December 22 | Miracle In A Manger | Jesus' Humble Beginnings | Amy Christie

Most of the biblical texts envisioning the coming of the Messiah associate him with royalty. The vision of a gilded savior at the head of an army, ruling on a throne, and bringing prosperity to Israel gave the lower classes hope that their fortunes would one day change. How shocking and unexpected, then, for the Messiah to be born into a low-class family of peasants, too poor to afford a lamb as a sacrifice, too unimportant to sleep in their crowded family’s guestroom? What do we learn about the love of God that he would so radically associate himself with the poor and marginalized by being born as one of them?