24*

Tuesday 24 December

Mary and Joseph head to Bethlehem

By Margaret Whittaker

Luke 2.1-5

Looking a little bit into the history of those times and the people involved, we see Caesar Augustus as the head of a great empire of which Israel is an unwilling part.

We have the Herod family ruling Judea as client kings dependant on their position and on their safety by the Pax Romana.

We have Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, a friend of Caesar who has been appointed as Legate in Syria with instructions to assess the province of Judea for taxation. His first duty is to carry out a census to achieve this end.

We have many Jews who hate their pagan overlords, and are in open revolt against the census.

We have a simple couple, Joseph with his wife Mary, coming to register themselves in their ancestral town, the city of  David, as is their civic duty.

We have a situation in Bethlehem that is tense and crowded; the census is unpopular, there is unrest and probably a contingent of of soldiers ready to deal with any trouble. It is not the best place to take a pregnant woman near her term.

It seems that right from the moment of his birth and for the whole of Jesus life there were Jews ready to revolt if they could find a king ready to lead them. No wonder the authorities were nervous and ready to deal so brutally with the Holy Innocents once they were made aware of the birth of a king in Bethlehem.

Right from the beginning of this story the difference is evident between earthly power using force and heavenly power working its quiet way through the simple faith of unimportant people.

Mary and Joseph fulfil their vital part in carrying this precious child to his birth in Bethlehem and later to safety in Egypt. They achieve God’s purpose step by step, walking with Him on the way, not knowing where it will lead them.

As we celebrate that birth with joy this evening we can be sure that peace  will come on earth in spite of the power of weapons and war, and we will be comforted as we see that God does achieve His purposes through the simple obedience of those he trusts to bring them about.

 And now Jesus lives to set us on our path to learn from Him what the Kingdom of Heaven is like and He trusts us to play our part in its creation here, as we walk with Him along the Way.

 “As the rain and snow come down from heaven

and do not return to it without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater

so is my word that goes out from my mouth

it will not return to me empty

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” 

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Luke 2.1-5

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.