Consider with me the incredible way the Christmas story has spread throughout the world. I mean, that story! Mary and Joseph travel on foot, maybe donkey, from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census. It's about a 65-mile journey. Their hike was twice as long as mine! And she was pregnant! They had to travel light. Likely, they were with a group that would have helped look after Mary. Likely, they would have shared provisions along the route. They may have made new friends along the way. That's the nature of a pilgrimage.
When Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, as the story goes, there is no hotel room available. Mary is in active labor. She gives birth outside, under the stars, likely with the help of local women. Luke's Gospel tells of shepherds receiving an angelic visitation announcing Jesus' birth. The shepherds travel to Bethlehem to behold the little family in their temporary shelter, surrounded by livestock.
There was no Instagram or Facebook then, yet remarkably, this story spread widely around the world in unique ways, reflecting each local context. I feel like that's the whole point - to see God in ourselves - and in our neighbors.It is wild, totally wild, to consider how the story of Jesus' birth spread to the ends of the earth. Clearly, social media's got nothing on the angels.
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