Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle.
You ever sleep in a barn??? I have...It's pretty cozy and comfortable...Besides, how likely is it that an Inn in biblical times would provide a cradle for a newborn baby??? And it's sure unlikely Joseph and Mary had room on the donkey to carry one...
suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far off land. Dignitaries in dress uniform lavish the newborn with expensive gifts that seem out of place in the humble surroundings.
Another Catholic bit of mis-information...The Wise Men were not present at the birth of Jesus...They later visited Jesus at his home...
Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
No, He is the universal king, the ruler of all, who has come to tear down the hostile wall dividing Jew from Gentile, nation from nation.
NO...He has come to bring salvation and the Kingdom to the Jews...
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
If you’ve ever wondered what the word “Catholic” means, here we have it. Derived from Greek words meaning “according to the whole,” it means that Christ did not come to establish some local religious sect for a select few, one “cult” among many. No, the Church he founded is “Catholic” or universal, spread over the whole world, welcoming the whole human race into one nation, one family, under one King.
Incorrect again...Catholic is a 'Proper' name given to a specific religion...The word (c)atholic, with a small c is the universal, called out church...Catholic describes your church...catholic describes the body of called out believers, regardless of what church they attend...
Something else about these illustrious visitors: as Gentiles, they are pagans. In fact the term “Magi” is clearly linked to the word “magic.” It was not in the Bible that they normally looked for wisdom (otherwise they would have known to go straight to Bethlehem). But in reward for their ardent, though perhaps misguided, search for truth, God led them to Christ anyhow, in His great mercy.
These wise men weren't just pagans...They were oriental mystics...They knew OT prophecy about the KING and they likely had spiritual insights that the average pagan knows nothing about...And they were of course, led by God...
**Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.**
This is later. Perhaps Mary and Joseph had moved the Holy Infant in a few days. We really don’t know. But the shepherds came to worship Jesus in a cave.