I Dropped Baby Jesus

Thursday, Christmas Eve - It’s Complicated!
This morning, I've been thinking about all the complications surrounding the birth of Jesus. Just
think with me -
Mary was pregnant out of wedlock.
She was under threat of stoning.
Hanging over Mary's head was the question of
whether or not Joseph would believe her,
divorce her, or throw her to the wolves to be
judged and executed...
Joseph had to wrestle with the same question,
then when he thought he'd finally decided....
Joseph was asked to sacrifice his reputation to
take Mary home as his bride.
The gossip they endured because of this alone
was severe, but add to that the curiosity that
raised people's eyebrows when Joseph and
Mary claimed the child was "born of the Holy
Spirit, would save people from their sins, and
was, in fact, the long-expected Messiah..."
In Mary's last days of pregnancy they had to
make a long, and unplanned trip to register for
tax purposes, along with a huge crowd.
There was no easy way to travel, so they went
by donkey.
Along the way, Mary went into labor.
We think the lines at the grocery store are long
this time of year - I can't imagine the lines in
Bethlehem that year with everything recorded by
hand in the "old-fashioned" way.
There were no rooms available, no doctor or mid-wife, no epidurals or pain meds, only
straw, the undercurrent of noisy barn-animals, and a feeding trough.
Once the child was born, they were forced to move frequently, literally overnight, as the
result of angelic-sleep-interrupted dreams.
Their lives were in danger - often.
Baby boys two and under were slaughtered as King Herod tried to wipe out the potential
political threat of another King who might usurp him (Mary and Joseph had to feel the weight
of that horrific event).
All this to say, Jesus' birth-story was not easy for His earthly parents.
Even by the time Mary & Joseph reached the eve of the birth of God's Son, it had been difficult
enough. I wonder then - just what was running through their heads? I'm thinking I'd be
screaming, "I didn't sign up for ALL THIS! I take it back! I'm not your woman!”
HOWEVER...I expect, even in their humanness, this was not the response from this young
couple. I imagine they had to be doing, just what we need to be doing, when life is hard,
confusing, unplanned, and the road ahead extraordinarily foggy: they were remembering. (My
soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember...Psalm 42:6b)
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