My wife and I take two different approaches when wrapping gifts at Christmas time. She is a connoisseur of decorative packaging, a guru of gift presentation, a wizard of wrapping, a master of ribbons and bows—well, you get the idea. She takes delight in a gift well-wrapped. 

In her mind, taking the time to find the perfect wrapping paper, matching bows and ribbons, and other embellishments, and then styling it all together is part of the gift itself.  It is her hope that the beauty of the gift will make its receiver feel special.  I think the gifts she wraps just look very good under the tree.

I, on the other hand, have been known to wrap gifts with a cut-up brown paper bag or the Sunday comics (at times in the past when I actually subscribed to the printed media) tied up with brown twine. The wrapping is just going to be torn and thrown away, right?

The good news is that gift-giving at Christmas, no matter how well-wrapped, is more than a joyful tradition.  Yes, we think of Santa Claus or, if we have any religious heritage, Saint Nicholas.  Better yet, we think of the Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus. And, if we are not totally distracted by the commercialization of Christmas, we remember the real reason for the season — to celebrate the gift of a Savior.

Come to think of it, Jesus came gift-wrapped, too, in swaddling clothes.  In Luke 2:7, we read, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”  Later in Luke 2:12, an angel of the Lord uses that same word again, “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Swaddling clothes?  I don’t think I have ever heard those words in any other context than the birth of Jesus. I have never heard of “swaddling” except when used with clothes, and I have never heard of “swaddling clothes” except in Luke chapter 2.  One thing I have heard is that every word in Scripture is significant and has meaning and purpose. 

 So what’s up with “swaddling?”

You are not gonna believe it!

It turns out that the “swaddling” clothes are about more than just a baby wrapped in a blanket.  Those shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night were told by angels that a Savior had been born that day in the City of David (Bethlehem), and they could find Him when they found a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Hmmm, this swaddling thing must mean something.

Indeed, it does.

At that time, it was the Jewish custom to wrap newborn lambs who were to be offered for sacrifice at Passover in “swaddling clothes” to keep them clean and free from spots or blemishes. And that is why a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes would be a sign for these shepherds — here was a newborn baby swaddled like a Passover lamb, a baby who would grow up to be the sacrificial Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

Now, I know why the hymnist wrote the verse in O Holy Night: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

Every word in the Bible matters.  And, so, too, apparently, does the gift wrapping.