Away in a feeding trough

With the wonders of modern technology I am creating this bloggage while sitting in our church. It’s rather busy here at the moment: we have children and young people from a local school here practicing for their Carol Service here tonight; and I had to tell a story to a group of pre-schoolers (our Bright Sparks group) who then came into the church to see the tree and the nativity scene. We had a brief interlude as the Bright Sparks came into the church to see our nativity scene, our enormous Christmas tree and sing a verse of Away in a Manger.

I told the Bright Sparks a story about Sarah the Sheep. She’d had a lovely day out in the fields and was coming home to have a late night snack of hay before going to sleep. She was very surprised to find a baby in her food (see the seamless link with Away in a Manger? Anyone would think we planned all this!) One of the things that has struck me afresh this year is that the Son of God was lying in a cattle feeding trough. When we read it in the familiar words of the Christmas narratives, or sing it in the familiar carols, the baby lying in a manger sounds so pastoral, so lovely, so peaceful. But the reality was that Jesus was in a cattle feeding trough. You can’t get much more undignified than that!

It’s a real joy to have so much activity around our church at this season. The building in the centre of our town is a blessing for us, but in my view it’s even better to use our premises to bless the wider community. Surely that’s part of the emphasis of Christmas – the baby in the cattle feeding trough is a blessing for everyone. He’s here for us all.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all of humanity!

Be blessed, be a blessing!

A joke about prejudice , set in pre-war Nazi Germany (ooer!).

A lady named Mrs. Rosenberg many years ago was stranded late one night away from home. She went to a hotel and asked for a room. The desk clerk asked her name and then looked down at his book and said, “Sorry, no room. The hotel is full.”

The Mrs Rosenberg said, “But your sign says that you have vacancies.”

The desk clerk stammered and then said curtly, “It’s hotel policy that we do not admit Jews. You will have to go eslewhere…”

Mrs. Rosenberg stiffened noticeable and said, “I’ll have you know I converted to your religion.”

The desk clerk said, “Oh, yeah, let me give you a little test. How was Jesus born?”

Mrs. Rosenberg replied, “He was born to a virgin named Mary in a little town called Bethlehem.”

“Very good,” replied the hotel clerk. “Tell me more.”

Mrs. Rosenberg replied, “He was placed in a manger in a stable.”

“That’s right,” said the hotel clerk. “And why was he born in a stable and laid in a manger?”

Mrs. Rosenberg said loudly, “Because a jerk like you in the hotel wouldn’t give a Jewish lady a room for the night!”