“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same 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 great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

It’s December 23 – the day Christmas preparations go from pressing to panicked. For those of you who have postponed your preparations, time is officially slipping away.  Amazon can’t promise to get your packages to you in time with their 2-day shipping.  If you wait until tomorrow and you’ll be scouring empty shelves with the Wal-Martians.  And if you are committed to giving freshly purchased gifts, please bring me back a Slurpee after your shopping spree at 7-11.

Why do some people wait until the very last minute? Maybe they enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes from 11^th hour shopping. But for most of us, the whole process of Christmas shopping has become just another thing to do in a month-long stretch of having way too many things to do!  I know this ranks right up there among the greatest “First World Problems” of all time, but how did we manage to turn the entire month of December into such a scheduling nightmare?  From the moment the last bite of pumpkin pie left your plate on Thanksgiving we are thrust into a frenzy of shopping, decorating, tree trimming, gift wrapping, party going, Christmas concert attending, ugly sweater wearing, and white elephant gifting that can leave us a frazzled bundle of nerves ready to explode.  Don’t believe me?  Look at your calendar for December.  Are there more words written on it than in a Dickens novel, or does it resemble a detailed map showing General Custer’s retreat?

I rest my case.

The world has really done a number on Christmas. It’s time to take a step back and strive to celebrate Christmas without all the stress and hype.  Join me in hearkening back to a simpler time, when the holiday was far more relaxing.  After all, Mary & Joseph didn’t have to deal with stress like this on that first Christmas.

No. Their stress was altogether different.

Think about their experience, which had started several months earlier; nine to be exact. Mary was visited by Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, who delivered the amazingly unbelievable message of Mary’s pregnancy and of the child she was carrying. Mary is credited with accepting God’s will, but her mind still had to be swimming. How could this be? How will I explain this to my family? How will Joseph react? Of course, God handled everything, but it’s not a stretch to imagine the anxious thoughts that must have crossed their minds as they processed what was happening.

Fast forward to a morning when they woke up to hear the news that the Roman government was requiring them to travel from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph’s family. This meant Joseph was required to put his life on hold, travel about eighty miles with a wife who was expecting their first-born child at any moment just so he would be properly counted for tax purposes.  Knowing that the Romans weren’t terribly forgiving or willing to offer extensions, Joseph and Mary set out on their trip.

In most of the depictions of their travel, we see a solitary picture of the couple making their way to Bethlehem. That would make sense if Rome were updating their tax records one family at a time. However, Luke 2 clearly says that this census was for “the entire Roman world.” This path would have been full of other families forced to uproot their lives for higher taxes. Ever been to an airport filled with grouchy and impatient people or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic while traveling for the holiday? That’s a more likely scenario, just add dirty, physically exhausted people trying to avoid donkey droppings as they struggle to make their way to Bethlehem.

Another common depiction of their trip shows Joseph on foot and Mary riding on their donkey. This makes sense as they make the approximately 90-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. I do have a hard time imagining what would be worse: an 90-mile walk while dragging a donkey, or riding on a donkey being dragged for 80 miles. Before we continue, I should note that I have never been a pregnant woman and have no ability to speak with first-hand experience on what that experience is like. That said, I tend to believe that nothing about this trip was very comfortable for Mary. Then again, Mary’s discomfort can be counter-balanced by Joseph’s exhaustion. Here’s a math word problem: An exhausted husband plus an uncomfortable, pregnant wife equals…

The story features the inability to find a room in Bethlehem, but I would also assume that lodging along the route were also difficult to find on a trip would have taken at least four days to complete without the benefit of rest areas, hotels, fast food, or a Starbucks. So, upon their arrival in Bethlehem, both Mary and Joseph had to be incredibly tired, sore, dirty, hungry, and frustrated as they now begin to look for a place to stay without the benefit of an app. Not surprisingly, every room in town had already been taken, so feel free to add homeless to the list of adjectives describing Mary and Joseph. Lucky for them, they were able to secure lodging at the only place available to them – a stable.

Clearly, this would be the PERFECT time for Mary to go into labor!

Let’s review. A pair of soon-to-be first-time parents will get to experience the birth of their child, ninety miles away from home in a stable. Christmas cards like to show the animals neatly organized and a safe distance from the baby. They also show an immaculate structure filled with plenty of space, light, and nice clean straw. Have you ever been in a barn? They don’t look like that. They don’t smell like that. They just don’t. But the baby was coming, so somehow, they were able to figure out what they needed to do, and Jesus was born. End of the story? Not hardly.

Mere minutes after the birth, we would likely see Joseph stressing over caring for both his wife who is now recovering from childbirth and for the baby who is sleeping in a food trough for critters. This chapter was nowhere to be found in the Galilean edition of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Savior.” Of course, there is only one thing missing from this scene that would make this incredible evening perfect: visitors!

Family? No.

Close friends? Nope!

Healthcare professionals? Nuh uh!

We’re talking total strangers, dropping by unannounced just to visit you and the baby. These are people who make their livelihood by living full-time with sheep. They might be the only people in town who are looking at Mary and Joseph’s accommodations with a tinge of jealousy. They are also the proof that Joseph was wrong when he thought nothing could smell worse than this barn. Imagine what must’ve gone through the minds of Mary and Joseph. They couldn’t have been anywhere close to in the mood for company. They must’ve been wondering why they were even there. Of course, when the shepherds told them that an army of singing angels instructed them to come in the middle of the night to see the baby, Mary and Joseph had to have just complied. I mean, at this point, they really couldn’t have been surprised by too much more.

So, tell me again about that crazy night you spent camping outside of Best Buy to get 50% off a new toaster, and how it compares to this?

Whether you’re talking about 2,000 years ago or 2024, the Advent journey can be eventful. Some of our preparations are necessary, some are steeped in tradition, others could be avoided but are celebrated as part of the bigger phenomenon now known as the Christmas season. But whether you travel hundreds of miles or go nowhere, we are all on a journey. Mary and Joseph’s trek may be different than ours today, but ultimately, we’re all traveling the same path that will lead us to the coming of Jesus.  As Christians, everything we do is designed to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah. Christ’s birth, just like His life, death, and resurrection, are undeserved gifts that are given to us so that we could be rescued from our sin and raised to life eternal with God in Heaven. That is our destination!  That is our goal!

So as we continue on this journey given to us by God, may we put our trust in Him to guide us, to care for us, and to empower us to share the good news of the baby born in Bethlehem with a world that is desperate to hear it.