22nd December
Written by Mary Impey
Away in A Manger
“Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.”
I was about 3 when l first heard this carol. We went to Sunday School each week, held in a wooden hut whilst a permanent Church was under construction. We sang choruses, heard stories from the Old Testament and then at Christmas it was carols and the story of a baby born in a stable, and laid in a manger, because “there was no room in the inn.” His parents Mary and Joseph had travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, taking three days, to register as a family as ordered by the Roman Emperor, Augustus. Today this is called a Census.
After His birth, an unusually bright Star shone over the stable and we learned that shepherds and Wisemen followed the star, travelling hundreds of miles to worship this special baby, called Jesus, the promised Messiah.
As children, hearing this story, we didn’t realise that Jesus was in immediate danger. The King on the throne at that time was Herod and he was known to be both cruel and ruthless and he felt threatened by this baby. So much so that he orders the death of all baby boys under the age of two years. However, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him not to return to Nazareth but to travel to Egypt where they lived safely for about two years, before returning to Nazareth and the village where Joseph was a carpenter and they had their own home.
Last week in my newspaper there was a picture of a Senior member of the Royal family, visibly distressed, as she emerged from a “Maternity Tent” erected on the border with Gaza. She had visited mothers and their babies, born as they endeavoured to escape from war zones, hoping to find refuge and safety in other areas, possibly in another country. It appears little has changed and mankind still covets land and possessions of others.
Fortunately, we know that Jesus grew up and died that we might live and we can say, prayerfully ............
Be near me Lord Jesus, l ask Thee to stay, Close by us forever and love us l pray, Bless ALL the Dear Children in Thy tender care
And fit us forever to live with Thee there.