Thoughts for the Day

Luke 2:1-5 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

Luke, the historian, carefully timestamps his narrative.  But still, by current reporting standards, there is so much detail left out.  Who arrived when, how many, where and for how long did they stay, when exactly was the birth, where was Jesus circumcised, when did they flee and for how long?  We are so used to getting so much detail, we can feel frustrated without it.  But let’s focus on what this snapshot tells us rather than on the gaps.  We don’t know how long before Jesus’ birth Mary and Joseph set off from Nazareth for Bethlehem, but we know they did and not by choice.  The journey would take days, and they must surely have calculated that Jesus was likely to be born while they were away.  It sounds desperate for Mary, and there is worse to come when they discover there is no suitable accommodation.  Even if God had explained why to them beforehand (and there is no suggestion He did), they had to live through the discomfort and uncertainty of the experience.  How did it feel to them?  Unexpected difficulties one on top of another, things not always working out as planned or hoped, somehow managing through … and only afterwards being able to look back and see God’s provision and something of His unfolding plan.  There is something familiar about this pattern!  And I suspect for many something very familiar at this time, except that we’ve yet to reach the “afterwards” from which we can look back.   It is comforting to know we are not alone – and not simply to know that others are sharing our current trials, nor that others have gone through similar or worse before us, but to know that our loving God remains with us and for us and active.  We can count on it!