No Vacancy

 

Luke 2:1-7

Several years ago, when we were still living in Texas, Pat, the boys, and I attended the Southern Baptist Convention in St Louis.  I don’t recall a lot about the convention; I think we heard Billy Graham.  But I recall the next few days pretty clearly. 

After the convention, my vacation began and we drove north through Illinois.  We stopped in Springfield so the boys could see Lincoln’s home and tomb.  We headed on to Chicago where we saw the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. 

Then we headed back to Missouri where we were going to spend a few days with my mother who lived in Farmington. 

We were about half-way there when our station wagon began to overheat.  The thermostat needed to be replaced.  We bought a thermostat and drove to a roadside park to change it.  Now, back in those days it was fairly easy to change a thermostat.  You just removed two bolts, lifted the housing over the thermostat, removed the defective thermostat and replaced it with a new one.  Once you put the housing and the two bolts back in place you could go on your way.  Of course, this is assuming you don’t lose one of the bolts.

Somehow, I dropped one of the bolts and I simply couldn’t see it anywhere.  I looked, Pat looked.  It wasn’t on the ground under the car and we couldn’t find where it had fallen into the engine.   Later, when we traded in that car, I assumed the bolt was still lodged somewhere safely.

All we could do was limp into the next town and try to find a new bolt.  So we did.  With only one bolt in place, the car lost water quickly.  We had to stop every few miles, let the car cool, and add more water.  By the time we arrived at the next town, the parts stores were closed, early since this was a Saturday.  We were going to have to spend the night so we could go to the one parts store we learned would be open on a Sunday.

For some reason, the motels in town were full.  Only one independent motel had a room.  By the time we found it, it was dark.  Before I agreed to rent the room, I asked to see it.  Even before the manager turned on the light I could see movement on the carpet.  When she turned on the light, roaches headed for cover.  We weren’t going to rent that room.

Our only recourse was to sleep in the car.  But where?  We found a grocery store that stayed open all night.  I explained the situation to the manager and she said we could park there.  She even said we could use their restrooms and they would keep an eye out during the night since we had to unload the car so we could stretch out to sleep.  So, with our possessions on the pavement next to us, we spent the night.  Next morning, a little stiff and scruffy looking, we went to the parts story, bought our $.79 bolt, tightened down the thermostat housing, and went on our way.

Travel can be such fun.

More than any other writer in the New Testament, Luke links his story to people, places, and times.  He does this as he introduces the account of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.  In so doing, he also explains how Joseph and Mary happened to be so far from home.  They weren’t on vacation but they were going to have a memorable journey anyway.

Simply put, the Roman Empire had initiated a census or registration throughout the regions under their power.  Such registrations had two purposes.  First, they allowed the government to collect taxes.  Second, it helped the government know how many men who could be drafted into the army lived in the various provinces.  The Jews were exempt from serving in the Roman army; they were not exempt from paying taxes.  The Romans had a kind of “flat” tax; they said we’re flat going to tax you and you flat better pay it. 

Such registrations didn’t always require people to return to their ancestral homes but, on occasion, they did.  Archaeologists in Egypt discovered such an edict, dating from about a century after this story. 

So, Joseph and Mary set out to Bethlehem because Joseph’s family, descendents of David, considered that their family home.  Why did Joseph take Mary, who was so far along in her pregnancy?  We don’t know.  It may be that there was no other family or friends he could leave her with; perhaps, the whispers of impropriety had caused some to scorn her.   It may be that, knowing the marvelous circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, they felt they should stay together.  I think this may be the most likely explanation for the couple taking the difficult eighty mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

The exact timeline is not spelled out for us but Mary had probably not been there long before she went into labor.  Of course, a woman having a baby was commonplace but most of those women had their children in the warmth and safety of their homes.  Not so Mary. 

As we all know, “there was no room for them in the inn.”  So many had travelled to the little town of Bethlehem, the facility was crowded to the maximum.  It might be better to translate this statement as “there was no place for them in the inn.”  An ancient inn was not like a modern motel with rooms for individuals or families to rent.  The sleeping area in the inn was a large open room where dozens of people might be sleeping.  Often, travelers were expected to bring their own food and bedding; they were paying for a spot, nothing else.  It wasn’t luxury but they were out of the elements.

At least one commentator emphasizes the fact that the word translated “inn” could be translated simply as “dwelling place.”  He concludes that Joseph was turned away by a relative whose house was crowded with family members who had come to pay their taxes.  It’s an interesting theory but I don’t think it has enough merit to displace the traditional account.

 The innkeeper has often been the focus of criticism.  That’s probably unfair.  There was probably little he could do if his inn was full.  We don’t know but it may have been the innkeeper who suggested the couple could use one of the stables.

Ironically, it might have been more comfortable and more private for Mary to have her child in the place where animals were sheltered.  This probably wasn’t the ramshackle wooden stall we see depicted in Christmas plays or on Christmas cards.  Most likely this was one of the many small caves used for this purpose in and around Bethlehem.  If Joseph had been able to gather some clean, dry straw, and throw a blanket down on it, Mary might have been fairly comfortable.  Scholars don’t agree on whether a midwife would have been present.  They often attended births, especially for women giving birth the first time.  But none is mentioned.

Mary wrapped Jesus in “swaddling clothes,” that is she wrapped strips of cloth tightly around him.  Some point to this act as a sign of the couple’s poverty.  Actually, it was standard practice in first-century Palestine.  In fact, here in America new mothers are being taught to wrap their babies in much the same way.  It appears that it gives the baby a sense of security.

As you know, the night’s activities weren’t over but we’re going to talk about that another time.

Instead, let’s examine what Luke has told us this far.

In mentioning Caesar Augustus, Luke is saying something about the world into which Jesus was born.   It was a world where individuals could issue a command and millions would respond, whether they believed it fair or not.  Octavian was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, his uncle, and became the first true emperor of Rome when he defeated Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC.  Under his rule the empire stretched throughout the Mediterranean world.  He helped build the great Roman road system and brought about what came to be known as the “Roman peace,” that period when the empire was free from war and conflict.

For such accomplishments the Senate gave him the title “the August one” Or
“the Reverend.”  Although, his successor claimed to be divine, Octavian doesn’t appear to have done so.  Interestingly, Herod the Great built two temples to honor Augustus as a god.  It was a strange thing for a supposed Jewish king to do, but it was politically motivated since Herod had originally supported Antony.

Augustus ruled with the firm hand needed to maintain control over the vast empire.  Luke mentions Quirinius the governor of Syria.  There’s a problem here since Quirinius did not become governor until after Herod’s death.  There may be a couple solutions.  William Albright believed the record showed that Quirinius had been provincial governor twice.  Others point out that the words could be translated as “this was before Quirinius was governor of Syria.” 

Luke mentions Syria because Palestine was within the province of Syria.  So, these opening words include a twofold reminder of the Jews’ humiliation.  They were under the thumb of the idolatrous Romans and, adding insult to injury, they were identified with their ancient enemy Syria.

To this beaten and subservient people came the reminder that God had not forgotten them.  The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of a centuries-old promise made and remade to Israel.  In fact, God used the edict of an emperor who would have had little regard for the Jews and their dream of a Messiah to help fulfill a specific part of that promise.  Over seven hundred years earlier, Micah had predicted that God’s Anointed would be born in Bethlehem.   God often surprises us; God may even accomplish his purposes through the most unexpected means.

When you and I fret and worry about our lives and what is happening to us, we need to remember this.  When things have changed and we look back at God’s acts of power and grace displayed in our lives through unexpected channels, we might find ourselves saying, “Who would have ever thought it.”

When you and I face tough times, when the situation in which we find ourselves is far from ideal, we need to remember Mary and Joseph.  Of course, they wanted their baby born in a comfortable home, wanted friends and relatives close-by to celebrate when Joseph showed them his son, wanted things to be ideal.  But they learned something that we often need to learn:  Even in the least ideal circumstances God can do the remarkable, the life-changing.  God’s promised Messiah born in a stable: no one in Micah’s day would have imagined that.  With the memories of those angelic visitations in their minds, the manger may have taken Mary and Joseph by surprise.  God wasn’t surprised.

The angel’s words may have been in Mary’s mind when she lay her baby down on the hay in that animal trough, that manger.  When we think of her smiling down at her little one, we need to remember that God calls us to use what we have at hand to serve him.  A broom, a skillet, a pen, a word-processor, a shovel, the most ordinary of items can become a vehicle for serving God. 

The story of Jesus’ birth is a multi-faceted story.  It teaches us much about God’s character, power, and purpose.  As we imagine that manger, it certainly teaches us that God can make the ordinary something sacred.