And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. [Luke 2:4-5 (NLT)
Until learning about Las Posadas, I hadn’t given much thought to the difficulty of Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem or to how frightened and desperate the couple must have been that night so long ago. As the crow flies, it’s only a 70-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem but Joseph and Mary weren’t crows and the route was not a straight one. Because of the hilly terrain, the most direct route south was the most physically challenging and, because it led right through Samaria, it also was the most dangerous. Wanting nothing to do with Samaritans, Jews typically detoured to the east before going south along the flatlands of the Jordan River, turning west at Jericho, going over the hills surrounding Jerusalem, and on south into Bethlehem—a trip of 90 to 100 miles. The trek from Jericho to Bethlehem would have been the hardest since it was an uphill hike with an elevation change of 3,500 feet! In good circumstances, people could walk about 20 miles a day so Mary and Joseph feasibly could have made Bethlehem in five 8-hour days. Mary, however, was about ready to give birth so a trip of seven to ten days is more likely.
Since the Bible quickly moves from the miraculous conception of Jesus to Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and then to Jesus’ birth, we probably don’t give much thought to what those nine months of pregnancy were like for Mary. Each day of the nine days of Las Posadas, however, represents a month of Mary’s pregnancy. When Scripture says Mary “hurried to the hill country of Judea” to see Elizabeth, we assume she lived nearby. Rather than right around the corner, Elizabeth lived about five miles southwest of Jerusalem in Ein Karem, meaning the newly pregnant girl (who may have suffered from morning sickness) took a similar walk to the one she’d make nine months later! Three months later, she made the same 90 to 100-mile journey north back to Nazareth. Even if Mary traveled in a caravan, it was a dangerous journey for a young woman alone! Ancient travel was no walk in the park.
Pregnancy is a blessed thing but it is a life-changing event full of physical and emotional challenges. Along with the normal mood swings accompanying changes in estrogen and progesterone, Mary had the shock of an unexpected pregnancy, saw her wedding plans turned upside down, lost her reputation, and endured the whispers of the town folk about how she betrayed her fiancé. We know how Joseph reacted to her pregnancy but we don’t know about Mary’s parents or the rest of their family and friends. Were the couple shunned or snubbed? Pregnancy is a blessing but there’s a downside to growing another being in one’s uterus: fatigue, shortness of breath, discomfort as the growing child pushes against internal organs, trying to find a comfortable position in which to sleep, back aches, bloating, frequent urination, and swollen feet (to name just a few). Pregnancy isn’t easy—even when you’re carrying the Messiah!
Once Mary and Joseph found lodging, what of the baby’s birth? Because our nativity scenes focus on the lovely scene of the Holy Family after Jesus’ arrival, we tend to forget the hours of labor leading up to that scene. The conditions weren’t sterile, there were no epidurals, and Scripture makes no mention of a midwife’s presence. Without question, there was discomfort, pain, sweat, aching muscles, tears, fear, mess, and blood. Surely, giving birth away from family, in a cave, in a strange town, and placing her newborn in a feed trough wasn’t what Mary envisioned for the child who would be called “Son of the Most High.”
Mary and Joseph were ordinary people, people like you and me, people who hurt, worry, bruise, get tired, bleed, complain, cry, throw-up, get blisters, and suffer—people who can get upset, frustrated, troubled, doubtful, surprised, disappointed, and sad. Today, consider what those nine months were like for Mary, a girl barely into her teens who became the mother of God, and Joseph, the man who would act as the earthly and legal father to God’s son. They were two ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing! Thank you, God!
Tomorrow (December 16) is the first day of Las Posadas. Originally a solemn Christmas novena, it was brought to Mexico in 1587 by Spanish priests. Perhaps, because it occurred during the Aztec celebration of the birthday of their pagan god Huitzilopochtli, what began as formal nine-day prayer vigil eventually moved out of the church and into the community where it became a nine-day religious pageant.
In Jesus’ day, Roman law allowed a soldier to compel any able-bodied man in a conquered province to carry the soldier’s gear one mile. A Roman mile was 1,000 paces of five feet each (a little less than our mile) and a soldier’s pack could weigh as much as 100 pounds. In a similar way, Roman soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus out of Jerusalem. Such impressment by an occupying army was viewed with outrage by the Jews and yet Jesus told them to willingly carry the load beyond what demanded by the soldier.
When she lived in Florida, my mother-in-law hired a woman to do the cleaning. In spite of representing herself as a “cleaning service,” this woman had a long list of “won’ts”—won’t do windows, mirrors, get on step ladders, move furniture, or bend over to wipe the baseboards, etc. Nevertheless, she always had a long list of complaints and financial needs that she was more than willing to share.
Although it sounds like something Satan might say to his demons, it was Alex Dumas, CEO of Hermès, who said “Our business is about creating desire.” It’s not just Hermès (with their $8,500 Della Cavalleria “magical bag”) that is in the business of creating desire; that seems to be the goal of many businesses. The LA Times has a “Coveted” column in their Image magazine featuring a curated list of luxury items (like $950 Gucci sneakers) they claim to be “mandatory” or “must-haves.” The October Vogue featured “coveted street style trends,” (like $1,364 velvet trousers and $600 Levi jeans) while urging its readers to purchase them “before it’s too late.” There’s even an on-line game called “Covet Fashion” in which you build your virtual dream wardrobe and then follow links to purchase the desired items.
One December evening several years ago, we walked the streets of Bethlehem. Instead of travelling to the Holy Land, however, we traveled back in time at a local church. Our journey began with a stroll through the Christmas story. We walked past Gabriel meeting with Mary, an angel visiting the sleeping Joseph, the shepherds and sheep, Joseph and a very pregnant Mary in a stable, and met the Magi with their camels and gifts. We then went inside the parish hall to the bustling city of Bethlehem. As required by the emperor, we stopped to register for the census and pay our taxes before moving through the crowded marketplace to the shops of the wine merchant, carpenter, leather worker, and oil and spice dealers. After pausing to watch mud bricks being made and fabric being dyed, a young boy took us on a tour through his 1st century Jewish home.
Devotions of the Heart 