I hope that the angels' blessing in Luke 2:14 rings true in your life.
But, of course, I can't just leave it at that! Here's a fun little video that we'll be using during our Christmas Eve service:
This is a fun way to bring a bit more of a realistic, Biblical focus to our sometimes overly traditional celebrations.
If you want to look into this a bit more I'll point you back to a post that I did back in '07 (here) and to a recent post that Ben Witherington III did on his blog (here). If you have the time, his post is definitely worth the read. You'll also notice that he backs up my own theory that Jesus was simply born in a house and not a cave (certainly not a stable!).
The Bible says nothing about stables or caves. It does however mention a house (Mt. 2:11) and a guest-room/upper-room (Lk. 2:7 - see the NEB or the TNIV). Plus, archeological records from the 1st century show that many houses had mangers in their houses in the entryways.
Jesus was born in a house.
Anyway, rather than continuing the deconstruction of Christmas traditions I will echo the sentiments expressed in that fun little video: however you celebrate Christmas, whatever it looks like, don't let it go by without taking some time to meditate on the enormity of God becoming fully human.
Merry Christmas.
5 comments:
If this was facebook, I'd hit the "like" button.
Thanks, Lisa :)
One other quick note for anyone who cares: I was reading in NT Wright's "Luke for Everyone" commentary yesterday and he also says that Jesus was born in a house (feeding trough inside the house by the doorway).
The only reason why I mention any of this is 'cause way back in the day I did a bunch of research and came up with the "house" conclusion on my own, so to then see that two of the world's most well respected Evangelical scholars like BW3 and NTW reach the same conclusion is encouraging to me :)
Ok but question: would the shepherds have walked into a private home in the middle of the night to see the baby? I've read this idea before, and I'm not saying it's wrong, I just wondered about that. Because other places in the NT it talks about locking up their homes at night and people having to bang on the door if they wanted to borrow bread and whatever and I'm wondering, if Mary and Joseph were staying in someone's house would that have happened?
Also, (I think in the Ben guy’s post) he mentioned that they went to Jerusalem on the eighth day to circumcise Jesus, but actually it says they circumcised him on the eighth day and that they went to Jerusalem “when the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed”. And in Leviticus there is the seven days after a woman gives birth to a son where she is impure before the baby boy is circumcised, but then there is another 33 days after that before the woman is actually considered purified, so unless there is a way to tell from the Greek which purification period is referred to there it could mean that they stayed in Bethlehem for at least 40 days. Actually rereading Leviticus 12 it seems more likely that this refers to the longer period since it was at the end of that time that they were to offer their sacrifice. I just noticed it and thought it was interesting. Maybe you know something more on that?
Arlana (Lisa's friend)
Thanks for your comments, Arlana.
And I think you're right, you busted BW3 on his timeline... It doesn't actually say that they took Jesus to Jerusalem to be circumcised. I'm not sure about the details of 1st Century Circumcision rights but going from the silence in Luke I'd say that it happened in Bethlehem and then, after the appropriate waiting period, they took him to the temple in Jerusalem.
It definitely seems as though Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for many months. We don't know how far in advance of the birth they arrived in Bethlehem. Matthew is silent and Luke just says "And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth." (Lk 2.6). Who knows? It definitely seems as though they had already been there for days, perhaps weeks, or even months before she gave birth!
And, as has been noted my many people, judging by Herod's timeline of 2 years (Mt. 2.16) they may have stayed in Bethlehem up to 2 years after Jesus' birth. It definitely seems as though they packed up shop and MOVED to Bethlehem for a while.
It was only upon their return from Egypt that they moved back to Nazareth. In fact, judging by Lk. 2.22, it almost seems as though they considered returning to Bethlehem but reconsidered after being warned by the angel!
Yup, it could have been any longer period of time, but I think the forty days plus is a minimum.
Arlana
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