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“Ponder This”

“Ponder This”

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 Christmas Eve – December 24, 2025; May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen. This is the most wonderful time of the year, or so we are told by Johnny Mathis and others. It really is though, even if the turkey didn’t thaw out in time, the kids are hyped up on sugar and dreams of Santa Claus, and the in-laws are about to send you to a therapist’s couch. Yet sometimes when we think about Christmas, we get caught up in the Hallmark version of it – the lights, the carols, the cookies, and the gifts, that when we hear the story of that first Christmas, whether here at church or from Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, it seems so far away from who we are that we lose sight of what it means for us. But the thing is, this story isn’t as foreign to our lived reality as we sometimes make it – and that knowledge helps us to see something we need to know now. The author of Luke, from where Linus and we get the birth story we usually hear on Christmas Eve, sets the scene for us in the midst of human history – it was when a certain ruler was in charge and had commanded a census of “all the world.” Now, just for context, things were difficult in those days – they were indeed a people who walked in darkness (though the prophet Isaiah was speaking about an earlier time). The empire’s taxes were hard, and most labored for their own food. Poverty was crushing most of the people, while a small elite profited off of them and lived lavishly. And there was political unrest caused by an appointed ruler, Herod, a larger than life sort, who the people viewed with suspicion because of his ties to the empire. This is the setting into which God chooses to enter, and there is a lot we can all resonate with in it to be sure – but more on that later. Back to the story itself – this census moves Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a journey of nearly 100 miles (with no trains, planes, or automobiles to get them there). It also likely meant a lot of others were making similar journeys, so as the song goes – there may be No Place Like Home for the holidays, but the traffic really is terrific! And then there is the problem of trying to find places to stay along the way. I have to wonder if Joseph and Mary made their place in Nazareth an Air B&B, given all the folks traveling in the opposite direction. At any rate, all that travel must sound familiar to a lot of folks today who stood in long TSA lines, navigated bumper to bumper traffic, or was trying to figure out where to put everybody who made it home for the holidays. Add to all of that is the fact that Mary is very pregnant! Lordy – that’s gotta be a tough trip. So, back to our Holy Family – they get to Bethlehem, and there is “no room for them in the inn.” Now, that may mean Joe forgot to make reservations (you know that meant a big argument later – right?). But it wasn’t like they had to go to a barn somewhere on the property. Likely, because other guests already took over the host family’s guest rooms, it was sort of like telling them they had to sleep on the old lumpy sofa in the unfinished basement. Homes in those days had a lower level where animals were brought in for the night and in cold weather. That is where the host family had to send Mary and Joseph. If you can imagine that for a moment – it means the house was filled with people – all there for the census taking one supposes. That is a made for Hallmark crazy time moment for sure, that many of you here likely know far too well. And for this couple, who already had a lot going on, sleeping among the animals may have been the most peaceful part of their days – a respite from upstairs where perhaps Joe’s crazy Uncle Roy was getting into it with Grandma Lucy, who had a bit too much eggnog. At least the animals aren’t likely to break out into a fight over politics. From the animals point of view though, this was a nightmare. I mean, first this couple comes down, takes over two of their beds of hay, and dang it – then they have a baby (what a noisy mess) and worse – they put that little human on their food in their manger – yuk! The animals were probably like – What the heck! And as for the birth, you know that was crazy time at the OK Corral. Women upstairs likely came down to help, making things a bit crowded; and birth scenes, even for the virtuous like Mary, are typically not quiet events, despite what the hymn says. Giving birth then, and even today is joyous and noisy. Sadly, it is also dangerous – for both the mother and the child. And after all that – shepherds arrive to tell them that angels appeared in the sky and confirming what the angel had said to Mary at the beginning of this journey. No wonder she pondered it all in her heart – before nodding off for a much needed nap. What a wild family story this probably became over the years, right? I mean, can you...
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