TO YOU A CHILD IS BORN
“For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11 and 12)
       Bible scholars will tell us that this is a text loaded with “messages.” The gospel writers preached with stories. They would point out the front-loading faith. Even at his birth this babe is “Savior,” in the line of David, no less. He is already “Christ” and “Lord.” The creed language of the early church is already in place.
       This is no ordinary child.
       We are told “to you is born…”
       It makes us think “it takes a village” to raise a child. He belongs to all of us. He is a gift and a common responsibility.
       But wait! How do we tell which child is ordinary and which child is extra ordinary? Which child gets the royal treatment, adored by angels and shepherds and kings? And which child does not?
       You can’t tell.
       Matthew has Herod slaughtering all children under two years of age. He couldn’t tell which child was ordinary and which had destiny in his soul. So he slaughtered them all.
       It is hard to tell whether Jesus was raised any different than other children in his time. We have scant stories until his public appearing about age 30.
       I think of the infants who have been brought forward by their mothers to be the “special baby” for our do-it-yourself Christmas Eve pageant. I remember one year when our chosen one was brought forward by his grandmother. I had heard her at the pay phone pleading with a parent or parents to come and take their child. They would not. She was left to be a reluctant Madonna. I wonder what came of that child?
       We live in a society of throwaway children. That’s harsh, but a visit to the juvenile courts or Children’s Farm Home or to the foster care program will convince you. At some point each of those children emerged into life. Creation said to us, “To you a child is born…”
       For many of these parents the response was, “Not to me. I didn’t ask for this child.” Mary could have said the same about Jesus. 
       For many in our society the response has been, “That child is not my responsibility.”
       In a society that coddles and adores some children, many are cast aside. Only in rare cases is there a state or county that offers health care to the manger born. The insurance industry fights against programs that do not route health care for children through their companies. The political mood of our time, the most prosperous era in human history, is to keep the poor at minimum wage, keep schools at a minimum level of support causing take away of art, music, PE, counseling and other programs that assist needy children. The highest rate of hungry kids is in Oregon.
       A broad-range assault on children is the refusal to deal with the national debt by the generation that created it. The result will be years of taxation to even pay the interest. In addition to this burden, we leave children with a wasted environment, industrial pollution, and depleted national resources. These are only a few examples.
       If we really adored these children, wouldn’t we pay attention to what affects them?
       When we came to Corvallis over 30 years ago public education was already under attack. “Too expensive.” “We’ve raised our kids.” “No more taxes from us.” I argued that these kids would grow up to be people we needed in our society. People scoffed. I’ve lived here long enough to see outcomes. In fact one of those skinny little kids turned out to become my primary physician! We don’t know which child is special. Special even to us! 
       In fact, each one is special. If there’s anything universal about Christmas it is that it makes every child feel special. What needs to happen is for our whole society to take the Christmas story seriously.
       “To us a child is born!” God is with us in each little child. We will come face to face with God when we recognize the holy in every humble birth. As the song says: “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, all the children of the world.” Christmas truly comes to those who know that.
Art Morgan - Christmas 2000