The First Church

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7

Churches today are definitely different than that stable, but in this season there are similarities that caused me to ask this question: was that feeding trough the first “church?”  That manger was not an accident that happened because of an overcrowded village at a busy time…God provided it!   Don’t be fooled into believing any details of the birth of Jesus were God’s last-ditch effort to provide a place for Jesus because there was “no room in the inn.” God picked that time and place and designated it a sacred space because Jesus the Christ was there. 

A stable isn’t the perfect structure I would have hoped to find a new beginning, but like every other “church,” availability matters.  That first church wasn’t meant to be a place for privileged and perfect people, but for people who just needed a “place.”  A place where the curious could come and look to see whether what they’d heard was real. The things that made that “first” church perfect, still matter.  The angel’s praise-filled words still remind our hearts of their timeless proclamation; “Glory to God in the highest heaven.”  We still have shepherds who boldly tell the story of what they’ve seen and heard.  There are still wise men and women that follow a Holy path to a “modern stable” to offer the gifts they bring to Him.  Today’s modern stable still holds the eternal promise of that first church: God has chosen His church today as a sacred space where the needs of the people and His holiness finally have the opportunity to come together…because Jesus the Christ is there.