Almost There
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Almost There
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
The image of the nativity is such a powerful image this time of year. So much so that it is given a lot of negative attention too. Many try to tear down the image as they feel offended by the birth of Christ for the Christ child also brings division and guilt for our actions and accountability. People do not want these feelings of accountability and therefore for this reason, many fight to remove the nativity from our culture and try to take the Christ out of Christmas. However, even still the nativity scene remains and continues to remind us of how we are almost there to the end of all suffering.
At the precise time in which the child should be born, a census was commanded for all of Rome. Everyone was to return to their home towns to pay their tax and to be counted. Joseph and Mary were not yet married but pledged to be married. She was pregnant at the time which in itself gave an image of scandal and gossip as a woman should not be pregnant if she was not first married in the culture of that time. Unfortunately, today this is a normal part of life. But back then this was not normal. No one ever heard of a virgin getting pregnant though nor has anyone heard of that today. However, she was and while she was very pregnant, they had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem since Joseph belonged to the house and line of David. The distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem was approximately 80 miles. Under normal circumstances this would take about 4 days to travel there. However, these were not normal circumstances. They would have to travel slower due to Mary’s health and being so close to the end of her pregnancy. While everyone else would have arrived to Bethlehem sooner, Mary and Joseph most likely would have arrived late.
You can imagine the thoughts in their head as they traveled. What if the baby came while traveling on the road. It was potentially a dangerous trek and without shelter and support it would be very difficult. I can imagine that they had been praying that this baby would hold on before coming. However, because Mary and Joseph would have arrived so late there was no guest room left for them as the rooms were all taken. Contrary to popular belief and current tradition, Mary and Joseph were not forced to stay outside in the cold to give birth. In those days you would protect your wealth by keeping it in your home so this meant at night your animals would be brought into your house and an area would be partitioned off for them so that they would be protected. There would then be a primary living quarter and a guest room. Since they took longer to arrive, the guest room was already taken in all of the homes and all that was left was the area for the animals in the home. For this reason, Jesus had no crib but all that there was, was a feeding trough where the animals ate. It was cleaned out and fresh straw or hay applied for a bed and he was swaddled to keep warm and laid in that manger to rest. He seemed like just an ordinary baby with nothing special about him and yet this baby has been the most popular baby the world has ever known. There is a lot of controversy right now going on because the Creation Museum in Cincinnati Kentucky is changing their nativity scene to no longer reflect the traditional scene of a stable outside with animals. There are all of these people complaining who know nothing about the Bible and claiming that the Creation Museum is trying to change the Bible. However, the Creation Museum has always prided itself on accuracy and all historical studies and archeological studies reveal that this “traditional” scene is not what it would have been. Therefore, they are changing their nativity to match closer to what most likely it would have been. Believe it or not, there really was no Inn in Bethlehem. However, this word was used in early translations to explain the story in a way that people could understand since they would not understand keeping animals inside the home. Luke though gives us a more proper understanding that there was no room in any of the guest rooms because they arrived so late.
Imagine if Mary and Joseph would have arrived on time when guest rooms were still available. The story would have been completely different. The prophecies would never have been fulfilled. For God said through the prophets that the Messiah would be born where the animals laid. Imagine if Rome never had called for a census. There would be no reason for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem and again the baby would not be born in the City of David and therefore once again prophecy would not be fulfilled. It is amazing how God uses people who have no knowledge of him but he uses their actions and desires focused on self to fulfill his plans that are focused on serving the entire world. People have free will to do as they choose and yet God can still guide and point a use the complexity of human choice to carryout his plans. Imagine if there was a guest room available and the Shepherds would have no distinguishing image to see for them to tell that this was the newborn King. The only distinguishing feature that the shepherds were given was that the baby would be lying in a manger. Jesus was the only baby in the manger and since he looked just like any other baby, he had no crown or halo around him, the manger was the only means in which for the shepherds to find him.
Imagine though now the time is near. Mary hoping that they would make it in time. The angels encouraging her, “you’re almost there.” The angels appear to the shepherds announcing a savior “look you’re almost there.” Your almost there to the world’s redemption story. We all know that Christ has already come and he has already completed his task here on earth. However, we also know another thing. He will come again. We also know something else. Because we believe in him, when we die, we will be with him. So here is the truth for all of us this Christmas. “We’re almost there.” We are almost to there to witness for ourselves the reward of redemption given to us by this little child. So be patient everyone, because you’re almost there.