As we continue reflecting on sings that Christmas is coming, I am thinking about traveling for the holidays. Growing up, we never went anywhere for Christmas; as an adult, my family has often traveled for Christmas. Many Christmas Eves ended on the road. In fact, that sense of peace on the empty highways between here and TX (or FL on occasion) as Christmas morning arrives still feels like a great way to experience Christmas for me. one year, we flew to the NW on Christmas morning and had to drive through blowing snow to arrive at the airport.
Many people travel for the holidays. For some, it adds to the stress (I remember the stress of rushing home from the Christmas Eve service to start on the road trip, only to discover that we still had lots of packing to do before leaving); for others, traveling is part of the joy of that particular holiday.
Traveling was a critical part of the Christmas story as told by Luke and Matthew. In Luke, Mary travels to see Elizabeth when she becomes pregnant; Joseph and a very pregnant Mary travel to Bethlehem to register for the census; the shepherds travel from the fields to Bethlehem and then back again; presumably Mary and Joseph return to Nazareth from Bethlehem. In Mark, Mary and Joseph somehow arrive in Bethlehem (no reason is given for their presence there); wise men from the East travel to Bethlehem to find the one who was born king of the Jews (we remember they travel home a different way after being warned in a dream to avoid King Herod, who was the actual King of the Jews at that time); Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus flee in the night to Egypt after Joseph is warned in a dream about King Herod.
Although this is not the central point of the sermon, it is fascinating to read about Jesus' family fleeing to another under the threat of death while reading and hearing in the media our nation's debate over allowing/not allowing refugees into our country.
Facts that may only be interesting to me: 1. Bethlehem is a 100 miles from Nazareth. 2. Google maps says you could walk it in 34 hours. That seems a bit ambitious to me. Maybe if you just counted walking time, and not the time spent on breaks or eating. 3. If you were Mary and Joseph, that might have taken a week or more make that journey. 4. Bethlehem is 5 miles south of Jerusalem, which begs the question, "Why is the Son of God born in this little town, instead of in Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish faith tradition?"
I have been reflecting on how the Christmas story calls us to go. Maybe go in a new direction in our lives; in our relationships; or to go with new information. When we see the Christ-child, when we discover God in our midst. it compels us to respond.
Where are you traveling -- in spatial sense or spiritual sense or relational sense - this Christmas?
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