Most of us have heard of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ from the infamous song of the same name. Fewer people know that the twelve days is an actual period of Christian feast days beginning on Christmas Day itself and running through today, the feast of Epiphany on January 6th. What is Epiphany, you may ask? Epiphany is from a Greek word meaning ‘to reveal’, and the Christian feast by that name celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the wise men who came from a distant land to visit the newborn king.
I'm Sorry That Your Childhood Christmas Pageant Misled You About the Innkeeper
We’re all familiar with the story: Mary, the virgin teenaged expectant mother begins to feel cramps as the lights of Bethlehem come into view. By the time they enter the village, Mary is in full blown labor – in desperate need of a private place to give birth. But, there’s no room in the inn. Depending on who writes the Christmas pageant, the innkeeper is played as a sniveling man who cruelly turns Mary and Joseph away or a kindhearted older man who generously offers the young couple his stable for the night.
But is that really how it happened? Consider this: Mary and Joseph both had relatives in and around Bethlehem. The whole reason they were there in the first place was that Joseph’s family was from there. Did he have no extended cousins who could put them up? We know from Luke 1 that Mary had extended family in the area as well. Couldn’t they have headed for Zechariah and Elizabeth’s house instead? Even if not, could they not find refuge in the house of a kind stranger?
If we read Luke 2 carefully, we don’t find this story at all. Luke tells us that they were in Bethlehem when Mary reached full term (Lk 2:6). She didn’t go into labor on the road; they were already at their destination. Where were they staying? The text doesn’t say, but what we know about Middle Eastern hospitality leads us to believe that they would have been warmly welcomed by the people of the town, even if their houses were already full.
Which leads us to the word translated “inn” in most English Bibles. Modern readers think of the “Prancing Pony” from the Lord of the Rings – a place to grab a pint and stay overnight on one’s travels. But the Greek word used in Luke 2:7, kataluma, refers to a guest room off the main area of a house, not Barliman Butterbur’s fine establishment. We also assume that the manger must have been in a barn, but animals were often kept in a stable attached to the main living area of the house. When Jesus was born, a midwife grabbed a manger from the other end of the house to use as a bassinet. Why? Because there was no room in the guest room.
This, of course, does not change the meaning of Christ’s lowly birth. Here is Jesus, the rightful heir to the Davidic throne in his forefather’s hometown. He is not born in a palace, but laid in a manger. He is not born to fanfare from the people, so angels must guide shepherds to him. He is God, truly stepping into his lowly creation in order to save his people from their sins.
What the Bible Says About Moab
The ancient nation of Moab plays an important role in the biblical story of Ruth. Moab is the land to which Elimelech, Naomi, and their family fled during a time of famine. It’s also the homeland of Ruth, the central character of the book that bears her name. Israel and Moab shared a complicated history, all of which provides background to God’s faithfulness to Ruth.
Orpah's Impossible Choice
This post is written to complement our Sunday morning sermon series, The Redeemer: God’s Faithfulness in the Story of Ruth.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Ruth, you may wish to read Ruth 1 before continuing. This post will be here when you get back.
In the story of Ruth, it is easy to overlook the character of Orpah. Most of the attention we pay her is to point out that Oprah Winfrey is named after her (which is true) or to just name her as the sister who turned back.
We know that Ruth made the right choice in moving to Israel, but Orpah made the logical choice in staying in Moab. Orpah chose to stay with her own family, in her own country, worshipping her own god. She would dearly miss Naomi, but she wouldn’t feel her mother-in-law’s pain of living in a foreign land for a decade.
We don’t know how Orpah’s life ended. We don’t know if she remarried. We don’t know if she ever regretted not moving with Naomi and Ruth. We don’t know if she ever worshipped the true God of Israel. Ruth left her family and gained incredible blessing. Orpah stayed behind, and we never hear from her again.
Ruth and Orpah’s choice reminds us of the choice Jesus’s followers faced. His call for disciples to follow him was the call to be loyal to him above every other loyalty. This call was too much for some potential disciples, like the rich young ruler of Mark 10:17-22, who turned back and who are never heard from again. But the disciples who dropped their fishing nets in order to fish for men were used by God in an incredible way to bring others into the kingdom.
Orpah faced an impossible choice, but it’s a choice that we face every day. The call to the Christian life is the call to do the right thing, often at the expense of the easy or logical thing. It is the call to give up everything, but to gain even more. May God grant us the grace to daily pick up our crosses and to follow Christ.
Advent: God Came to Israel
If you’ve been following our Advent sermon series, you’ll know that we’ve been talking quite a bit about God’s transcendence and immanence. Put briefly, God, as the creator of the universe, is great (transcendent) as well as involved in his creation (immanent). We’ve been tracking these two ideas through the Old Testament: first in the story of Adam and Eve as well as the story of Abraham. In each story, God reaches down into his creation in order to draw people to himself, looking forward each time to the coming of Jesus Christ.
After Abraham, the next big step God takes into human history happens in the story of Moses and the Exodus. The great nation that God promised Abraham found themselves enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years. Even though God had been close to their forefathers, it seemed like he had abandoned the Israelite people to toil in obscurity.
The story that follows is one of the greatest ever told. It has inspired cinematic masterpieces like The Ten Commandments and The Prince of Egypt. But the story of the Exodus is more than just a tale of deliverance; it is the story of God entering a relationship with his people. Scripture often uses the word “redeem” or “purchase” when describing Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. This doesn’t mean that God paid Pharaoh to let his people go, but rather that God made a show of strength – spared no expense – to see his people freed.
Israel’s first stop after escaping Pharaoh’s army was at Mount Sinai. There, God introduced himself to his people: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” God has redeemed his people, and he was about to show them who he is.
God gave Israel the law, often summarized in the Ten Commandments. We often think of the law as merely a list of rules that God gives us. While this is true, the law is better seen as God showing his people how to live in relationship with him. God is a good god who values holiness and love for others. He wants his people to share these values as well. Part of this law taught the people of Israel how to approach him in worship. For the first time since the Garden of Eden, God’s full glory came down to dwell with humanity, albeit behind a curtain. Only the high priest could enter this most holy place, but only in God’s prescribed way and only once a year.
Just as the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Abraham looks forward to Christ, we can see Jesus foreshadowed in the Exodus story in a number of ways as well. It became clear that no one could keep the law that God gave, so we needed a human to keep the law on our behalf. God’s presence was mediated by the sacrificial system, but one day a great high priest would enable us to boldly enter God’s presence. Perhaps most importantly, Christ’s death and resurrection would bring about a new exodus, in which God’s mighty works once again bring about a people to enter into a relationship with him. God had come to Israel, but God would come in even greater ways still.
If you want more in our Advent series, you can listen to our previous sermons here.