Unusual Wrappings (1)- He Understands

As a child I found the Nativity Scene comforting. Our family didn't go to church, yet I was drawn to the Babe in the manger. Today, I find the barnyard birth ward not only soothing, but downright unusual. If you were Almighty God, would you enter our orb like this? As a helpless infant, born to a supernaturally impregnated, teenage virgin, under the shadow of scandal, in a barn? Me neither. We'd go big- because that's how we roll. So why, the unusual wrappings? Maybe God is trying to tell us some things about Himself and us.

MOVING INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
Jesus' best friend John gives this economical account of His Birth:

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." (Jn 1:14 The Message)

Unlike celebrities touring Darfur, or youth groups on a week-long mission trips, Jesus didn't just visit our broken world. He claimed citizenship and took up residence. Starting with His birth, Jesus made choices that allowed Him to live in our reality.

BORN AS A HUMAN BABY:
If I were God, I'd come to earth as a full-grown adult. Preferably a wealthy, powerful, handsome adult- but more on that later. Jesus dons newborn skin. He begins as we began- and understands some key elements of our experience:

Jesus knows what it is like to depend on others.
Philippians 2:6-7 tries to capture the power surrender the incarnation required of Jesus. A look at a small baby drives it home for me. God didn't just become human, but a helpless, newborn human. Like the rest of us, Jesus was completely dependent on His parents. His life was tied to theirs. Whenever we wish we didn't have to rely on others, Jesus can relate.

Jesus knows what it is like to grow and develop.
Ever wish you could go back and be a kid again? Maybe for a minute. But then we remember that we'd have to re-live all those decades again. Suddenly, time travel is unappealing. Who would want to do all that work again? All of the waiting to get to the next milestone? Watching the days, months and years creep by? The prophet Isaiah reminds us that when Jesus was bound to the developmental cycle like the rest of us:

Who has believed our message?
To whom has the LORD’s power been revealed?
He grew up in his presence like a young tree,like a root out of dry ground.
(Isa. 53:1-2a God's Word)

Jesus understands how hard it is to be patient- to have to wait for things to develop.

BORN INTO HUMBLE CIRCUMSTANCES:
Does the phrase "born in a barn" ring a bell? Our parents used it as a derogatory rebuke for good reasons. Yet this was the birthing center of choice for the Divine. If I were God, I would have chosen to be superior. Jesus elected to be below average. In our culture "average" is a dirty word. Parents (including me) fear their child will be saddled with this label. We spend a lot of time and money so that this won't be the case. All in the name of giving them every opportunity they deserve. God did the opposite. He set His Son up to be below average.

Jesus knows what it feels like to be overlooked. Here's Isaiah's summation:

He had no form or majesty that would make us look at him.
He had nothing in his appearance that would make us desire him.
(Isaiah 53:2b)

We've all known the sadness of feeling unnoticed, invisible, passed by. Jesus knew it too. In a nation full of people waiting for His arrival- hardly anyone shows up at His birth.

MAKING HIMSELF VULNERABLE
The first two choices lead to this third. As a human baby, without powerful or wealthy parents- Jesus opens Himself up to suffering.

Jesus knows what it feels like to be lonely.
What's missing from the nativity that is present at most other births? Family. Friends. God sends Jesus' parents out of town, ensuring an empty delivery room. This trend continues through the rest of His life:

He was despised and rejected by people. He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces, and we didn't consider him to be worth anything. (Isaiah 53:3)

Although we'd gladly claim exemption from suffering, Jesus embraces it. Why? For our sake:

He certainly has taken upon himself our suffering and carried our sorrows, but we thought that God had wounded him, beat him, and punished him.
He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds.
We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way, and the LORD has laid all our sins on him. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Depending on others. Waiting. Being average. Being ignored and passed over. Aching with loneliness and other pain. Jesus chose all of this. Why? So that we would know He understands. Jesus may not have lived in your house, but He was definitely in the neighborhood.