The word "manger" appears just once in the Bible. It shows up in the Gospel of Luke, where Mary took Jesus and "laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
The word "manger" is Latin. It means "to eat" — like the Italian word "mangiare."
In other words, a "manger" is not a stable. It's a place inside the stable where the animals feed.
It's where living creatures go to be nourished.
For Christians, the upper room where Jesus led his apostles was a type of "manger" as well. The apostles thought they were going there to share a Passover meal. They had no idea the meal was to be Jesus himself — just as it must have startled the goats in the stable to discover the Christ child was their supper.
Jesus was not only the Last Supper, he was the First Meal. In fact, you could make a case that his life was simply one grand manger scene; he was where the hungry went for food. And when the hungry came, Jesus offered himself as the main course.
"I am the bread of life," he told them.
When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the 5,000, wasn't he also saying, "There's plenty of me to go around"?
When he cooked fish for the apostles after his resurrection, wasn't he telling them, "I'm still here to nourish you"?
It's interesting that the only tangible item mentioned in the Lord's Prayer is "bread." It makes me wonder if Jesus didn't mean the word to also have a spiritual meaning. Couldn't the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread" also be a plea for spiritual nourishment?
I think it may have.
And if so, it is a plea that's answered daily in our lives a dozen ways.
For, in a sense, the world itself is a "spiritual manger." It brims with spiritual nutrition — especially this time of year. Every act of service is a "serving" of spiritual food. Every kind wish and charitable donation is an item on the smorgasbord.
Unlike "groceries," spiritual food has no expiration date. It doesn't require a food handler's permit or a business license.
And everything that is, is "spiritually" edible.
The stars at night are a spiritual meal, the sunset a banquet.
And though our bodies might cringe at the thought of eating stones, our spirits dine on them freely — from the majestic red rocks of southern Utah to the soft-sculpture stones in Timpanogos Cave.
At one point in the Gospel of John, the apostles become worried because Jesus hasn't eaten. He tells them: "I have meat to eat that ye know not of," then goes on to explain that his "meat" is doing the will of God.
In other words, Jesus had a "hidden stash" that kept him going. He found nutrition in prayer, teaching and acts of compassion.
Christians today carry that same hidden stash with them. The devout eat from it every day. The very best "multiply" their spiritual food — like loaves and fishes — and share it with others.
They do such things because it is the will of God. For Christians today — like those early apostles and goats at the manger — true spiritual food goes beyond a mere appreciation for life. They nourish themselves on the "Bread of Life" himself.