Manger Scandal

by

Special to United Methodist Insight

In an early December Facebook meme, a cartoon man ponders this: “They said ‘keep Christ in Christmas’. But wouldn’t that mean loving everyone, being inclusive, helping the poor, and working for peace on earth?” This cultural contradiction is part of the Manger Scandal.

The powerful Google image of “Christ in the Rubble” caught the attention of millions of Christians in the last year. The baby Jesus lies in a manger of broken rocks and bricks. Instead of swaddling clothes, Jesus is wrapped in a black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh (like mine). It “has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli aggression” in Gaza. (Religious News Service).

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac stood beside this rubble-manger on Dec. 23, 2023, in Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Christmas service. Then he spoke eloquently and passionately about if Jesus was being born today, “he would be born under the rubble in Gaza”.

A year later, it’s still a powerful metaphor. The image has been multiplied in countless churches across the world. Seeing the baby Jesus in a manger of destruction is jarring to the senses. Seeing the baby Jesus like this could even be called scandalous.

Which is as it should be! The manger is a scandal in so many ways. Yet when we let ourselves be easily captured by the cultural Christmas environment, we don’t even pay attention to the scandal!

The word “scandal” in many different languages suggests a “stumbling block,” a trap of some kind. In I Corinthians 1:23, Paul speaks of Christ as a “stumbling block (offense) to the Jews and foolishness (nonsense) to the Gentiles.” That offense, that nonsense, shows up in the manger! Scandal basically means we’ve been tripped up by our own expectations. Our own superficial expectations often become a stumbling block to a deeper, fuller life!

The 1580s’ version of scandal was “damage to one’s reputation.” So, what is your reputation built on? Your self-expectations – and what others expect of you.

When you look at the manger at Christmas time, what expectations do you see? Maybe an innocent baby, Jesus sweet and mild? Cuddly love? An antiseptic stable? Perhaps you even mix the manger up with Santa’s sleigh carry gifts for “good boys and girls” – but not the naughty ones. But scandalously, baby Jesus’ manger is filled with grace, undeserved love – not naughty-nice, merit-driven goodness.

The Greek word skandalon suggests a stumbling block, but also “a trap or snare laid for an enemy." But there is no trap for an enemy lying in the manger. Undeserved love has no enemies. That’s how God created us to be. Even if we choose to ignore that reality.

Our Christmas challenge is to un-learn our manger expectations that conflict with the expectations of the Gospels writers:

Jesus the immigrant to Egypt as a baby. The subversive challenger of unrealistic Jewish laws. Friend to tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes. A wise rabbi who called out hypocrisy through indirect parables and direct confrontation. Ultimately, a man willing to die for his friends.

All this from a cuddly baby? Wow! Our expectations turned upside down. Scandalous!

Embrace the scandal! We don’t have to stumble over the manger. We can free ourselves from the trap where we fear and paint “others” as our enemies. Remember Jesus’ ministry of compassion and courage. We’re called to live out in our own actions how Jesus lived his life: welcome the “other,” whoever that might be; feed the hungry; comfort the wounded (of heart and body); push back against acts of injustice whether personal, legislative, systemic. Most importantly, love each person – even those scandalized by your love!

The Rev. Paul R. Graves of Sandpoint, Wash., is a "retired and repurposed" United Methodist clergyman.