Horn of Oil
Firstborn Son
-Manger-
First, you notice cool evergreen carried on the night air. Aleppo pine resin and cedar rise from the hills beyond Bethlehem.Then the warmth of shelter: rough-hewn beams, dry wood, and the quiet scent of hay. A soft richness follows, warm and comforting like milk and a baby’s sweetness, breath rising in the cold as the small stable fills with life.Finally, just wood and wonder remain, as the child is laid in the manger and heaven draws near to earth.
ANoint
Roll MANGER onto the pulse point of each wrist.
Inhale
Draw the fragrance in. Experience the scents of this moment.
Step into the story...
Soundscape
Listen as you read.
Scripture
Luke 2:1-7
Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Scripture from the World English Bible (WEB), public domain.
Reflection
Return to the fragrance.Inhale the scent of MANGER.Step into the shelter. Feel the rough wood, the dry hay. Cold air slips through the walls.Here, without a palace, without ceremony, the King is born.A simple feeding trough receives the One through whom all things were made.God could have entered his world in splendor, but he chose the small place. The ordinary place. The place no one would envy.We spend so much of our lives reaching in the other direction. For recognition, comfort, and importance.The manger asks what any of it is worth without Christ.What humble place are you resisting?What would change if being near to Christ mattered more than being important in the eyes of the world?
Stay here a moment.Let the fragrance of the manger
settle gently around you.And when you rise,
it goes with you.
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