O little town of Bethlehem

Podcast

• Listen to this homily

Scripture references

• Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7
• Titus 2:11-14
• Luke 2:1-16

Reflection

For more than a week now there have been news reports of travellers being stranded in airports and rail stations not only in North America but also in Europe and other parts of the world.  Most of these were and are trying to get home for various holiday celebrations including Christmas and Hanukkah, but through no fault of their own, they find themselves delayed, uncomfortable, harassed and edgy to say the very least.

These perhaps are the modern day holy families, for like them, Joseph and Mary once travelled from their home in Nazareth to the Judean town of Bethlehem.  Travel then was definitely not what it is today.  We are told that they were people of modest means, so instead of a camel or an elephant, their mode of transport was a donkey.  The road they travelled would have been increasingly filled with pilgrims, all of whom were on their way to Bethlehem by order of the Emperor in order to be counted.

I’m not sure whether you’ve ever had the experience of travelling in such a large group that it’s impossible to control the speed at which you move, or perhaps you’ve been caught in traffic and know what road rage is like.  Add to the predicament, the fact that Joseph’s wife was pregnant and about to deliver her child, and I can just imagine what a harrowing journey this must have been.

Arriving in Bethlehem, they would not have had hotel reservations.  The custom was to stay at an inn, but there was no room there because many others had already arrived, so desperate to find a place for his wife to find comfort, Joseph was forced to seek refuge in a stable along with the animals who were there.  When we look at the manger scene, we find the familiar figures there, but if we were able to add smell-o-vision perhaps we would see a different scene.  This was not the cleanest of hospital wards, and yet this was the place where the creator of the universe began His life among us.

What lessons do we learn from the scene that unfolded that first Christmas night?  First, our God is infinitely humble.  The fact that He was born in a stable, is an inspiration for all of us to realize how much we are loved.  It also allows us all to identify with him, no matter what status in life we may or may not be privileged to enjoy.  At the moment of his birth, Jesus was not surrounded with kings and emperors but with cows, his parents’ donkey and perhaps a few other animals.  Have you ever noticed that animals have an uncanny ability to sense human emotions?  They can empathise with humans when we are sad, and they can celebrate with us when we are happy.

It was the custom of the day that musicians would visit the home of a newborn child to celebrate the new birth by singing welcoming songs.  In a land far away from home, perhaps there were no musicians who would even have known of this birth, yet angels announced the message to shepherds, who themselves were considered among the lowliest of servants, and they were the ones who arrived with their flutes to play for the Christ-child.  Who knows, perhaps there really was a drummer boy who arrived to add his two cents as well.

Great things come in small packages.  This humble beginning happened with very little fanfare and yet the child who was born would one day calm the seas, heal the sick, counsel the priests in the temple, and even rise from the dead.  Perhaps we too know of someone who is experiencing a particular difficulty, or been cast aside by society.  Maybe there is someone seated not far from us who has come here hoping to find some solace.  All people can gather here because Jesus came among us as a vulnerable child, born of humble parents, with no great sign of wealth or prestige, and yet he carries with him the greatest treasure ever to be shared: the love of our God who made himself vulnerable and chose to dwell among us.

Merry Christmas.