The Journey

Isaiah 43: 1-3

Hebrews 11: 8-10

Luke 2: 1:5

The Journey

Advent. The word as it applies to this season of the year means the coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important.  For us it means the birth of Jesus. It comes from a Latin word, advenire, which is the same origin of the word adventure.  

Our granddaughter loves adventures. She loves to talk about going on adventures.  She likes the uncertainty of going somewhere or doing something new. Adventures are an

1.      exciting experience: an exciting or extraordinary event or series of events

2.      bold undertaking: an undertaking involving uncertainty and risk

3.      involvement in bold undertakings: the participation or willingness to participate in things that involve uncertainty and risk

Certainly the birth of Jesus was—is—an exciting event.  Certainly the journey Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a bold undertaking, involving uncertainty and risk.

I want you to imagine yourself walking from here to Columbus. Walk up route 60 to meet Interstate 70, and then walk along the Interstate all the way into Columbus. Now I want you to imagine doing that while you are pregnant.  That would be about the distance Mary and Joseph walked. And, by walking along the highway you would be experiencing a risk about that which they experienced. Not from traffic, but from robbers, and from things such as heat exhaustion, injuries from the rough terrain they would be walking across. In their case, they probably walked in a group with others, but that did not completely remove the risk. And, of course, there was the fact Mary was full term when they started.

It is likely that Joseph was in Bethlehem when the census was called for.  That was his home town. We don’t really know.  Regardless, he probably went to Nazareth to marry Mary, as would have been the custom, and it is likely he did so as soon as he became aware she was pregnant and he decided to marry her. Then, after that, they would have returned to Bethlehem for the census, because that was Joseph’s hometown. 

Thus Mary made the trip from Nazareth to Judea and spent time with Elizabeth. Then she went home at about the time she was three months into her pregnancy. Then she made the trip again back to Judea, to Bethlehem six months later with Joseph. Given that good devout Jews avoided Samaria, where they would not have been welcomed at all, so would not have found lodging or food, they probably took the longer route along the Jordan River. Three trips of nearly 100 miles each in those 9 months. A lot of walking.

We get the impression from Luke that when they arrived back in Bethlehem they went to a commercial establishment, an inn. And there was no room for them when they arrived. A no-vacancy situation.  Myrna and I have experienced no-vacancy situations before when we have stopped along a journey when we really did not intend to stay overnight in a particular place.  In our case other lodging was available just down the road.  

However, in the case of Mary and Joseph, they would have been coming into Joseph’s little hometown, and most likely would have sought lodging with one of his relatives.  Bethlehem, if it had an inn, would not have had a very big one. Remember, it was a tiny town, only 6 miles from Jerusalem.  Few people would have come to Bethlehem in those days, except to visit family. There was no reason to, no attraction or business that would have brought them there. So, it is more likely given the customs of the day that they went to a relative’s house. They were probably full up, and Mary and Joseph had to stay in an area adjacent to the main house.  

Or, because she was about to deliver, Joseph may have opted to move into the area where they brought the animals in at night so her labor and delivery would not disturb others in the house. It was customary in those days, in rural villages, to bring animals into part of the house itself at night, especially if it were cold. Remember, they did not live in houses anything like ours. Remember how you saw the cave houses that were common in those days, especially in areas such as Bethlehem.

Whatever the circumstances this all certainly qualified as an adventure; a nine month adventure. One which Mary and Joseph were willing to undertake, despite its uncertainty and risk.  Mary literally risked her life by accepting her calling. Joseph risked his reputation and livelihood.  And the trip itself was a risk.

When we become Christians, when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we begin an adventure. We set forth on a journey of events, placing our trust in the promise that God will be with us, even though we may not be certain of where he is leading us.  We are called to accept that uncertainty, and more than that we are called to fully accept risk as we live our faith and do God’s work.

What kind of adventure has your journey with Christ been?  What risks have you taken for Christ?