Luke 2:6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloth.
What does it mean that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling cloth?
Think of the movies and TV shows that have a mummy in them. Dead people were wrapped up in a very tight piece of cloth to preserve the body until burial. A baby was wrapped in a long piece of cloth for a different reason.
It made the baby feel comfortable and safe. Jesus had been inside the womb of Mary for 9 months. That is a very tight, safe and comfortable place for a child to grow. At birth a child is taken out of that warm, secure place into the cold and and insecure light.
Swaddling the baby is calming, safe and warm. It is much more welcoming than an open air room or cave manger.
A baby is fragile. It is an emotional and physical shock for the baby to be rudely taken out of that nice, loving environment so those mothers knew the baby needed the security of a tightly wound cloth.
No comments:
Post a Comment