From Nazareth to Bethlehem
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were very old, had never had kids and it didn’t look they ever would. One day, an angel shows up and tells Zechariah that he would have a son, and that he should name that son John. God’s done this before – to Abraham and Sarah. Then God had told Abraham that, through his descendants, God was going to bless the world. Now, this time, with Zechariah and Elizabeth, the messenger says that their son John was going to be the promised prophetic voice that was going to get God’s people ready to meet their Lord when he came to rule from Jerusalem – the king whose kingdom would be forever, who would be a fulfilment of that promise to Abraham, to be the one through whom God would bless all the world. Jerusalem was currently being ruled by the Romans. It’s governed by this nasty narcissistic king, Herod, under the Emperor, Caesar Augustus. The Jewish people wanted nothing more than to get rid of Herod, get out from under Caesar, and live freely, govern themselves on their own land. So the news of this herald, John, is huge. The king they’re all waiting for is about to come, everything is about to change! And here’s how it happens. God’s messenger next goes to a tiny little out of the way town called Nazareth, to a young, engaged girl named Mary. Mary is told that she is going to conceive, and her child will inherit the throne of his ancestor David – he will be called God’s son and will rule forever. Amazingly, even though this would turn her world completely upside down, even though this was extremely dangerous for her, Mary agrees and accepts this news. Immediately she travels down toward Bethlehem to visit her relative Elizabeth, the one who’s pregnant with John. When she arrives the two of them joyfully greet one another and this amazing moment happens: Jesus is called “Lord” for the first time by Elizabeth – the first person anywhere to confess him as Lord, and it is Elizabeth. And Mary sings a prophecy of Jesus – she sings that her own change in status (a poor girl from a poor town, now exalted to mother of the coming king) points toward God’s work in Jesus - that he will turn the world on its head – tearing down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly, feeding the hungry while letting the rich go away empty. These two women are the first people to announce this gospel, to shout and sing about the coming birth of the Messiah. And toward the end of the story – it is women, again, who are the first to tell of Jesus’ resurrection. She stays with Elizabeth for 3 months before returning to Nazareth. It would seem she told her fiancée, Joseph of Bethlehem, the news during this time and that he then accompanied her back to Nazareth. While Mary, I’m sure, was preparing to have her baby and planning her wedding with Joseph, the political climate shows itself. The Emperor, Caesar Augustus, decides that the census should be invented and so orders that everyone go get registered so he can collect taxes. And the poor peasants must immediately spring to their feet and take care of this errand. But Mary is nine-months pregnant (which for those of you who don’t know, is when the baby comes), and Joseph, it would seem, has his taxable assets (probably his eventual inheritance of his father’s property or business) 10 long hiking days away in Bethlehem. But when Rome says go – you go. This is when I imagine Mary talking to the not-quite-yet born child and saying something like: okay, I’m ready for you to cast down the mighty now – get us out of this hike to Bethlehem. 9-months pregnant traveling 80 miles would not be a welcome thing even in the most luxurious car…but how about walking, riding a donkey, or a horse, or even if there was a cart. And part of the journey was traveling the mountains. The journey, for sure, wasn’t easy. And then arriving, they find their privacy for labor and delivery with the animals, in what was probably more akin to a modern-day garage than a stable – the part connected to the house for the animals to be parked in at night. The guestroom may have been full – or perhaps just not private enough, but they found a place to deliver the savior of the world – a humble place in the city where his ancestor David was also born. The humble king, like his ancestor David would be born in Bethlehem, and would find his throne in nearby Jerusalem – this time with a crown of thorns and a seat on a cross. In him who lives again, who sits on the throne forever, through his kingdom that continues in his followers, the humble and lowly find their worth, the hungry are fed. Our pride is scattered to make room for the humble king, and for his kingdom of hope, peace, joy, and love.
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AuthorRev. Chris Sesvold is currently the pastor at Halfway Creek Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Holmen, WI. Archives
October 2021
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