"Away in a Manger"

Our Savior Jesus Christ, the reason for the season. Away in a Manger will hold a much deeper meaning from this moment on. This was a talk given on 12/12 this year.

I love music! If my 3 brothers were here they would laugh at this comment and think back to our family road trips…..they hated their sister singing her heart out in the back of the mini van and the fact that my parents would not force me to be quiet! However, I’m sure they would also recall the memories we had singing together….we had our family favorites and loved singing at the tops of our voices, especially our favorite Christmas music!

My love for music has grown immensely through the years. When asked to speak about my favorite Christmas hymn….it was actually exciting for me. Though choosing just one would be difficult.

Can you imagine Christmas without music? Preferably our Christmas hymns? In D&C 136:28 it states: “If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music….” Certainly in my merriest of moods, I sing…though hard to believe, I even catch my husband doing so at times :0) Last week, I was flipping through the hymnbook, trying to figure which was my favorite but also what would be the easiest to talk about…..I was grateful when we opened the meeting with “Away in a Manager”. I knew this was certainly a favorite….though it has never touched me as deeply as it did last Sunday. I know it was the spirit telling me "this was the hymn, but for some reason, my clarification came a couple days later after asking my daughter what her favorite church hymn was, when I realized this was her favorite, that was the clincher.

I did a lot of study, wondering how I could go into great depth for you and possibly learn something new. After hours of reading and study and searching for answers as to what to say….I realized how simple the hymn is and realized the feeling I felt as I sang it.

the first verse reads:

Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

I recall a feeling of peace and simplicity as I sung this. Even though Mary carried within her the Son of God, He didn’t need some amazing place to stay, he stayed in most humble surroundings and his parents would make the best of their family’s circumstances. I’m sure they felt peace and joy watching their infant son sleep.

I was appreciative of the story which Sister Jones shared at our ward activity last Friday. They certainly made the best of a very difficult situation. It’s wonderful that her children view that particular Christmas as the best ever. They sacrificed the materialism of Christmas and found joy in simplicity. Let me share with you a lesson taught to some sisters by our former Prophets wife Sister Hinckley:

Several years ago, during the Christmas season, President and Sister Hinckley came to BYU for a musical event. Before the program, there was a buffet dinner, and at one point while the men were away from our table, the women began to talk about the frustrations of getting ready for Christmas. Our conversation focused on the fact that everything about the season was becoming a burden for women. We bear the responsibility of selecting gifts, organizing social events, preparing everyone’s favorite foods, and making certain that family, guests, and even the less fortunate have a merry Christmas. We felt overwhelmed if not resentful.

Sister Hinckley listened patiently, and then without the slightest edge of criticism in her voice said, “I Love Christmas. It is the most joyful of all seasons. I love seeing the eyes of little children light up on Christmas morning. I love giving gifts. I love being with my family. We just need to simplify and remember what we are celebrating.”

After she had spoken, something magical happened. Our attitudes shifted, and we began to talk about the birth of our Savior and the spirit of giving. In the years that have passed since those words were spoken, a burden has been lifted for me during the holidays. As I shop, prepare food, and join with friends and family to celebrate the birth of our Savior, her words nurture and calm me. “I love Christmas, “I hear her say, and I let her teach me to relax and enjoy the season.

As we imagine the manger and the hay which Jesus laia his head on, let us remember the peace we need to feel during this special time. Our children need to feel this peace as we keep things simplified and allow the family to find joy.

The second verse of the hymns bring the animals into play and the Saviors reaction to them:

The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes;
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.

It’s was difficult for me to find clarification on this, but a little clarity comes as I read Isaiah 1:3, it states: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib” We are told in the our most current Ensign that “Jehovah’s creatures knew and accepted Him…”. We also know that our Savior accepted His father’s will to be here for each of us. We know that the Savior was “oppressed, and he was afflicted throughout his whole life. In Mosiah 14:7 we read that “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” Because of his perfect life, he never complained, even as a baby.

As we continue in this 2nd verse and the verse to follow, the hymn begins to touch my heart and becomes more personal, by this time I’ve been able to recognize my testimony of the Saviors birth. I can also sing the following more reverently, as if my own prayer is being offered:

I love thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

I can’t help but picture the love my daughters have for the Savior as I read this. They cherish their wood blocks with the pictures the primary has given them, they adore the nativity sets displayed and play near them often. I think I’ve mentioned before the sweet experience of one of my daughters looking up into the sky a few years ago and viewing the rays of light streaming through the clouds, she knew the heavens were smiling down upon her. I hear the prayers so sweet and innocent and wanting to do all they can to choose the right and be like Jesus. Do we hold onto the desire to have the child-like qualities needed to be like our Savior? In Mosiah 3:19 it states how each of us should “putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint though the atonement of Christ of the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”

I would like to share with you a story:

One day, as I drive home with my wife and our little one and half year old son, we discussed Sister Mayech and the fact that she walked two hours one way to go to church. We debated whether we should make the sacrifice and leave thirty minutes earlier on Sundays to give her a ride to and from church. We felt good as we finally agreed that we would arrange our time to do this service for her.

How surprised I was, however, when I presented her with our suggestion the next Sunday. She said, Brother, you cannot do this to me. I’m an old lady. How can I ever show the Lord how much I love Him, how much I adore Him, how much I depend on His atoning sacrifice for my salvation, and my desire to serve Him? I’m too old and too ugly and too forgetful to serve as the RS president or ever as a teacher. The greatest joy of my life is on Sunday when I can get up early in the morning, walk to church, and take the sacrament. Yes, it is a long walk and, yes, my legs hurt and back hurts, but every step I rejoice. Every tree and every shrub is my friend. I know every person behind every window. I greet them all with my heart and with my testimony. As I walk, I sing hymns and when I arrive, I’m through the hymnbook and my heart is full of joy and gratitude because my walk is a celebration of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. And you want to take this away from me? You can’t do this to me. Let me walk.

In a strange way, this woman taught me more about the gospel of Jesus Christ than I may have learned in Sunday school classes. Her commitment was total. Whenever she spoke, she bore her testimony….Long before I was able to go to the temple, she told me of the urgent need for each member to go to the temple as often as possible. One time, she reported she had been in the temple in Switzerland at least once a month since the temple had opened. That was much more than anyone else in the branch had accomplished. When she could not get anyone to take her to the temple, which was ten or twelve hours away, she somehow saved the money to go by herself by train. Not a month went by that she did not manage to go to the temple.

When I became branch president, one of the most touching experiences of my service was receiving the tithing envelopes from the members. I was deeply touched by the faithfulness and commitment of even the poorest in the branch, Sister Mayech in particular. When I received her tithing, my heart was touched, but then I saw, to my surprise, that she had added a very large amount as a fast offering. It was nearly fifty percent of her tithing. In compassion, I said to her, “Sister Mayech, you don’t have to do that. This is a lot of money for you.” She rebuked me in another outburst of conviction. She stomped her foot and shouted, “Brother Bushche, you are new in the church. You don’t understand yet. This fast offering is for the poor and this is serious. We must not let the poor go hungry.”

“I learned that she did not consider herself poor. I also learned that she refused any help that people offered. I never saw her in any other dress or in any other shoes, and I doubt that she had any. I knew that she lived in a little shack without sanitary installations, but she considered herself rich.”

I believe this story brings us to the final verse of the hymn.

Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

We need the Lord Jesus. He is with us if we choose for him to be there. Are we committed to follow Him? Do we give the types of gifts to the Savior, like Sister Mayech gives? I’m thankful for a challenge which was given by Elder Neil A Anderson to the youth in last April’s conference. I felt that I needed to take the challenge….to read the book of John. I felt the love of my Savior as I read it. I can imagine the grief His disciples must have felt as Jesus told them that he must go. I’m thankful for the love that Jesus portrayed. Jesus overcame this world, he did this for the comforter to be with us and lead us home.

A quote from President Gordon B Hinckley goes as follows:

Born in a manger, He came to earth under the humblest of circumstances. The Son of the Almighty became the Savior of all mankind. He walked the roads of Palestine working miracles. He healed the sick, He brought sight to the blind, He raised the dead. He blessed the little children and condemned any who should offend them. He left His mark upon the world, which can never be erased nor diminished. Concluding that brief life, was the agony of Gethsemane and the terrible suffering of Golgotha, to be followed by the glory of the Resurrection. No other had ever before done what He did. He rose from the grave, and through His great act of Atonement came salvation for all men. Our eternal lives are in His hands, and our eternal progress lies in obedience to His teachings. Close quote.

I know the Lord is with us in all that we do. I am thankful that He can speak directly to us directly as we open our scriptures and our hearts to the voice of the spirit. Jesus Christ certainly is the light and life of this world, the beginning and the end. I’m thankful to my Heavenly Father for this wonderful gift He has given each of us, His only begotten Son. I pray that as we each do our best to follow our Savior, through each season of our lives, that He will:

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven, to live with thee there.