I should note that I love Christmas music. I started listening to Christmas music this year in October, privately of course, so as not to annoy others who weren't quite ready to get into the Christmas spirit at that point. I've become aware, however, that the Christmas story as told in these songs is not particularly accurate. No, I'm not referring to songs like Frosty the Snowman or Jingle Bells, which obviously miss the point entirely. I was thinking, in fact, about the song "Silent Night." Since it's now in the public domain, I'm going to post the lyrics here.
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Great song. I love listening to it, and I have twenty-eight different versions of it in my iTunes library. That said, it really romanticizes the whole event, and I think when we begin to do that, we take away much of the intention of the way Jesus came into the world. It wasn't a silent night, it was one of the busiest and most chaotic times that the town of Bethlehem had ever seen, most likely. With the census having been declared, everyone who's origins were from Bethlehem had to go back and register, and that wasn't referring to their birthplace. That was anyone who traced their lineage back to that location. Bethlehem was in an uproar. There was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn, not because they got into town late in the day and all the rooms were taken. There was no room because all of the rooms had been filled long before, and if I had to guess, I would venture to say there were probably people sleeping in the streets all over the place, and possibly outside the town. The innkeeper letting them use his stable was probably a very generous gesture, because otherwise they would have been sleeping under the stars, not only unprotected from the elements, but if they had to sleep outside the town, they would have been unprotected from the wild animals and from bandits as well.
That said, the stable wasn't exactly a pleasant experience either. It's very possible that it was a cave that had been used for this purpose, but no matter what, we know that it would have been damp, smelly, and dirty. We know that because that's what stables are like now, at least in between cleanings. Animals are messy, and I doubt this innkeeper was housing only his own animals in the stable. It probably housed horses and donkeys that other travelers had ridden or used as pack animals, much as Mary had possibly ridden on a donkey during their long, difficult journey. The typical manger scene with a single donkey, some sheep or a cow, and maybe a camel, is really quite unlikely. Assuming the innkeeper had a dozen rooms to rent out, that means probably at least a dozen pack animals, and there were probably no lambs or other cute fluffy creatures there (after all, they would have been in the fields with the shepherds), just smelly donkeys and horses. The manger where Jesus was laid after he was born was where the animals had been eating from, and was far from sanitary. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, which probably kept him warm at least, but Mary and Joseph had no such advantage. While it wasn't winter as we usually think, but probably sometime in the spring, it still was likely fairly cold at night, and laying on cold dirt or perhaps cobblestones is unpleasant at the best of times.
All in all, it was an unpleasant experience, and one that both Mary and Joseph would have been glad not to have experienced. However, God was using it to show His love for us. After all, he deserved far finer than the best kings the earth had ever known. Being God, He also had the unique opportunity to choose His own birthplace. That He chose to be born into one of the worst possible situations shows us the depths to which He was willing to go to meet us in our greatest need. He certainly didn't have to do it that way. Jesus could have been born at home, or in a room at the inn at least. He could have come at a more peaceful time, and His ministry later would still have been just as meaningful, His death and resurrection just as effective. That He chose to be born into one of the most degrading situations possible was simply a demonstration of His great love for us. He didn't just take a few steps down from King of the Universe to become a human. He went to the worst of the worst and showed His great love.
That's what Christmas is all about.
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