Artwork:
Nativity by Rhenish Master, (1330) is the altarpiece of Altenberg. Frankfurt Städelmuseum. This is one of 4 Shutters of an altarpiece that belonged to the cloister of Altenberg near Wetzlar, Germany. This particular panel depicts the Nativity scene with Mary holding the infant Jesus and Joseph looking upon the scene compassionately. The elegant two-dimensionality of the robed figures is typical of the early fourteenth-century High Gothic style.

Advent Devotional

Composed by Benjamin Russell Hanby, this carol was published in 1866. In addition to composing music, Hanby was a pastor and abolitionist whose home was a stop on the famous Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War. He died of tuberculosis at the young age of 33.

This carol begins in the stall and then traces the full trajectory of the life of Jesus, culminating with his Lordship over the world after being raised from the dead. The very first line of this carol asks, “Who is He in yonder stall?” It seems diametrically opposed to the scripture reading accompanying this carol as Psalm 24 points to the image of Jesus being a King, specifically the King of glory. His inauspicious birth after Joseph and Mary, who was advancing in her pregnancy, traveled one hundred miles from Nazareth to comply with the Caesar Augustus’ census decree did not portend royalty or kingship.

The influx of people in Bethlehem for the census meant there was no room for them at the inn. On Christmas Day, when we consider “Who is He in Yonder Stall?”, it seems critical to remember that Jesus inverts the worldly view of what a king is. The King of Glory’s first earthly throne was then a manger, better known as an animal’s feeding trough. One cannot help thinking of other “Kingly” references during Jesus’s earthly life. As he stood before Pilate, Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” And toward the end of his earthly life, Jesus was crucified with the inscription “King of the Jews” hanging over his head.

Prayer

King of Glory,
come and make Your dwelling here.
Come in to save, to
help, to heal. I open wide my heart,
and before You now I kneel. May
You reign in me.