Christmas

A few days ago we decorated our two Christmas trees. They're both pretty short (6' or so) because of the cold weather and late timing, but with some of our ornaments, they were perfect.

I love this time of year. Of course we have Christmas, with the cookies and presents, and family, but we also have snow, and the time inside with friends and relatives. Seriously, who isn't fond of the idea of sitting by a crackling fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate, and chatting with Cousin Sally and Friend Bob? It'd be hard not to be.
This time of year is not only special for those reasons, but also for the coming of Jesus Christ. In this post, I want to focus on Mary and Joseph, though.

(some pictures of our living room)

My most beautifully (in my eyes) wrapped present. It's for our exchange student, if you were wondering.

Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas

If you went back in time to that first Christmas night, chances are, it'd look nothing like the foam Nativity scenes you made in kindergarten. Jesus was probably born in one of the caves used for sheltering the animals, and Mary was likely not a woman in blue robes kneeling next to a sleeping baby swaddled in pure white in a nice wood box. 

Lets start from the top- Mary. (You can do your stable research later, and if you find something different, please comment- I want to hear!) During Bible times, girls usually married at the age of 13-14. If she was betrothed to Joseph, she would likely be at the beginning of the spectrum: meaning, late twelve or thirteen. Using today's reckoning (of most people), she would not have been a woman. 

Second, stables would not have been pristine places. The straw in the manger would have been wet and half-chewed, and might have even been moldy- the opposite of soft sweet hay. It wouldn't have been cleaned often- perhaps even never- and the smell would reflect that. The swaddling cloth was at best a little ragged and dirty. It probably smelled, too.

When you hear people say that Jesus didn't come into the world as a king, believe it. As much as you might want to roll your eyes at an overstated statement, he certainly didn't. Mary- hardly more than a scared child- had to give birth to the Savior of the World in a dirty, smelly cave, in an unfamiliar town, with no one but an equally frightened, unexperianced carpenter to help. But through this, the one who was worthy (and could easily have been)  to be born in luxury was born in conditions worse than the poorest peasant.

Even if he hadn't been the Son of God, it's no wonder he was humble...