The child in the manger grows into the teacher who eats with tax collectors and sinners; he includes the rich and the poor, the outcast and the perceived insiders. He makes all people relevant and asks of us who receive him and believe in his name that we share in his inheritance by sharing in his care and concern for the crowds. Jesus looked upon the crowds and had compassion for they were like sheep without a shepherd, so he taught them, and he healed them and he fed them. In John 17 Jesus prays for a unity amongst humanity which reflects the unity of the God head.
This is the hard work of being drawn into Jesus inheritance – to be born not of blood or of the will of the flesh of man but of God.
It means being committed to listening at our Master’s feet, like Mary. It means declaring the good news of Jesus identity with Thomas ‘My Lord, and my God’. It means acting in ways that early Christian communities breaking bread, praying with one another, sharing with widows and the oppressed. It means caring for all peoples for whom Christ came, even though they do not know him, and caring for the creation which God has given us.
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