Right, Left, Forwards, Back.
“RIGHT” said Joseph. “Let’s get this show on the road”. Mary, heavily pregnant, sat sidesaddle on their donkey’s BACK. It was a long way to Bethlehem, over 80 miles, and as she thought about all she’d LEFT behind, she really wasn’t looking FORWARDS to the next few days.
Joseph was his usual kind self throughout the journey. “Are you all RIGHT dear” he’d ask every few minutes, but the truth was her BACK was killing her and she was exhausted RIGHT down to her bones. It wasn’t RIGHT that Caesar was asking this of everyone, but they’d no choice. They had to keep moving FORWARDS because if they didn’t sign the census forms there would be a RIGHT to-do. The trip had been long and tiring, and more than anything Mary just wanted to fall RIGHT into bed and rest. But it wasn’t to be that easy. And so they plodded on for mile and miles and miles. LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT.
When they got to Bethlehem, the place was overflowing with people. They’d all LEFT their towns and villages and come to Bethlehem loaded down with bags and baskets in order to be registered and counted. Everyone bustled RIGHT past them, heading toward the places they were staying, looking FORWARDS to a good night’s sleep.
Mary waited as patiently as she could as Joseph went from one inn to the next, trying to find a room but after a while it became clear that there were no vacant rooms LEFT in town. It looked like they might be LEFT out in the streets until one man took pity on them and offered to let them stay in the stable at the BACK of his house.
And it was RIGHT there in that cold stable, surrounded by animals and the smell of hay, that Mary gave birth to her child, a son. She wrapped him RIGHT up in strips of cloth to keep his body warm against the cold air. Her husband filled the feeding trough that had been LEFT empty with hay and laid the tiny baby boy inside it.
Later that night, there was a commotion RIGHT outside the stable. The little family woke from sleep to see a group of shepherds who’d LEFT the fields to come into the town seeking the newborn child. The shepherds told Mary and Joseph how angels had appeared RIGHT before them in the night and had shared with them the glorious news of the birth of the Messiah. When they got the message, they’d hurried RIGHT off to find him among the crowds in Bethlehem.
The shepherds LEFT their bleating sheep at the door, came FORWARDS into the stable and knelt RIGHT before the young child in the manger, in wonder and worship. Then they LEFT the stable and went BACK out into the village to tell everyone the amazing news of what they had seen.
But the Shepherds weren’t the only visitors that evening! Three Wise Men from way BACK east had studied the stars, and when they saw a new twinkle in the night sky, they consulted their books to find out what it meant. If the books were RIGHT, the new star meant a new baby King born in the land of Israel. So the Wise men packed their BACK-packs, said goodbye to their families, and LEFT on a long journey to find this new King and pay their respects.
“FORWARDS” they cried when Jerusalem came into sight, because Jerusalem seemed like the RIGHT place to look for a new King! It was where the palace was, and way BACK through all the centuries, that’s where Israel’s Kings had lived.
But when they got there, all this talk of a new baby King really put King Herod’s BACK up. He got into a RIGHT bad mood, though he hid it well. He LEFT the room, spoke to his advisors and then came back to his visitors saying “You may be RIGHT about this new King. Try Bethlehem – that’s where the Messiah’s supposed to be born. And if you find him, make sure you come RIGHT BACK and tell me, so I can go and pay my respects too”.
So the Wise Men LEFT the palace and as they went they saw a star moving FORWARDS across the sky, and when they followed it, it led them RIGHT to the place where Jesus was.
And there, they worshipped him and LEFT their precious gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh before heading all the way BACK home.
After all the commotion, Mary picked up her son and cradled him RIGHT against her heart. She thought of all the things that had happened that night: the birth, the animals, the angels, the shepherds and the wise men. And she wondered at the little miracle she held in her arms: the Son of God whoLEFT his Father in Heavenand came to Earth to put things RIGHT between God and humanity once and for all.