The Shark at the Manger

A Shark at the Manger
You’ve heard of the shepherds and the magi, the angel chorus, the fourth wise man, and the little drummer boy; but have you heard of the shark at the manger? This year’s Christmas pageant at South Congregational Church on Cape Cod inspired a shark to give homage to the baby Jesus. Our congregation’s minister of children’s and youth faith formation gathered the church school classes on the first Sunday of Advent to assign roles for the upcoming Christmas pageant. Sensitive to the importance of youth and children following their deepest desires as essential to faith formation, she asked the assembled children to choose parts for the pageant. No doubt, she anticipated the usual cast of Christmas characters – Mary and Joseph, shepherds and sheep, magi and camels, and angels, but one little boy announced without hesitation, “I want to be a shark!”

Obviously, this boy hadn’t read the script of the gospel stories or the many legends surrounding Jesus’ birth. Nowhere in the written accounts of the Christmas story do we find sharks in Bethlehem. Nor did the little boy realize that it’s a physical impossibility for a shark to take a pilgrimage through the arid wilderness to see the holy child. Sharks are sea creatures and no shark could have survived the journey to Bethlehem! But, that Sunday morning, a little boy, dressed in a shark costume, walked in the processional to the manger accompanied by shepherds, sheep, and angels, and magi. The congregation chuckled at the sight, but many got the point that in the spirit of Jesus’ birth even a shark belongs at the manger.
Perhaps in his own four year old way, this child captured the message of Christmas: God’s good news, embodied in the birth of a child, transforms the whole earth and reveals God’s love for all creation. In a world of improbable births, angelic visitations, and stars that guide strangers from the East, nothing is impossible. In a story that’s unbelievable to all literalists, whether they describe themselves as biblical fundamentalists, skeptics, or scholars, there’s no room for the mysteries of Christmas, and no room for sharks. But, if you’re open to wonder, even a shark might find its way to glorify God for Jesus’ birth. Moreover, if God’s creative wisdom can’t include the great white or hammerhead sharks, what hope is there for the rest of creation?
In a conversation with this four year old, who just happens to be my grandson, I asked him if someday he’d like to write a storybook with his writer grandfather, he said “yes” and responded that he would call it “God loves sharks.” When I pressed him to elaborate on the scope of our writing project, he continued, “God loves sharks and God loves everything.” Out of the mouths of little children, or as scripture says, out of the mouths of babes, comes great theological wisdom!
Many people see God’s love as limited and conditional. They think God only loves human beings and that God’s care seldom extends beyond human interests. But, that’s not the message of Christmas or the child who grew up to be our teacher and healer. Jesus proclaimed that we don’t need to be anxious about our lives because God cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Psalm 148 speaks of “sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost,” fulfilling God’s command. Job speaks of leviathan as God’s wondrous creation, a reflection of divine wisdom and artistry. Everything is summed up in one great word of joy that concludes the Psalms, “let everything that breathes praise God!” (Psalm 150:6) Christmas is about hospitality and that includes welcoming a shark to the manger.
If he had greater knowledge of sea creatures, might Job have lifted up the great white or hammerhead as examples of divine creativity? Would the prehistoric megalodon, sporting in the sea, have captivated Job’s imagination and inspired a sense of awe at God’s grandeur on earth, sea, and sky? Would Job have included the ravenous great white along with leviathan and behemoth as revelations of divine majesty?
The Christmas story, in its many facets, both scriptural and legendary, speaks of a little child’s birth as cosmic. Baby Jesus’ birth is heralded by angels and sheep, and a star animated by divine wisdom inspires the magi’s pilgrimage. In the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel, radical amazement is the most appropriate response to the Christmas message. And, so this Christmas, let’s make room for a shark at the manger and rejoice at the creative wonders of God’s love.