Baby Jesus

As a clergyman, I've heard many versions of a similar inquiry: You really don't believe in that virgin- birth-baby-Jesus-stuff, do you? Add that to the adage too soon we get old and too late smart and then put them together. The older we get, the more reason not to believe in the baby Jesus, right? Wrong.

Jesus was born long after he was first prophesied. No other religious messianic figure holds this distinction. In fact, there are many, many prophesies about Jesus in the Old Testament.

Jesus was born into an unlikely society intimidated by a maniac king (Herod) and a tyrannical Roman force. In fact, Mary, Joseph and Jesus had to flee to another country for the baby's safety. Jesus was conceived out-of-wedlock. Yes, Joseph and Mary were betrothed but not married.

Consequently, Joseph had two allowable alternatives: he could have her stoned to death or he could quietly divorce her. He did neither. He was alerted by a heavenly messenger that her pregnancy was of divine origin, not human. And this was long before artificial insemination was even imagined.

Jesus came into a world where the oppressed Jewish people were anxiously awaiting a Messiah. Did they expect a baby boy to be their deliverer meaning they would have to wait years before he could set his people free? Hardly. They had hoped for a military conqueror, not a baby boy.

Jesus was not born in a normal setting. Mary and Joseph could not find lodging nor a birthing place. They were offered a stable by an overbooked innkeeper. Jesus was soon born and most likely Joseph was the amateur midwife encouraged by a inexperienced mother to be.

Jesus was able to trace his ancestry back through the family of David as well as to Adam and Eve through the lineages of both Mary and Joseph. This tracing of their ancestry was much more common in that era than it is today, yet an amazing phenomenon even then.

Jesus, with his humble beginning, was first discovered, not by the high and mighty but by lowly shepherds tending their flocks nearby. Later on, wise men from a distant country arrived and paid their respects to the newborn, honoring him with lavish gifts.

Jesus, apparently a threat to the murderous, tyrannical king, was targeted for extermination. But Mary and Joseph were warned in a dream to flee the country for Egypt. How could they afford this necessary, unanticipated, extended journey? Possibly by the timely gifts given by the wise men. We know nothing of their sojourn in Egypt nor how long they lingered there. However, they were advised to return, not by way of Bethlehem but to go directly to Nazareth where Jesus lived.

Why was Jesus virgin born? Because he was to be both human and divine, destined to become the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world. But why a commoner, a carpenter, a bachelor, uneducated by usual standards, with a step father and half brothers and sisters? To deny his lack of formal education or that he left no written record hardly implies illiteracy. Rather, his wisdom and character has been recorded for generations to come.

But a bachelor? Tradition suggests that Joseph died before his children reached the age of accountability. Therefore, it is quite likely the eldest son, Jesus, postponed his ultimate mission to fulfill his duties in raising with his mother his younger siblings and providing for their sustenance. To be a married man would have unquestionably inhibited his intensive three-year preparation of the twelve disciples for the continuation of the mission he came to earth to implement.

Now, neither you nor I can read God's mind as to why He does what He does. Meanwhile, we can read the Scriptures carefully and do our best to fill in the blanks. Now it's your turn to fill in the blanks. In retrospect, it is an ingenious, bold invasion of history. It is hardly an nonchalant incident now celebrated, and, yes, exploited, worldwide. For many of us, Jesus is the reason for the season when we celebrate his unusual birth. And keep on doing it.