As I am writing this it is Christmas Eve of 2020. Hopefully, I can get this published not much time between now and New Years'. I want to get as much of my thoughts on paper before I forget, though I doubt any of this will be hard to forget.
Over this year there is so much that I have been able to learn, and as I have grown up I have learned to pay attention and appreciate the table conversations, or family conversations we have in general. Over the past few months I have been able to learn much and add much to the conversations that I was engaged and paying attention to. While there are far too many for me to count, there are a few that I would like to talk about that apply to the holiday season this time of year.
What started from a slight accident of reading 'too much' of the Christmas story in Luke 2 on celebration turned into a discussion full of great observations. The passage that is normally read is Luke 2:1-21. The passage that my family chose to read that day was all of Luke 2. This means that the 'scene' with Simeon and Anna was read. I have found that this passage seems to be largely ignored by many Christians. This passage paints a beautiful picture that we often forget about.
In Simeon's tangent about how Jesus was the Messiah, he reminded all readers (and anyone who was listening in the temple when Simeon was speaking to Joseph and Mary that day) that Jesus was coming to be a Savior for all people. He was born to die. He did not come to enjoy time on earth or to teach the people to do good works or make life perfect. He was to be their Savior, the Savior of their eternal destiny.
Yet, that is not what really stood out to my family this year. My father noticed that Simeon ends with "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." This would have shocked most of those who were listening in to Simeon, who was respected in the temple. This might have even slightly shocked both Mary and Joseph. Yet, this statement seems to be forgotten for the early church, or for the disciples a little over thirty years later. Simeon reminded us all that Jesus came for the Gentiles and Jews alike. Israel is still God's holy nation, but the gospel that Jesus brought was for all people- and 'all' means ALL.
My family also observed that the idea of there being 'no room for them in the Inn' is not what it looks like. While we got these from outside scholarly sources, different people said that the inns were probably not like the modern-day hotels that we think of. In those days anyone who was family of the family would be welcomed into the house immediately. Familial hospitality was expected in the Jewish culture and to not have room for someone who was part of your family was unheard of. But, because of the tight situation such as a tax season, there would be so many people that are part of your family that would come to visit. There was literally no room in the house or the guest house often bordering one side of the house either. So, the last option that the hospitable family had for their relatives was stable. Where Jesus was born might not have been as disgusting as we would assume, though it was of course not as nice as a hospital. There was a section of the stable that was higher up and certain animals would climb up to eat hay from the manger. This means that Jesus could have been born in a less than ideal, but not the absolute worse, location.
This is what slightly does not match up to me, though. Another point made by another scholarly source was that the shepherds knew exactly where to go because Jesus was born in a communal manger. This could have also been the case because Bethleham Epratha was known for herding sheep taht would be used as a sacrifice during Passover every year. This means that when the Angels mentioned that the babe was in the manger, they did not have to look at every manger in the village but instead knew exactly what manger to go to.
What are some great observations or discussions that your family has had over the holidays? What about biblical discussions in general? I might have a "Table-Top Discussions" section in the near future talking about all kinds of conversations my friends and family have had over the years.
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