Read Online All Things Christmas by E. G. Lewis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: E. G. Lewis
Tags: Non-Fiction
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Christ had an interior guest room. W hen Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem they may have found the guest room in the family member's home where they intended to stay already occupied …most likely by other relatives who had also retur ned to register for the census.
Arrangements w ould then have been made for Mary to give birth in another part of the house, presumably the family living area. Or more likely, whoever was occupying the guest room would vacate it so she could deliver her baby with complete privacy. Either way, it’s safe to assume Mary gave birth to Jesus in side a family home. She also would have had a midwife in attendance along with some of her female relatives. Her extended family would never leave her alone at a time like that.
Luke most probably mentioned the availability of a manger not to emphasize any inadequacy in the conditions of Jesus' birth , but to provide a transition to the shepherds. A nimals were usually brought into adjacent areas of rural homes at night for safety, and in the winter, to provide warmth. If the house was truly overcrowded, the animals could be penned outside and the area swept and cleaned. With fresh straw and a few utensils it would make an adequate overflow area. Recall how often travelers are shown bedding down in the barn in shows such as Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons , etc.
This very well may have been what happened since t he angels identified the manger as the place where the shepherds would find Jesus. M anger s were typica lly carved from stone and measur ed three to four feet in length. Its cavity , cleaned and filled with fresh straw, would be just the right size and height for a baby .
Since they also mentioned the cloth wrappings used for newborns, the angels might have simply been emphasizing the normalcy of His birth circumstances rather than provid ing a means of identifying the baby. In any case, finding the baby lying in a manger, wrapped according to common practice, seemed to have caused no surprise to the shepherds or problem s for the family members present. Jesus ’ birth, surrounded by loving family members , reflected the customs of a humble, F irst C entury existence .
Jesus entered this world in conditions not un common to his time and much of the world today . It was not the picturesque setting that is often portrayed in the Carols and Christmas cards, but it was also not unusual or squalid conditions either .
To impose a Western interpretation on the circumstances of Jesus' birth distort s the reality of the event , the people , and the times . Jesus' birth in a local family home and h is being found in a manger by shepherds is symbolic of his availability to all people, even those whom many of that era would exclude.
Chapter Thirteen
Shepherds Keeping Watch by Night
Shepherds Watching in the Night
“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.” —Luke 2:8-9
Stars of the Christmas Pageant
No Christmas program is complete without its little band of shepherds wandering across the stage or up the Church aisle . Frightened by the angel’s sudden appearance, they marvel ed at the good news and immediately rush ed to Bethlehem to see their Savior-King. As they return to their flocks, they praise God and tell all who will listen about the birth of the chosen Child.
Digging Deeper
They finish spreading the good tidings, leave the stage, and we hardly give them another thought. But why did the announcement come to them at all? Shouldn’t the angels have gone to priests at the Temple instead? Why not notify all the neighboring kings? Who were the se shepherds that they should be the sole eyewitnesses of God’s glory and receive history ’s greatest birth announcement?
No Social Standing
Unlike the priests, i n Christ’s day a shepherd stood on
Arrangements w ould then have been made for Mary to give birth in another part of the house, presumably the family living area. Or more likely, whoever was occupying the guest room would vacate it so she could deliver her baby with complete privacy. Either way, it’s safe to assume Mary gave birth to Jesus in side a family home. She also would have had a midwife in attendance along with some of her female relatives. Her extended family would never leave her alone at a time like that.
Luke most probably mentioned the availability of a manger not to emphasize any inadequacy in the conditions of Jesus' birth , but to provide a transition to the shepherds. A nimals were usually brought into adjacent areas of rural homes at night for safety, and in the winter, to provide warmth. If the house was truly overcrowded, the animals could be penned outside and the area swept and cleaned. With fresh straw and a few utensils it would make an adequate overflow area. Recall how often travelers are shown bedding down in the barn in shows such as Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons , etc.
This very well may have been what happened since t he angels identified the manger as the place where the shepherds would find Jesus. M anger s were typica lly carved from stone and measur ed three to four feet in length. Its cavity , cleaned and filled with fresh straw, would be just the right size and height for a baby .
Since they also mentioned the cloth wrappings used for newborns, the angels might have simply been emphasizing the normalcy of His birth circumstances rather than provid ing a means of identifying the baby. In any case, finding the baby lying in a manger, wrapped according to common practice, seemed to have caused no surprise to the shepherds or problem s for the family members present. Jesus ’ birth, surrounded by loving family members , reflected the customs of a humble, F irst C entury existence .
Jesus entered this world in conditions not un common to his time and much of the world today . It was not the picturesque setting that is often portrayed in the Carols and Christmas cards, but it was also not unusual or squalid conditions either .
To impose a Western interpretation on the circumstances of Jesus' birth distort s the reality of the event , the people , and the times . Jesus' birth in a local family home and h is being found in a manger by shepherds is symbolic of his availability to all people, even those whom many of that era would exclude.
Chapter Thirteen
Shepherds Keeping Watch by Night
Shepherds Watching in the Night
“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.” —Luke 2:8-9
Stars of the Christmas Pageant
No Christmas program is complete without its little band of shepherds wandering across the stage or up the Church aisle . Frightened by the angel’s sudden appearance, they marvel ed at the good news and immediately rush ed to Bethlehem to see their Savior-King. As they return to their flocks, they praise God and tell all who will listen about the birth of the chosen Child.
Digging Deeper
They finish spreading the good tidings, leave the stage, and we hardly give them another thought. But why did the announcement come to them at all? Shouldn’t the angels have gone to priests at the Temple instead? Why not notify all the neighboring kings? Who were the se shepherds that they should be the sole eyewitnesses of God’s glory and receive history ’s greatest birth announcement?
No Social Standing
Unlike the priests, i n Christ’s day a shepherd stood on
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