"Stripped bare of art forms and liturgy, the literal substance of the story remains: Jesus Christ was born in a stable! He was born of humble parentage in surroundings that are the common lot of those who earn their living by the sweat of their brow. Nothing can rob the common man of this heritage. When he beholds Jesus, he sees in him the possibilities of life for even the humblest and a dramatic revelation of the meaning of God."
p. 246, "The Birth of Jesus," FOR THE INWARD JOURNEY, by Howard Thurman, (1984)