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The Rev. Amanda Eiman
The 1st Sun after Christmas/The Holy Name
January 1, 2017
Luke 2:15-21
The past few weeks in our Gospels, we have been hearing variations of the familiar Christmas story. Two weeks ago we heard Joseph’s perspective - how he had a dream, and in the dream an angel visited him, and told him to take Mary as his wife, for the child conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit.
Then last Sunday, Christmas Day, we heard the birth narrative from Luke – Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem for the census, and while they were there it came time for her to have her child. So she did, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
Today, we hear part of that story again, but this time, mainly the portion about the shepherds. We hear that the shepherds reflect on their visit from the angels who told them about the birth of the Messiah, and they decide to go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place. So they go with haste and find Mary and Joseph and the child in the manger.
But the thing about shepherds, which we don’t get simply from reading the words of Scripture, is that shepherds, in first century Palestine were poor, and rabbinic traditions label them as unclean. The shepherds, quite possibly, would have been a little confused by an angel informing them, not the high priests, kings, or wealthy people, about the birth of the Messiah. They were outcast, and here they were, one of the first people to be informed about this special birth.
But, even so, or maybe because so, after receiving the news, they decide to go to Bethlehem to see this holy child, and in fact, they weren’t cast away like the unclean people they were considered, but they were welcomed in, welcomed among the holiness. They stayed to visit and then as they left, they go about reporting their story and everyone is astonished. As our Gospel puts it, they left “praising God for all that they had heard and seen.”
Now of course what they had heard and seen was in one part the glorious birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And that in itself was worthy news to share and about which to praise God. But also, largely due to our yearly pageants, and perhaps other non-Scriptural sources and stories, most of us Christians have this idea that what the shepherds visited was a stable, or a barn, and that that is where the Messiah was born. We believe that Joseph was desperate to find shelter, any shelter because we think Jesus was born the same night the holy family arrived. But, if we look closely, this isnowhere in the text. All Luke writes is “While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.” Perhaps Joseph had plenty of time to find shelter, and that they were warmly welcomed by friends or relatives. – after all this was Joseph’s hometown.
Yes, the child was lying in a “manger.” Mangers are in fact troughs from which animals would eat. But most common Middle Eastern houses of that period, and right up to the 20th century kept their animals inside their houses at night, both for warmth and to prevent theft, not in a barn or a cave.
Houses in Palestine typically had only two rooms. One for guests, the othera “family room” where the whole family cooked, ate, slept and lived. Every night the family cow, or donkey and sheep would be corralled into the far end of that room, in the floors of which were often recessed mangers for feeding the animals. In the morning the animals would be driven outside and tied up.
So, there may reason to understand that perhaps Mary and Joseph were welcomed into a private home, and Jesus was laid in an indoor manger.
So, we may ask, where are all the unkind townspeople? and what does the phrase “because there was no room for them in the inn” actually mean? Well,in Greek the word used for “inn”, such as where the good Samaritan takes the wounded man in the famous parable, is pandocheion. Literally, ‘a place where all are received.” In this story the Greek word is katalyma which means simply “a place to stay.” So its a katalyma that is crowded. But what does this word mean?
The only other placein Luke it appears is Chapter 22 when Jesus tells his disciples to enter a city and find a place for them all to eat together and says, tell the householder, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room [katalyma] where I am to eat the Passover with my disciples?” This precise meaning actually makes sense of this part of the story. Luke tells his readers that Jesus was put in a manger in the family room because the guest room was already full!
So let’s go back to the shepherds. If they had found a stinking stable, and a terrified young couple hovering over a newborn they would have said, “This is outrageous! Come with us, our women will take care of you!” The honor of the entire village would rest on their shoulders and they would have acted.
Instead, the shepherds left the holy family giving thanks to God for Jesus’s birth and for the quality of the hospitality in the house where he was born. This is the message of the story- the child was born among common people and for the likes of the shepherds—the poor, the lowly, the unclean. Sinners just like you and me.
But it doesn’t end there, does it? Jesus also came for the rich, and the wise,because “sometime later”(and next week we will celebrate this) the revered Magi show up with gold, frankincense and myrrh. And,Matthew tells us Magi enter “the house” where they see and give thanks for the holy family.
Unpacking this story a bit – and brining in some context around what the shepherds may have actually found that day when they saw the child – can help us more clearly understand this precious and holy story.
A member of the house of David was not shamed and rejected when he brought his pregnant wife to his hometown. The people of Bethlehem preserved their honor as a community. The shepherds were not a bunch of guys refusing to help a family of strangers in need. And we, we are invited to share this story with all – with our words, or by sharing this love with our actions – to all people – rich and poor – alike us and different from us – those with whom we see eye to eye, and those with whom we may struggle.
Let me close with a quote from theologian Kenneth Bailey, who lived as a priest in the Middle East for 60 years, and from whose book “Jesus through Mediterranean Eyes much of this insight is drawn.
He says, “Jesus’ incarnation was complete. At his birth the holy family was welcomed into a peasant home. These people did their best and it was enough. At his birth the common people sheltered him. The wise men came to the house. When Jesus was an adult, the common people heard him gladly. The shepherds were welcome at the manger. The unclean were judged to be clean. The outcasts became honored guests. The song of angels was sung to the simplest of all.”
Go and share this Good News.
Amen