CS-2016-txt-ART.indd 28
pregnant women. The fact that there was a baby
born in Bethlehem that night could not possibly
have been the sign.
Neither was the fact that the baby was
“wrapped in swaddling cloths” likely to be the
sign. I mean, everybody wrapped their babies in
swaddling clothes during those times in that part
of the world. Swaddling cloths were the cotton
jumpsuits of the first century. In fact, if you took
the swaddling cloths off the baby and looked at
the label, you would probably find that it said:
The sign, therefore, must lie within the final part
of this announcement. The actual sign must be
the manger: “…you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger”. Yes, there
is a baby born in Bethlehem this night and, yes,
he is wrapped in swaddling cloths and is not stark
naked. But the truly significant thing is that he
is lying in his bed, which is an animals’ feeding
28
THE CURIOUS SIGN OF THE MANGER
Review copy only—not for distribution.
WARM HAND WASH WITH A ROCK
IN THE STREAM.
HANG UPWIND FROM GOATS TO DRY.
REMOVE CHILD FROM CLOTHING.
12/09/2016 1:02 PM