Do We Love the Manger but Fear the Message?
Philipose Vaidyar
Prophets and reformists have always been uncomfortable
people.
Not because they shout.
Not because they rebel for attention.
But because they refuse to stay silent when truth is diluted.
They do not arrive with entertainment.
They arrive with disruption.
History shows a pattern that refuses to change.
God raises voices when systems rot.
Religion hardens.
Power protects itself.
Comfort becomes sacred.
The prophet speaks.
The reformist acts.
The system reacts.
First, they are ignored.
Then they are ridiculed.
Later, they are resisted.
Finally, they are removed.
Rarely are they welcomed.
Never are they rewarded while alive.
Ask an honest question.
Is there a prophet—other than Jonah—whose preaching led an entire people to
repent and change their ways?
Jonah spoke.
Nineveh trembled.
Repentance followed.
That story stands out because it is rare.
Most prophets preached and were rejected.
Some were mocked.
Some were chased.
Some were silenced.
Another question worth asking.
How many prophets were offered a room to stay and a meal to eat?
A few widows.
A few women.
That is all.
Elijah lived because a widow shared her last meal.
Elisha was given a small upper room by a woman who recognized the man of God.
John the Baptist lived in the wilderness.
No feast halls welcomed him.
No religious leadership invited him in.
Truth does not get hospitality.
It gets tolerated—until it threatens comfort.
From Elijah to John the Baptist.
From Christ to today.
Those who disturb the settled order are treated the same.
We love feeding and being fed.
We enjoy drinking and making others drink.
We celebrate, decorate, sing, eat, and move on.
Merry-making is easy.
Repentance is not.
We say we want truth.
What we actually want is confirmation.
We want sermons that soothe, not search.
Messages that bless our comfort, not challenge our compromise.
“Speak the truth in love,” we say.
But love, when honest, disturbs.
Love exposes.
Love demands change.
Truth spoken in love still hurts when it touches infection.
Jesus was not rejected for lack of miracles.
He was rejected for exposing hypocrisy.
He questioned religious monopolies.
He offered freedom without permission.
They did not crucify Him because He healed.
They crucified Him because He refused to bow.
Christmas celebrates His coming.
But would we accept Him if He came again today?
We love the baby in the manger.
We struggle with the King who demands repentance.
Will you eat and drink, feed others and pour for them—or
will you pause to ponder whether this Christmas calls for more?
“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
— John 3:19
Question to ponder:
If Christ speaks today—not to entertain us, but to confront us—would we still
make room for Him, or would we prefer another season of celebration without
transformation?
Is Jesus the medium, or the message?
Is He the channel, or the meaning?
At Christmas, God does something radical.
The Sender becomes the medium.
The medium becomes the message.
God does not merely send words.
He sends Himself.
In Christ, truth is not announced.
It is embodied.
Which leaves us with an unsettling question.
If Christ is the message made flesh, what are we becoming?
Are we only carriers of words, traditions, and celebrations?
Or are our lives becoming the message others read?
Should our lives speak louder than our sermons?
Should obedience matter more than our platforms?
Should transformation matter more than transmission?
So this Christmas—
will you eat and drink, feed others and pour for them—
or will you pause to ponder whether your life reflects the message you
celebrate?
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
— John 1:14
Final question to ponder:
If God chose to communicate through a life, what is He saying through yours?
Click here for the Malayalam version: https://pveespost.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-post_24.html
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