ordinary Child. As one carol puts it, this “Offspring of a Virgin’s womb veiled in flesh the Godhead”. So, with the eyes of faith… Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men all saw that this needy baby was the Son of God; the one whom the angels worship. Today, in this Bethlehem, although we will look on what appears to be ordinary bread, we too know by faith that the Eucharistic Bread is the Bread of Angels. For beneath the veil of the consecrated bread and wine is the real and living Presence of Jesus himself; it is God’s Word made flesh and dwelling among us. And so, like the angels, shepherds, and Magi, we have come to Bethlehem to adore the Lord who is, so to speak, newly-born in the sacrament of the Eucharist. And the altar becomes the Lord’s manger; our feeding-trough, for from it we are fed with our heavenly food."
The rest of my sermon for Christmas day can be read here.
Detail from a stained glass window by Francis Spear (1953) in St Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow.