TRACKING YOUR PACKAGE!

 

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

 

TRACKING YOUR PACKAGE!

 

Luke 2:3-7

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

          Perhaps you are tracking a package from Amazon. You ordered it online a couple of days ago and you are anxiously waiting for it to arrive. That you are anxiously waiting proves how spoiled we have become because of the speed of modern travel. It is hard to imagine travel during the time of Jesus’ birth.

          The world of Mary and Joseph was a difficult and dangerous place, one whose harsh conditions were not fully chronicled in the Gospel accounts of their travails. Writers of the gospels of Matthew and Luke "are so laconic about the [Nativity] event because they assume the reader would know what it was like," said James F. Strange, a New Testament and biblical archeology professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He added, "we have no idea how difficult it was."

          Joseph and Mary's hardships would have begun more than a week before the birth of their son, when the couple had to leave their home in Nazareth, in the northern highlands of Galilee.  It is estimated that Joseph and Mary likely would have traveled only 10 miles a day because of Mary's impending delivery.

          Historical and archaeological proof of the census, too voluminous to include here, indicate that the census was a local event and not Empire wide. Meticulous British historian, Ramsey, along with Jewish historian, Josephus, both concur that there was indeed a census but few chronicle the difficulty of the journey.

Dear Jesus, let us not discount the sacrifice of your human parents simply because we cannot comprehend it. Thank you for inserting yourself into the human experience. AMEN