The Real Birth of Jesus
Luke 2
Jesus was born into poverty. His parents were forced to migrate to a different part of the state by the Empire where they had few resources. When Mary had to give birth there was no room to stay with extended relatives, so they ended up in what is likely a cave behind the house where animals would stay. What humble beginnings for a child that is described as "a Savior who is Messiah and Master," "a God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations," and one who "marks the failure and the recovery of many in Israel."
Over and over Luke says Mary held these things deep in her heart. Very strange and incredible things happened at the birth and beginning stages of Jesus' life. I imagine a skeptic would read this and think these are just stories conflated by Luke after the fact. "Mary didn't tell anyone about these things because they didn't really happen," they would say.
I have a different perspective. When my son was born he slept terribly. Babies have a natural 45 minute to 1 hour sleep cycle, but most babies are able to loop from one cycle to the next without waking. Not my baby, though. He woke every hour of every nap and the most challenging part was that he needed help from his parents to fall back asleep. This insane schedule lasted for almost a year and completely drained us. We couldn't understand how other parents seemed to be so carefree and wide awake! It wasn't until our second child was born and slept for 20 hours a day with no assistance from us that we even realized how very different our first born child was.
I imagine Mary, an unwed, teen-aged mother very well may not have realized that all these events, from angels to sheepherders to Simeon and Anna's prophecies, were all extraordinary signs of God's powerful presence in the life of Jesus. Jesus wasn't just a firstborn baby - he is the son of God. It looks to me that it will take time for the world, and even his own mother, to discover this.
Jesus was born into poverty. His parents were forced to migrate to a different part of the state by the Empire where they had few resources. When Mary had to give birth there was no room to stay with extended relatives, so they ended up in what is likely a cave behind the house where animals would stay. What humble beginnings for a child that is described as "a Savior who is Messiah and Master," "a God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations," and one who "marks the failure and the recovery of many in Israel."
Over and over Luke says Mary held these things deep in her heart. Very strange and incredible things happened at the birth and beginning stages of Jesus' life. I imagine a skeptic would read this and think these are just stories conflated by Luke after the fact. "Mary didn't tell anyone about these things because they didn't really happen," they would say.
I have a different perspective. When my son was born he slept terribly. Babies have a natural 45 minute to 1 hour sleep cycle, but most babies are able to loop from one cycle to the next without waking. Not my baby, though. He woke every hour of every nap and the most challenging part was that he needed help from his parents to fall back asleep. This insane schedule lasted for almost a year and completely drained us. We couldn't understand how other parents seemed to be so carefree and wide awake! It wasn't until our second child was born and slept for 20 hours a day with no assistance from us that we even realized how very different our first born child was.
I imagine Mary, an unwed, teen-aged mother very well may not have realized that all these events, from angels to sheepherders to Simeon and Anna's prophecies, were all extraordinary signs of God's powerful presence in the life of Jesus. Jesus wasn't just a firstborn baby - he is the son of God. It looks to me that it will take time for the world, and even his own mother, to discover this.