December 27, 2009.

Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, tired from travel, and with Mary in early stages of labour. Joseph would have  knocked on doors of inns, only to be turned away because the inns were already full. Joseph, desperate for lodging, pleaded. One innkeeper offered a back stable or shelter where they could rest.

In Mexico this part of the story has its own tradition, known as Posadas, in which Mary and Joseph look for a place to stay.

Each family in a neighborhood, will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th on Noche Buena.

Read more about this tradition at http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/nacimnto.htm.

We know, from the biblical account in Luke, that Jesus was born that night. We are also told that an angel came to some shepherds  who were tending their sheep near Bethlehem and told them the good news about this special baby. The shepherds were afraid, for visits from angels were unusual occurences, and they were sometimes, but not always, the bearers of unwelcome new. The angel prefaces the news with the words from Luke, chapter 2:

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Excited about this news, the shepherds hurry into Bethlehem to find the baby. They find the place with a special bright star overhead and they ask to see the baby. We can speculate, if they brought gifts, what those gifts might be, but we don`t know since the  biblical writer does not say.  Maybe a lamb or a blanket made from lamb`s wool. I`ll leave that to your imagination.

¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Jesus` parents must have been amazed at all this attention, even as they knew this child was special, that he had a heavenly father as well as an earthly one.  It may be that they had no real comprehension about how their son`s life would be revealed. After all, this was a most unusual calling to be the parents of God`s son, come as a baby, a situation that had already put them in unfavourable light in their families and community.

 ¹⁹  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

 It would be two years later before the wise men would make their appearance, and that my friends, is a story for another day.