Borrowed Breath

Our son loves having books read aloud to him. Lately, one of his consistent favorites is “Away in the Manger.” Yes, I sing it to him. Yes, he’ll probably be scarred for life. But there is one thing that really bothers me about that song. It always has. It’s the following line:

“The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.”

Besides the fact that it’s bad poetry forcing a rhyme scheme that is unnatural, it’s just not true. 

Here’s how I sing it to my son:

“The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
And little Lord Jesus is a baby, so he cries.”

Yes, I know it doesn’t rhyme. But at least it’s not a lie.
Why do we have our children sing this song every Christmas and not address the fact that babies communicate by crying. If they’re hungry, they cry. If they’re tired or their diaper needs to be changed or they need to be burped, they cry. If they want to be held and loved and comforted, they cry. Babies cry to communicate. It’s not sin.

So to sing that song the way it was written is to essentially say that Jesus was somehow able to communicate his needs and desires without crying. Did he use sign language? Did he write down his requests on a piece of papyrus? Maybe he was able to speak Aramaic and Hebrew from birth.

As vital as Jesus’ divinity is to the Christian faith, his humanity is equally as essential.

Thank God that Jesus cried. Thank God that he faced exhaustion and fatigue, and rest and peace. Thank God that he knew what it was like to be hungry and full, to be loved and to be rejected.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,  yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4.15-16 ESV)

Thank God for Immanuel, God with us.