Phone: (727) 545-8282
Fax: (727) 541-6305

12-01-11

                                      THE MARVELOUS METAPHOR OF THE MANGER

Dear brothers and sisters, God bless you. Thank you. Having greatly enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday festivities that we shared on a warm sunny day in Florida with our needy patrons and smiling volunteers, we are so very thankful for every blessing that the Lord has provided for us through you. Thank you. And now we are about to enter into another wonderful holiday, the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ named Christmas, a religious and cultural holiday enthusiastically observed by billions of both secular and religious people around the world. The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning “Christ’s Mass,” and it is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes maesse, a phrase first recorded over a thousand years ago in 1038.

According to popular tradition, the birth of Jesus took place in a stable, surrounded by (domesticated) farm animals though neither the stable nor the animals are specifically mentioned in the biblical accounts. However, a manger is mentioned in Luke 2:7, where it states, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger [Gk: a crib (for fodder): stall]; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia describes a manger as a trough or box of carved stone or (most often) wood construction used to hold food (fodder) for animals (as in a stable). Mangers are mostly used in the process of livestock raising. They are also used to feed wild animals, e.g., in nature reserves. The word comes from the French manger (meaning "to eat"), from Latin manducare (meaning "to chew").

Now the latter information is really quite fascinating – the etymology of “manger” reveals that the word means to take in the contents of, “to eat” and “to chew,” ultimately as in chewing the cud, or to ruminate (synonyms: ponder, think over, reflect, cogitate, meditate, mull over). Please note that the fleshly body of Jesus was laid in a manger, a holding place for food. Wow! We might further note that a manger is mostly used to nourish and feed livestock, that is, to feed domesticated or tamed animals such as cows and sheep (and tamed Christians). And may we also note that mangers are used to hold the food that attracts wild animals (unsaved wild men and women). Is that too much of a stretch? No, and such a lovely thing this gift of God usward be, and our gift to Him forthcoming.

(John 1:14)  And the Word [of God, the Bible] was made flesh [the same flesh that was placed in the manger], and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father [definitively Jesus],) full of grace and truth.

(John 6:51-53) I am the living bread [assembled of grain (fodder), food for men and animals] which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat [they forgot about the manger]? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man [the Old Testament; the words in the Bible typed in black], and drink his blood [specifically, “the New Testament”: Mat 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25, & in another sense the words in the Bible typed in red], ye have no life in you.

The Living Bread spoken of by Jesus is composed of crushed grain seeds (Jesus Christ: Luke 8:11; John 1:14; John 6:51-53), wheat or barley seeds for parabolic example; water is added (the Holy Spirit: Eph 5:26 et.al.); and then the whole is roasted in the fire (Zec 13:8,9; 1 Cor 3:13), i.e., tried, tested (by God). Merry Christmas.

RESCUING PEOPLE

Having written to you briefly concerning the marvelous metaphor of the manger and how it relates to the direct command of Jesus Christ in regard to eating and meditating upon the Word of God, and in doing so - to please God, and for our spiritual health and eternal longevity, let us turn our minds earthward toward a few physical activities accomplished by the volunteers and staff of our Rescue Mission, rescuing people, this past month of November.

Lots of statistics for November: 86,805 pounds (43 tons) of food were picked up and distributed in our year 2000 Isuzu truck (over 200,000 miles on the odometer) and our year 1997 Dodge van (we suspect the same), both sadly in need of refurbishing, and both of which traveled a total combined distance of 3,354 miles throughout Pinellas County last month, and cost our Rescue Mission approximately $1,174 dollars in gas alone, and perhaps another $1,500 in insurance, repairs, and depreciation. However, 57,870 meals (1,929 meals per day) were provided to the hungry men, women, and little children of Pinellas County, so I reckon that our efforts were certainly worth the trouble and cost expenditure. So far this year, our little Rescue Mission, with your most gracious help (our annual donation income averages $100,000), has struggled to give away $1,675,300 (one million six hundred seventy five thousand dollars) worth of food to needy impoverished residents and homeless persons living in Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater) and a few more in Hillsborough County (Tampa). Thank you. God bless you.

Our staff of fourteen adult students who are enrolled in The Ministerial Volunteers In Training Program, along with the many warm-hearted area church volunteers, teach and preach the evangelical Word of God every day and twice on Sunday at this Rescue Mission. The evangelical outreaches of our Rescue Mission include delivering messages twice a week at Pinellas Safe Harbor (the Pinellas County homeless shelter, population 425), once a week at Pinellas Hope (the Catholic Charities homeless shelter, population 400), once a week at The Wagon Wheel Flea Market (a transitory population of 10,000), and every day 24/7 over the Internet at www.tabernacleofmoses.org (currently averaging 236 visits per day, or 86,140 visits yearly). As a result of our earnest evangelical efforts, over 400 persons have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior for the year 2011, so far….

PLEASE COME JOIN US FOR OUR CHRISTMAS DINNER FOR ALL OF PINELLAS COUNTY

You and your family and your friends (or even enemies), are invited to a delicious Christmas dinner (actually a birthday party) at the Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission, 5625 Park Blvd, Pinellas Park. Smiling volunteer servers should arrive at the festivities around noon, and hungry eaters around 1:00pm. Fun and food, music and gifts will be our blessing bestowed upon all the men, women, and the little children who would care to share in the joy of our Lord’s birth. Please come and enjoy a wonderful day with us. Phone 545-8282 for additional information if needed. Thank you for your prayers and support dear brothers and sisters. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Lionel

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(Mat 2:9-11)  When [the baby Jesus was now near two years old] they [the wise men. (Why were they wise?)] had heard the king [Herod (they had listened to a very tricky fellow)], they departed [from Jerusalem]; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came [to Bethlehem] and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star [that it had stopped], they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

1.      Commentary: for those who may thirst after the deep meanings of God revealed in the symbolism of these three gifts given to Jesus from men, they are explained at www.tabernacleofmoses.org, chapter nine, entitled “Dark Sayings,” under the subtitle “Gifts” immediately after the Urim and the Thummim.

2.      Commentary: all earthly posturing aside, the greatest gift that you can give to Jesus is that which He commands: your obedient self “a living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). Jesus wants your whole commitment. Do not die before you have done that.  May God bless you and preserve you for that very end. Amen