Luke 2:1,3 - A Modern Day Imagining of the Christmas Journey

Luke 2:1,3 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world...And everyone went to his own town to register.”

This week, we continue this week with our imaginings into what the story of Christmas might look like in our modern world. (Last week's devotional can be found here)

The President-For-Life, Augustus, decided that he wanted to know how many people he had in the empire, so in his military outfit and with his chest-full of self-awarded medals, he declared that there was going to be a census taken of everyone, especially of those capable of supporting military operations. After all, he was thinking about implementing a draft policy where everyone had to serve 2 years in the armed forces. To further complicate things, he wanted everyone to journey to their hometown, so each town would be responsible for enforcing his draft instead of his overburdened military complex.

Joseph heard the news while building the frame of a new house. To him this meant more taxes and longer working hours on top of having to deal with his pregnant wife, Mary.  They had gotten married rather quickly to try and preserve the outward dignity of the couple. No one else besides Mary and Joseph knew about the Angel's visit and what it had proclaimed to them, and no one would believe it. All they saw was a young woman who was pregnant and her 12 year older boyfriend. The townsfolk all had their idea of what happened, so Mary and Joseph had also quietly moved to another small town, Nazareth. Joseph had to look out for his wife's wellbeing – physical, mental, spiritual, and social. He also had to be careful since no other men were blessed to be the physical father of God!

When Joseph arrived home, he told Mary about the new census rules. Peevishly she snapped and asked why they couldn't stay there in Nazareth, despite Nazareth not being either Joseph's hometown nor hers. Bethlehem, was their real home and neither of them were not really excited to go home a scant 8 months later to face everyone.

Well, with some cajoling and persistence, Joseph convinced Mary to go to Bethlehem. They packed up what they think they would need and closed the house up while Joseph called his supervisor at work and told him that due to the new law, he was going to be going home to register for the taxes and census.

Joseph's old and semi-reliable pickup was not the most comfortable vehicle for Mary to ride in, but they didn't have any other options. They weren't really well-off and couldn't afford anything new. So with some pillows for cushions  for Mary, they bounced off towards Bethlehem. Joseph tried to be careful, he really did. He drove slowly and tried to avoid the potholes in the road, but because everyone was traveling to get their registration taken care of and get back to work, the roads were congested, traffic was horrible, their heater had broken, and Joseph couldn't see the bumps and dips and potholes in the road. Wrapping Mary up in some more blankets, Joseph wiped the fog off the windshield and valiantly put up with Mary's complaining and the jerkiness of traffic. By nightfall they had spent nearly all day in the truck trying to get to Bethlehem. It hadn't helped that they had to stop every hour for Mary to use the restroom, but for Joseph, it was life. He couldn't do anything about it. Now, they were driving down the main road looking for hotels. Mary had gotten her cellphone out and was calling hotels, but they were all booked solid. Finally they saw a little motel on the edge of the city that had a light in the office window. Pulling in and parking, they went in to find the manager.

The owner-manager sadly looked at this strange couple infront of him. The older man was obviously tired, his long hair escaping from the ponytail it had been in all day, his jeans torn and his workboots having seen better days. The young woman by his side was a balloon and looked to be close to tears. Her arms were grabbing the man's as if she was only staying upright by holding on to him. She should have been in college instead of trying to find a place to stay. The manager hated to have to tell such a pitiful looking couple that there wasn't any place, not in the hotels, not in his motel, and not in any other motels, inns, or even hostels! The city was overflowing with people who all had to show up because of the stupid new law. He thought about what he could do to help this couple, especially since the woman looked so far along that she could be needing a hospital before too long. He thought about it. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and he looked to find that his wife was looking at him and nodding her head from the office.

With a deep sigh he turned back to the couple and told said “Well, we are all full up, I'd love to put you in a room, but we have nothing available.” The tired couple started to turn away and the manager called out “Wait! I know I can't put you up in a room, but I also know there is no where in the city to find a place to stay now. We are all booked solid! I hate to turn away anyone, especially you two in your condition. I'll tell you what, if you don't mind I have an old car garage behind the motel. We can put out some cots and blankets and pillows for you for tonight so you can get some sleep. Its not much, but its dry and warm and clean. And I can't charge you for it neither since it ain't a room.”  The look of relief on both of their eyes was warming to the manager's heart. “Come on, I'll show you there” With profuse thanks, the man and woman followed him.

In a similar situation, how would you have handled it? If you were the innkeeper, what would you do?  This Christmas season, why don't we think of ways we can help people, no matter how small the help may seem!