“The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes. But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.” It is one of the most famous and sweetest verses in that lullaby Christmas carol, “Away in A Manger.” An uncertain tradition has it that the German Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, composed this song for his children. What is easier to say is that the sentiment is likely not accurate. The healthiest of babies cry when they are hungry, when they are needing a diaper change, when they are sleepy, and sometimes, it seems, just because it feels good. I’ve often thought what might have happened if Baby Jesus’ family had just gotten him to sleep, finally, when some cow let go with a good and loud, “Mooooo!” I doubt they would have spoken poetic language about the lowing of the livestock.
Such “no crying infant” language rests on an assumption that Jesus lacked the traits of being fully human. But the beginning of John’s Gospel, which has no infancy narrative, says, “In the beginning was the Word….and the Word became flesh.” Theologians have called this “incarnation”, meaning that in Jesus, the Divine expression came with the fullest of human qualities. Jesus grew weary, became angry, got hungry, wanted both companionship and alone time. And in this season, in which we are leaning into Advent practices, one of those practices is the act of embracing humanity, Jesus’ and our own.
Let’s chat about this in worship this Sunday. The sermon is titled, “The Spiritual Practice of Embracing our Humanity: Incarnation”, and arises from John 1: 1-5, 14. The Chancel Choir, accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs, will lead us musically. There will be a moment for children, prayers and we will sing Christmas carols together.