The announcement has been made and the news delivered. Today God has come to us as a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:1-20) Emmanuel. God is with us.

The angel calls this good news of great joy for all people. Not just for the shepherds but for all people. That means you and me too. It doesn’t matter who you are, why you are here, what you do or do not believe, what has or has not happened in your life, or what you’ve done and left undone. This good news of great joy is for you, me, and all people. 

It’s the same announcement every year. We heard it last year, the year before that, and the one before that. It never changes. It’s the same announcement every year.

For a lot of years I used to come to this night wanting to say something new, original, and profound. But the longer I live and the more of life I experience the more I come to this night just wanting to hear the same old good news, the same old announcement. I come to this night wanting to look into the manger of my life and find the child wrapped in bands of cloth lying there. 

I want to be reminded that Christmas is still true and still happening. I want to hear the same old story again for the first time. And it’s not because I think the story has changed since last year. It’s because my world and life have changed over the last year. It’s because I have changed over the last year. I suppose that’s true for you too. 

So with every intention of telling you what you already know let me just say this: “A child has been born for us.” (Isaiah 9:6) He is “wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

His manger, however, is not in Bethlehem. We are the manger in which the child is born. After all, what good is it to us if he is laid in a manger in Bethlehem if he is not also laid in the manger of our lives? 

What can this child possibly do for us? What can this little one who cannot yet talk, walk, or take care of himself offer us? 

Start with the manger of your life. What’s the good news of great joy you need tonight? What is the manger you bring tonight?

• Are you walking in darkness? This child is the Light of the World.
• Are you full of confusion or self-doubt? This child is the Wonderful Counselor.
• Do you feel overwhelmed and powerless? This child is the Mighty God.
• Are you living with guilt or regret? This child is the Merciful One.
• Do you hunger? This child is the Bread of Life.
• Do you thirst? This child is the Cup of Salvation.
• Is there violence in your life and world? This child is the Prince of Peace.
• Is your life fragile or unstable? This child is the Chief Cornerstone.
• Are you lost? This child is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
• Do you feel disconnected or untethered? This child is the True Vine.
• Are you afraid, vulnerable, or insecure? This child is the Good Shepherd.
• Do you need hope? This child is the Alpha and the Omega.
• Are you dealing with death and loss? This child is Resurrection and Life.

Whatever the manger of your life might be tonight, it is the place in which this child is laid. There are no empty mangers. Tonight the manger of your life has been filled and “joined heaven to earth and earth to heaven.” (Book of Occasional Services – 2022, 11)

If you are wondering if this child’s birth can really change your life let me ask you this. Did the birth of your child change your life and re-create your world? Did your birth change your parents’ lives and re-create their world? Yeah, in more ways than we can count.

Let’s not underestimate the power of this child. The promise of Christmas is that we will not leave here unchanged. It might take us a while to recognize and live into this change but the promise is trustworthy and true. That promise is as real as a baby’s cry.

Merry Christmas! Now go tend to the child laid in your manger. 

Merry Christmas!

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Image Credit: By Edward Burne-Jones – Self-photographed, 10 October 2009, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons.