I like to wonder about that first Christmas...

I like to wonder about that first Christmas...

Mary, a young girl, pregnant before she was married. But not by the usual means. I would be shocked if she did not bear the brunt of shaking heads and the gossips wagging tongues.

"She SAYS they were not intimate. But we all know how babies come to be. It doesn't "just happen" out of nowhere. "Bah, an angel appeared to her? She's one of us! What makes her think she is so special?"

Traveling with Joseph. A man not the father of her baby. A man who also must have been the target of gossip and judgement. Perhaps pity. 

"If he would just be honest, we could forgive him. If he is not the father of the baby, why would he marry her?" 

Why? Because Joseph was a man who loved Mary. He was a man who loved God and trusted Him more than than he worried about what the neighbors and townspeople thought.

I imagine they planned for him to be the father of the baby who opened her womb, but God had another plan. And because Mary said "I am the servant of the Lord", and Joseph got up from a dream and took her as his wife, they ended up journeying to Bethlehem while she was "great with child".

I once heard someone say "there is only one degree of pregnancy, either you are or you are not". In theory that may be true. But, experientially, having been pregnant, I respectfully disagree.

I have seen the pictures that show Mary riding a donkey. I have never ridden a donkey, but I have been "great with child" and I cannot imagine climbing onto a donkey's back, let alone riding one at that point. So in my mind I see her and Joseph walking, maybe hand in hand, talking, planning, silently pondering what was behind them, wondering what lay ahead.

I cannot fathom the depths of emotions each felt;

Mary, a first time mother far away from all that was familiar. Joseph, accepting the role of father to a child that wasn't his, but was entrusted to his care. In the process of adjusting to married life. Forgoing physical intimacy. Getting the news they would have to travel late in Mary's pregnancy. What do we take with us? What happens if the baby comes while we are on the road? Who will help us when the time comes?

The streets in Bethlehem were bustling. There was jostling, bumping, as there inevitably is in a crowd. I can see Joseph protecting Mary from unnecessary contact. I imagine his hopeful face as he went to the first place, looking for a place for his young wife to deliver this child. I see changes in his countenance as they are turned away, time after time after time. A surge of energy returning when one innkeeper allows them to bed down in the stable. It is not ideal. He really wanted a room for them. 

But clean straw is available. 
The warmth of the animals will help keep the chill away. And at this point, being away from the crowds is a most welcome relief.

the labor process begins

slowly the contractions become regular

gradually they become intense

finally, the urge to push

God's Son is born, 

a newborn cries

a mama and papa rejoice,

perhaps not fully realizing that this newborn baby boy they hold,

well, He really is perfect

And while Mary and Joseph bask in the wonder of their newborn son, angels visit shepherds in a field nearby. One proclaims good news of great joy, "a Savior is born". The shepherds hasten to see the babe swaddled and lying in a manger- a feed trough. Having seen Him, they hurry away, sharing the good news as they go.

Those who heard, wondered.

Mary treasured and pondered.

The shepherds glorified and praised God.
I wonder what Joseph was doing?
I pray the story never loses its wonder in my mind.

"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

Luke 2:15-20

*To get a full report and more juicy details, read Luke chapters 1 and 2.