Who Was At the Cradle?

Who Was At the Cradle?

Posted by Pastor Dave on December 22nd, 2011 | 0 Comments

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian, executed weeks before the end of World War II for his part in a failed assassination plot against Hitler, wrote this:

No priest, no theologian stood at the cradle in Bethlehem. And yet, all Christian theology has its origin in the wonder of all wonders that God became man. Alongside the brilliance of holy night there burns the fire of the unfathomable mystery of Christian theology (in Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer, p. 472).

What exactly does it mean for God to become man? I once heard it described as a funnel—a funnel with an infinite mouth and a microscopic spout. Even with that I can’t get my head around it! Truly a mystery!

So then, who did come to the cradle if priests/pastors and theologians didn’t?

Shepherds. Marginalized, poor, humble. On the edges of acceptable society. While Jesus and the gospel is for all people—poor and rich, educated and uneducated, male and female, black, white and all shades of skin colour in-between—it started with the marginalized, poor, humble.

It seems to me such a beginning sets a pattern. This is where the church starts. Yes, by all means the physically poor and humble. But, this is the start for all people. We all start by acknowledging our poverty, our humility before God. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit—theirs is the kingdom of God.” He wasn’t messin’ around! The ground at the foot of the cross is level (and beside the cradle). We all are recipients of the same amount of grace—infinite grace, the same size as the mouth of the funnel.

And also, Magi. Yes, I am aware of the fact that they came later, and that our crèches with shepherds and Magi together conflates the story. But clearly Matthew wants the Magi to be seen at the very beginning of Christ’s life.

The point—outsiders. Gentiles, rich Gentiles, come to the humble beginnings of the life of Christ with their gifts of worship. The religious elite were left out. Strangers had to invade the sacred domains of established religion of the day in order to show the way to the theologians and priests of that established religion.

I wonder, I wonder if the same isn’t true today. Canada and North America has a pretty firmly established church scene. Who are the outsiders who may have to show us the way back to Jesus? I am not sure how to answer that question. Perhaps it is because I am afraid to think about it!

Yes, a mystery. A mystery of the incarnational act; a mystery as to who attended the cradle. But as one of my mentors has said, “The task of a pastor is to protect the mystery.” Let’s live in the mystery.

Tags: Christmas, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas