Ok let’s review Mary once more: Conception by the Holy Spirit; a law that should have put her to death; a 9 day journey with no one to talk to; a husband to be that was determined to divorce her quietly; wait no, Joseph heard from an angel of the Lord so back to Nazareth for a hurried wedding and 5 months pregnant. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to take that journey! Did Mary want to take that journey? She is some kind of superwoman, but no, I don’t think so! She must have been exhausted. And then at the end of her 3rd trimester, the news came! Caesar Augustus issued a censor!
Remember all of Israel is occupied by Rome. And when the Romans said, “Jump, you jumped!” Of course, Bethlehem was the lowest of low backwoods in the Roman Empire! Why be counted? It’s all economics, the Empire wanted to know how many able bodied men lived in Bethlehem to collect taxes from. What does the Roman Empire care about the sick, the poor or the pregnant? Every one must go home! I can almost hear Mary, “A what, Joseph?”… “Well honey, we have to go back to Bethlehem!” I can only imagine this 9 month pregnant young woman, “Bethlehem, now?” What do you think Mary is saying now? …may it be to me as you have said? Or, my soul magnifies the Lord? I don’t think so! What do you think she is praying to God? Something like, “How could you? I can’t handle this. God why? Was Mary thinking, this is a journey that I don’t want to make.
Remember this is a 9 day journey over 3 mountain ranges. Maybe even longer with Mary so far along. And though I am sure that Joseph would not have had Mary take this trip without a creature walking her, the scriptures never speak of a donkey.
The rest of the story we know well: Mary and Joseph come to the Holiday Inn and are told, you can have the baby in the parking garage. You know the place where you keep your mode of transportation-the stable! Oh we love this part of the story, Mary and Joseph are second class citizens ready to birth the Christ Child; God will show the people, Jesus will be born in a stable. Mary likely did not see the joy of the paradox her descendant disciples see 2000 years later.
By now I hope that some of you are asking, “If Joseph was really from Bethlehem, why couldn’t they just go to his family’s house to stay? Why did they have to go to a hotel?” Good question and the answer is that they likely did go to Joseph’s family’s house. The word used for “inn” here is kataluma. And my friends, it is not the same as “inn” or hotel. That word is used three times in the gospel, once when Jesus asked the disciples to find a room for the Passover – the Lord’s Supper. This is not the same word.
Continue on.... 1 | 2 | 3
