Child of the Poor

Helpless and hungry,

lowly, afraid.

Wrapped in the chill of midwinter.

Comes now among us, born into poverty's embrace,

New life for the world

Who is this who lives with the lowly,

Sharing their sorrows,

Knowing their hunger?

This is Christ, revealed to the world

in the eyes of a child

"Child of the Poor" is perhaps one of those Christmas carols that I've heard a hundred times but never once stopped to listen to the words. I'm even willing to bet that you're the same way (and if you're not, you can put your head down until the class is finished). I think it's worth going line by line.

"Helpless and hungry, lowly, afraid" 

Sometimes we tend to forget that Jesus was a baby. Not the tiny little smiling statue we usually see in Nativity scenes...a fragile, crying baby. Can a human even be weaker or more fragile than that? 

We often forget that Jesus was human. He had moments of sadness. He got lonely. He was helpless. The King of Kings, Destroyer of Death completely relied 100% on those around him for his very survival. 

Jesus emptied himself of everything, even the ability to feed himself. He emptied himself for us. Jesus truly "lives with the lowly, sharing their sorrows, knowing their hunger"

Jesus lowered himself to become weaker than us, to lift us up from below.

So, this Christmas, go deeper - past the idealistic Nativity set to the reality of a God who became weak for you