Messy Misconceptions

It was a cave-like barn. They were isolated --alone with no help. They were outcasts deplorable men. There were only 3 magi and they arrived right after the shepherds.

We are in a constant struggle of trying to wrap our modern minds around a middle eastern Jewish birth that happened 2000 years ago.

We live in a society where we are encouraged to focus on our emotional  selves and apply that frame to everyone in everything we read or hear.

We think about Mary and how she must have felt. We think about Joseph and how he felt. We think about the lonely couple making a long journey only to be rejected by everyone.

Why don't we think about Mary and Joseph as a couple-whose marriage was probably arranged? Why don't we talk about what even a quiet divorce would mean for Mary's family? Have you ever wondered if Mary was sent to stay with Elizabeth so that the two expecting mothers could help each other?

We need only to look back into Exodus to note some important things about Hebrew births.  Let's look at another baby boy who lived under the threat of immediate death--Moses.  We learn that generally Hebrew women were assisted by midwives.  (Chapter 1).  Moses was nursed by his mother without Pharaoh's daughter connecting the two could be related. It was common for Hebrew women to nurse babes other than their own (Chapter 2).  Hebrew women mothered in community. I highly doubt Mary was a poor young woman giving birth for the first time all alone.

Why do we so easily forget why Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem?  He wasn't trying to fulfill the prophecies concerning his "son." Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem because he was ordered to report to his city of origin.  I want you to imagine all of your family being told to report to your great-great-great-great grandfather's home. Not just you and your cousins but all of his great-great-great grandchildren and their spouses and their children from familes you have never even heard of. My mother's family is large enough that we rent a hall for our Christmas gathering and that is only 3 generations. Everyone who could trace their roots to King David was to report to Bethlehem.

O Little Town of Bethlehem was bursting at the seams. It was loud. It was crowded. And strangers were actually family needing a place to sleep.  I imagine bed rolls laid out like carpet in every room of every house. (An introvert's nightmare.) Honestly the stable (which was possibly just the lower level of the house where family animals were housed for the night think donkeys, cows, etc.) may have been the quietest and calmest room available.  The men may have been keeping the animals out of the way while the mothers, aunts, and cousins bustled around Mary helping her through the birthing process. A handful of women were helping wipe her brow, hold her hands, guide his head, encourage her, pray for them, clean up Jesus, clean up Mary, and all the things others do for women when they give birth. Women who quickly and quietly slipped back to caring for their own families as mother and son settled in to rest and recover.

Shepherds were alert, making rounds-checking the perimeter for predators and thieves while the sheep in their care rested.  Chances are some of these sheep were being cared for until (if unblemished) they were sold to be a temple sacrifice.  I have read articles and books about the shepherds in the Nativity story and the information just felt off.

Shepherds were poor, disgusting, uneducated men held in low regard.  This view fits very well with our society and even with Roman Society of that time, but it doesn't fit with rest of the account of our God and our savior.  God gave Adam the task of caring for animals. Abraham was a shepherd, Jacob was a shepherd. Moses was a shepherd. David was a shepherd. Amos was a shepherd.  These are hardly lowly men-- they are the patriarchs of God's people. Jesus calls himself the good shepherd in John 10:11.

God gave the shepherds the job of speading the gospel. Luke says those they told marvelled at the things the Shepherds said--Which means--they believed them!  Why would you believe someone with a terrible reputation giving you unbelievable news, unless...the unbelievable news came from a reliable source?

Which brings us to the other source of the same information--Magi from the East.  These men studied prophecies and watched for physical evidence of each prophecy.  They began a journey that would take some time. In their caravan they were packing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  There may have been 2 magi or a dozen.  Scripture never numbers the magi--we did. We assumed that the magi bringing the gifts--must each have their own gift to bring. (Remember how we individualize things.) There were 3 gifts mentioned so there must have only been 3 magi.  Wise men carrying such precious commodities were definitely travelling in a well armed large caravan.  Large caravans travel slowly.

Jesus was probably not a fresh little newborn in crowded Bethlehem when the magi arrived.  Joseph and Mary appear to have stayed in Bethlehem for a while.  The registration process may have taken some time. They may have been making a new home away from pregnancy rumors. Whatever the reason, Matthew 2  tells us that the Magi found the young child in a house with his mother Mary.

As a veteran of childcare: toddlers aren't yet kids but you better not call them babies. I think Jesus may have been a toddler by the time the wisemen found him.  This fits with Herod's edict to kill all baby boys 2 years old and younger.

This Christmas I challenge you to read the Nativity story with a new perspective--no perspective!  Ask God to open your heart to the truth in the scriptures and give you a fresh appreciation for that glorious beautiful holy night.