A long time ago, a boy and girl fell deeply in love. No, I’m not talking about Mary and Joseph just yet: I was the boy and my wife was the girl. We got married in 1968. I was halfway through college and we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. All we had was an ancient gate-legged table that we painted white, four wobbly pub stools that were rescued from a skip, and a record player which had been a 21st birthday present. We got a rough wood crate and covered it with an old curtain to put the record player on, so we could play the three records we possessed. We didn’t own a bed, or even a mattress; we had two old-fashioned folding camp beds (one 20 inches high, the other 10 inches) and some blankets to put on them. We had a tiny two-room flat and each day we dragged the biggest of the camp beds into the living room to use as a sofa. After several months we scraped together enough to buy a cheap mattress which went on the floor (still no bed, but after those camp beds, what luxury!) The thing is, we didn’t notice we were poor. We certainly didn’t think we were deprived. We were gloriously, deliriously happy and deeply in love. We were young, healthy, strong, and ready to conquer the world. One of many happy periods in our life. We are not, of course, the same spiritual stature as Mary and Joseph, but I’m sure some of our condition as a newly-married couple is reflected in their Christmas story.
Christmas is about the Divine — the Son of God coming to earth. But there’s also a human element. The story involves real people, human beings like you and me, coping with an extraordinary situation. Socially and materially Mary and Joseph were very ordinary. Both were descended in the royal line from King David, but by the time the story opens it seems they were of little consequence in their community and very poor, as Elder Holland describes:
“One impression which has persisted with me recently is that this is a story—in profound paradox with our own times—that this is a story of intense poverty. I wonder if Luke did not have some special meaning when he wrote not "there was no room in the inn” but specifically that “there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) We cannot be certain, but it is my guess that money could talk in those days as well as in our own. I think if Joseph and Mary had been people of influence or means, they would have found lodging even at that busy time of year." (from Jeffrey R. Holland,“Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come from a Store, Ensign, Dec. 1977)
There are times in our lives when a wind comes howling from the wrong direction and our lives are disrupted with challenges. Comfortable routines are blown away, plans and expectations turned upside down — and it happened to this young couple two thousand years ago, in an obscure Galilean village called Nazareth. They were two ordinary people getting on with their lives just like their friends and neighbours. They fell in love just like other boys and girls and were planning to get married. The Christmas story is also a love story, and it began before an angel arrived. Then a hurricane blew their plans to pieces. One moment their lives were running along normally. They were poor of course, but so were most of their friends. Like all young lovers their thoughts for the future were full of brightness and hope. They were betrothed, more binding than an engagement is today. But then, suddenly, the wind changed and they were hurled into a future they’d not anticipated, that required their utmost strength, stamina, faith and last ounce of courage. The practical challenges of the Christmas story for Mary and Joseph were immense.
First an angel tells Mary she will conceive, and the baby will be the son of God. Then Joseph thinks she’s been unfaithful and decides to break off the betrothal. They must have had some uncomfortable conversations about that! But then an angel tells him that she is still a virgin and he should go ahead with the marriage. The scripture (Matt 1:24) implies the wedding was soon after the angel’s message, then Mary leaves to stay with her cousin Elizabeth for three months. After her return, just when the baby is nearly due, they were required to travel 80 miles to Bethlehem because of the Roman census. Christmas cards show Mary riding a donkey, but there’s no donkey mentioned in the Bible.
When they arrived, there was nowhere to stay and they had to make do with a filthy, dirty stable. After the census, they apparently settled in Bethlehem for a year or two, but then the Wise Men appear and give the game away to Herod, who tries to kill Jesus. They flee to Egypt, then when Herod is dead they return from Egypt to Nazareth. And somehow in all this travelling and disruption Joseph has to find work to feed his family and buy supplies for the journeys. I’m quite certain this wasn’t the life they imagined they would have when they got betrothed in Nazareth. But the scripture makes clear they faced their challenges with serenity, dignity, humility and above all complete obedience and faith.
One message from their story is that despite all these problems - random circumstance, evil actions of others, mistakes we make ourselves - whatever the cause and whatever the trial, we can succeed. Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem even if the journey was hard, they did find their stable and Jesus was born. They did escape Herod and eventually returned to Nazareth. Of course, despite their worldly circumstances, Joseph and Mary must have been two of the noblest and greatest of all God’s children. But the same principles apply to all of us, no matter how humble. The Lord might not remove the obstacles in life, but he never leaves us alone. If we allow him, he gives us all the help we need. As Elder Maxwell said:
“Yes, the larger Christmas story is clearly not over. It is not solely about some other time, some other place, and some other people. It is still unfolding, and we are in it! Like the wise men who persisted to Bethlehem, let us not turn back from our full journey—beyond Bethlehem—and we too shall be led to Him. So, in gospel gladness, we wish for ourselves and each other not only a “Merry Christmas” with all that implies, and not just a “Happy New Year,” but also the joys and happiness of eternal life, God’s greatest gift!” (Neal A. Maxwell, The Christmas Scene, booklet published 1st January 1994)
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