Away in a Manger

Monday, December 16, 2013
"Away in a Manger"

This is my mother's favorite Christmas carol, and it is beautiful played, but today it really strikes me as oddly precious.

I sit here half-reading, half-singing the second verse, and, well, I get snarky:

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.

All I could think was "for the first and last time in His life, no doubt."  I'm being sarcastic, obviously, but Jesus was not a calm, sweet, trying-not-to-disturb-anyone presence on planet Earth.  No, he was more the "holler all night until these people finally wake up and take care of the problems" type of adult.  It seems odd to think of His baby self as trying not to cause his mother and stepfather any problems with his tears.

Jesus's message is not a comfortable one.  There are many tenets of the Catholic faith that make me not only uncomfortable but sometimes angry.  In some of these, I am not yet ready to admit myself wrong, but I see my own fear of loss of privilege and comfort in others.

Every so often, a rousing homily makes me realize that I don't do enough for my fellow man.  What I'm saying is that a crying baby can be a great wake-up call, and Jesus always used whatever methods He could to wake us up from our indifferent stupor.

And perhaps it's more about being fussy and crying, forcing the issue and refusing to compromise or back down or listen to reason (as only babies and the Almighty can do with perfect stubbornness), that Jesus will:

Fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.