What would Life be like today if................and this is a stretch, but if .....................Mary and Joseph would have had the Internet to try and book a reservation. I'm not being sacrilegious, just my ole dumb self.
You know there are still places in the world today that haven't changed in over 2000 years. Transportation is still by donkey. Communications are non-existent. Health care is nothing more than having a mid-wife provide a broken branch for an expectant mother to bite down on during childbirth. Thousands of illiterate people journeying to town to be taxed much like the trip to Bethlehem.
But why, if you believe in "The Christmas Story" from Luke 2, .....why did the Event occur at that time in the history of Man. Why then....why not now?
I believe in much of what is written and interpret it based on the teachings I had pounded into my head by the threatening nuns during my early years at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School.
I have the visions that we see today of the Nativity scenes displayed in department store windows, front lawns, and of course "living" drive-by church parking lots.
But suppose, just suppose, that God had decided to make a change in his Palm Pilot Scheduler and decided that 2005 would be a good year, and let's see maybe, Richardson Texas might be the best location for the birth of Christ.
Would Mary and Joseph have logged onto travel.com and tried to make a reservation at a Quality Inn. Or even better, couldn't they have simply registered to pay their taxes by contacting the IRS on the Internet.
No thank goodness, it happened when it did. Timing is everything. I guess He really knows what He is doing.
And, it wouldn't have made for a very profound story, would it?
I like traditions. I like to read the great stories in the Bible. I love the story of the Journey to Bethlehem.
You know, when I think of Christmas in these terms, then the melancholy that usually overtakes me this of time of year (see: http://ireadthenews.blogspot.com/2005/12/it-is-best-of-times-it-is-worst-of.html) subsides and I truly see the meaning of Christmas.
Merry Christmas!....and thanks God for choosing December 25, 0000, it seems like the perfect day.
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