What we read this morning was the part of the
story of the first Christmas Eve. At the time, of course, no one knew it
was Christmas Eve. Nobody knew it was anything. It was just another
day, a day just like any other day, as far as anyone knew.
Now for Mary and Joseph, it was not just another day.
It was the day their baby, their first child, was going to be born.
And you know, it’s interesting, considering how big Christmas is for us
today, that the Bible really does not make a big deal out of it. The
gospels of Mark and John don’t even deal with it. We don’t get any of
Jesus’ birth story there. As we talked last week, Matthew just deals with
it very briefly, about eight verses. Luke is the only one of the gospel
writers that goes into any detail at all about that first Christmas. And
when you really look at this story, you realize that there are a lot of things
about it that we don’t know. There are also some things we think we know
that the Bible does not actually say.
We know that Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to
Bethlehem shortly before Jesus was born. That was a trip of about seventy
or eighty miles. It’s estimated that it would’ve taken them at least four
days, on foot, to make that trip. Of course, Mary was not far from giving
birth, so she may have needed to rest more frequently, which would’ve made the
trip longer. We always illustrate their trip with Mary riding a donkey,
but the Bible does not mention a donkey. For all we know, Mary and Joseph
may have both walked all the way, carrying whatever provisions they could.
The Bible does not say anything about whether they were
traveling with anyone or if they were on their own. It makes sense that
there might have been some others there. The road from Nazareth to
Bethlehem was a dangerous one, with both wild animals and human criminals lying
in wait for travelers. There’d be safety in numbers. Besides, Mary
and Joseph cannot have been the only ones who had to travel to Bethlehem, the
city of David, for the census. It seems like there would have to have
been some others. If so, they probably would’ve traveled together.
We always imagine Jesus’ birth as having come the first
night after Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem. And that may be how it
worked out, but the Bible does not say so. Luke simply says, “While they
were there, the time came for the baby to be born.” They may have already
been in Bethlehem for a while, we don’t know. We don’t know that Jesus
was born at night, either. We know the angel appeared the shepherds at
night, but that does not necessarily mean the baby was born then.
The chances are that Joseph and Mary were not the only ones
who could not find a room, either. Bethlehem was a small town. And
of course, back then there was no such thing as a hotel the way we think of
them now. There were people who had a few rooms they would rent out.
There probably were not a whole lot of rooms available under the best
circumstances, and of course there was no way for people to call ahead and make
a reservation. I would imagine there were lots of other people who took
whatever shelter they could find. Some probably could not find any, and
simply had to camp out in the open. Joseph and Mary may have been among
the lucky ones, really. At least they had shelter.
So why am I going through all this? Well, a couple of
reasons. One of them is to just make the point that when we read the
Bible, we need to be a little bit careful. There are a lot of times when
we assume things that the Bible does not actually say. Sometimes our
assumptions may be justified, but sometimes they’re not. And when they’re
not, when we start thinking that the Bible says things it does not actually
say, we can run into trouble. And I’ve been guilty of that, too,
sometimes. I’m trying to get better about it, but it’s something most of
us do sometimes. And it’s a trap, because it can lead us to think we’re
following God’s word when we’re not.
But the other point is one we’ve made before. When we
read these stories in the Bible, we need to not get bogged down in all the
little details. Instead, we need to always keep a few questions in mind.
Why is this story in the Bible? What am I supposed to learn from
it? What does this story teach me about God and about faith in Jesus Christ?
So, what do you think the answers are? Because this
story could easily have been left out of the Bible. As I said, Mark and
John do leave it out. Matthew deals with it very briefly. So why is
the story of Jesus’ birth in the Bible? What are we supposed to learn
from it? What does this story teach us about God and about faith in Jesus
Christ?
I’m sure I don’t have the whole answer. But here’s
what I think is at least part of the answer.
Jesus truly was born as a human being. He was not an
angel. He was not a supernatural being. Yes, he had some special
powers as the divine Son of God, but he was also fully human. And he was
not born to wealthy people living in a palace. He was not born to people
who were important or well-known or special. He was born to ordinary
people, who lived ordinary lives. And in fact, he was born in conditions
that were not very pleasant at all.
Why is that important? Because all this tells us one
thing about Jesus Christ: he understands. He knows what it’s like
to leave as a human being. He knows what it’s like to live an ordinary
human life. He knows what it’s like to have to work hard. He knows
what it’s like to have to struggle. He knows what it’s like to be a kid.
He knows what it’s like to be an adolescent. He knows what it’s
like to be an adult. Jesus knows what all of that is like, because he
experienced it himself. Jesus understands the things we go through as
human beings.
And because Jesus was human, Jesus also understands our
emotions. He understands our feelings. He knows what it’s like to
be angry or frustrated. He knows what it’s like to be depressed. He
knows what it’s like to feel alone. He also knows what it’s like to be
happy. He knows what it’s like to feel love. He knows what it’s
like to be happy or sad, to laugh or to cry. Jesus knows all those
things, because he went through them all himself. Jesus understands
everything we feel as human beings.
And because Jesus understands that, we know that God
understands it, too. Because Jesus is God--God the Son. Anything
Jesus knows, God knows. Anything Jesus understands, God understands.
So whatever you’re going through, know that God understands it.
But why is that important? I mean, it’s nice, I
guess. It’s nice to know that God understands what we’re going through.
But how does that help? How does God’s understanding change
anything? After all, we still have to go through what we’re going
through. What difference does God understanding it make?
Well, in a sense, we all have to answer that question for
ourselves. Because what our answer is depends on how we see God and on
how much faith we have in God. If we think God really does not care about
us much, if we think God just sits in heaven observing things and not doing
anything about them, if we think God is not involved in our day-to-day lives,
then it probably makes no difference at all. We’ll still think we have to
get through whatever we’re going through on our own.
But if we believe that God does care about us, if we
believe that God loves us, and if we believe that God does get involved in our
day-to-day lives, then it makes all the difference in the world. It does
not mean that God will magically take us out of our situation and solve all our
problems. But it does mean that, whatever we’re going through, we can
count on God to help us get through it. God will help us get through and
God will see us through to the other side. It’s like what it says in the
Twenty-third Psalm. “Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
God does not promise to keep us out of the dark valleys. God just
promises to be with us when we’re in those dark valleys and help us get through
them into the light.
We think, now, that Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day are supposed to be days of joy. But they were not
completely days of joy for Joseph and Mary. Yes, I’m sure they were happy
that their son was born and that he was okay, but the circumstances of Jesus’
birth were not exactly what first-time parents would have in mind.
Joseph and Mary went through some tough
times. What we read today was only part of it. But through all
their tough times, they knew that God was with them. They knew God would
help them get through their tough times, and that God would ultimately bring
them into the light. And God will do that for you and me, too.
I hope this Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day are days of joy for you. But if they’re not, know that God
understands. Know that God will be there for you. And know that,
whatever you may be going through, God will see you through it.
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