Bethlehem Experience

Joseph and Mary were happy in their humble home. Joseph furnished it with pieces of furniture he had made himself. Weeks and months passed and Mary could tell that her baby would be coming soon. She went about her daily chores looking forward to the day she would hold her baby in her arms.

                The happy voices of children playing in the dusty streets of Nazareth suddenly turned to cries and screams. Dust blew into the doorway as children scattered from their games and hurried home. The sound of horses’ feet were heard. Mary looked out the doorway, then drew back quickly. A Roman officer was coming down the street, followed by a half dozen mounted soldiers, swords clanking and spears glistening in the noon sun. The heavy hoofs of the horses pounded out puffs of dust where children had been playing.

                The Roman officer leaned from his horse and looked into the frightened eyes of Mary. She noticed a roll of parchment in his hand and a stern defiant smile on his face.

                “Official business.” she whispered to herself.

                The soldier gingerly directed his horse down the narrow street to the door of the synagogue, leaned down and handed the parchment to the rabbi. Then he and his companions turned their horses and trotted out of town without a word.

The town folks hurried to the synagogue to listen as the rabbi read the decree from Caesar Augustus. It seems that all the world was to be taxed, and each person must be taxed in the city of his ancestors. Bethlehem, the city of the great King David was the ancestral home of Joseph and Mary.

On the appointed day, Mary and Joseph loaded supplies on their donkey to begin the long, difficult trip to Bethlehem. Mary tucked in swaddling clothes because the baby was sure to come before they could return to Nazareth. Hanging from the donkey’s saddle, among other supplies, was a bird cage holding two doves to be sacrificed for Mary’s cleansing after birth.

                The road was soon crowded with friends and family as each made their way to their own city. Evenings were pleasant as families and friends gathered around camp fires and shared stories and talked of the promises of God, especially the promise of a deliver. With the oppression of the Roman government, the thoughts of a savior was on everyone’s mind. Mary’s heart leaped with joy for though few believed her, she knew she carried the promised Messiah.

                “This has to be the last day of travel” thought Joseph. Many friends had already left the caravan, turning toward their own cities of birth. Joseph and Mary’s relatives hurried ahead to the small city of Bethlehem. Night came and they were alone, time to rest. But, Joseph could see the faint silhouette of Bethlehem against the evening sky. They would go on.

                As Joseph and Mary neared the city, they could see a warm glow in the sky above Bethlehem. The small town was bustling. Bethlehem was the hometown of many people. The town glowed with candles and torches marking windows and doorways. Campfires dotted the hillsides. Joseph and Mary made their way to a relative’s inn on the edge of the city.

                Joseph approached the inn keeper, hoping to find a room there. The inn keeper glanced at Mary a few times. By now she was extremely tired and could feel the beginning pains of child birth. The face of the inn keeper was kind, but he shook his head “No” as Joseph pleaded with him.

                At last, seeing Mary’s desperation, the inn keeper began to speak intently to Joseph. Mary slumped against a nearby tree still clinging to a very tired but gentle donkey.

                “Come,” said the inn keeper as he took the donkey’s bridle and led Joseph, Mary, and the donkey to the stable in back of the inn.

                The stable was a small space tucked under the back rooms of the inn. Its crude but sturdy walls and roof supported the back of the humble dwelling. It was just tall enough for the animals. Men had to bow to enter.

                “Here” said the inn keeper, handing Joseph a pitchfork, “Toss this old straw out. I’ll throw down fresh straw from the loft. Then clean out the manger.  That will be perfect for the baby.”

                “Now, you take care of Mary,” he added, “I’ll get the neighborhood midwife.”

                Doves cooed from the rafters. The animals shifted slightly as Joseph’s donkey joined them on the other side of the stable. Their warm bodies and breath warmed the small stable.

Joseph spread clean blankets on the straw and in the manger. He eased Mary onto the fresh smelling straw and that night in the soft light of lamps in the rafters, Mary’s baby was born.  

                “We will call him Jesus” she whispered.

                They laid Jesus in the manger. Mary slept but Joseph kept watch over the sleeping child. What peace, joy, and comfort radiated from that manger bed. The Savior, at last, had come.