IF WE MAKE IT THROUGH DECEMBER

 

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

 

IF WE MAKE IT THROUGH DECEMBER

 

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.

 

          We are more than half-way through the month of December and by now some of us are singing along with Merle Haggard “if we make it through December.” The song, released in 1973, has become one of his signature songs because it highlights hardship, sacrifice, and resilience.

          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.  Mr. Strange estimates that Joseph and Mary would likely 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 a census.

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