The Ho-Hum Part of the Census
I’ve
been doing research into the time period of Jesus’ birth, some of which includes
the census. Here is some information that,
at least for me, adds some color to the black and white of Luke’s Gospel.
Let
me first say that the widely-held belief that Herod died in 4 BC is due to a
typo in the recopying of Josephus’ manuscripts in 1544. All copies from before 1544 indicate Herod’s
death was in 1BC. This fact, along with
other information, dates the birth of Jesus in June 2BC, and therefore John the
Baptist’s six months earlier in late 3BC/early 2BC.
At
the time of John’s birth, Caesar Augustus had ruled the Roman Empire for 25
years and had brought peace throughout the land. To celebrate these events, the Roman Senate
gave Augustus the title Pater Patriae (Father
of the Country). Part of the celebration
included citizens and non-citizens alike signing an oath of loyalty to
Augustus.
This
was called a census but was not part of the official tax and count census cycle. In an official census, Mary would not have
been required to go, and Joseph would not have had to travel so far. But as this was a special census focused on
loyalty to Caesar, there would have been a particular desire to identify any
possible usurpers. In Judea, that
included claimants to the throne of King David.
Everyone in Bethlehem for the census would have been on that list of potential
troublemakers, including Joseph and Mary, both descendants of David.
This ho-hum background information gives me a possible answer to a question I’ve had—why did Mary and Joseph go to
Bethlehem when they did? They probably
had a year to register. Why not wait
until after Jesus was born?
Among
many possible answers (God's will being one of them), I wonder if they weren’t trying to be registered before
Jesus was born to avoid having to declare him as loyal to Caesar. After all, Gabriel told Mary that the Lord God will give him the throne of his
father David (Luke 1:32). A future
king cannot declare loyalty to the one he might replace.
Hmmm… Food for thought anyway. Sometimes that ho-hum information can become a humdinger.
*Most
of this information is from The Star That
Astonished The World, Ernest L. Martin, ASK Publications, 1996.
Debbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
|
Read more...
Census Assurance
But you are missing Him.
He’s so close – He is with you.
He is the one you have longed for.
As you gather to be counted by a foreign king, the King of all Kings is
here. Some of you are tired – weary from
this inconvenient gathering. You are
anxious to return to your routine of life and to your home. You do not see the great privilege given to
you at this moment.
Perhaps you have forgotten how I said He would be born here
– here in Bethlehem. Perhaps you didn’t
recall He would be of the house of David.
And now, I have set a stage – that a foreign king would note how I honor
My word. Or do you not remember that I
foretold both of these things?
I am still counting.
I am still gathering. I have not
stopped.
Are you missing Him again, I wonder?
Are you letting Him pass by in the crowds unnoticed?
He is the one you have longed for.
Are you anxious to return to the routine of life – or do you
see the great privilege given to you at this moment?
Would you welcome Him into your home?
Would you proclaim His presence with shouts of joy?
He is still here.
He’s so close.
He’s with you.
Immanuel.
May our eyes be open and our ears be ready to acknowledge again, the gift of Christ.
Sara Rust is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
|
Read more...
The Nativity Census: Jesus Counted
This week we Daily Fast Fuel gals continue to focus on the
unsung players in the Nativity narrative. This week’s player? The Census.
I’ll be honest. I’m having a hard time concentrating
tonight. What does an ancient collection of numbers and stats have to do with
my heart at this present moment? I have hardly slept in days and the only
numbers and stats I seem to be able to focus on are 6 adults, 20 six and
seven-year-olds, and 1 nation in mourning. You could say I have “lost my Census”.
(Yes, I went there. I needed a bad pun to break through the grief for a moment.
I can only bear it in doses.)
So what does the Nativity Census matter to me? Allow me to
share with you my distracted and somewhat disjointed reflections:
The Indiana Jones in me would like to say there was a census
mentioned in the story so that some day we might find record of it and see
little ole Joseph and Mary listed right there with a wee babe…like finding an
ancient “leaf” on Ancestry.com. Up pops the census record, and there it is…proof
of Jesus’ existence!
But that’s not really His style, is it?
Alrighty then, let me go for the more subtle answer. The
Census was about being counted.
Jesus was born for such a time that he could be counted
among us. As one of us, He counted the
height of the joys and the depth of the sorrows that one man may experience. As
One of Three, Jesus counted the height of the joys and the depth of the sorrows
that everyone had experienced and would ever experience.
It was the total sum of these figures that had him counting
his steps up to the cross. To the cross He took all pain, sin and madness and
sacrificed His life to rid us of such things. In doing so, He drew us to
Himself with a power and a love that offer an inexplicable Hope to move forward
into tomorrow.
And in these recent dark days I have been asking Jesus to
remind me of what comes tomorrow. I want Him to remind me of Hope. I want Him
to remind me of Love. I want Him to remind me that, in the end, HE WINS. Right
now, it feels as though I am asking Him for such reminders about every five
minutes or so. I need to. I am not strong enough to bear the numbers and stats
we have seen since Friday. Jesus is strong enough, though. He bore all of this and more many,
many years ago.
Isn’t that right, Jesus? My Savior, my Lord, my dear friend...remind me again that the victory is
won…?
I’m counting on it.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
|
Read more...
Don't Breathe On The Baby
I bet I wasn't alone in my fears. Ask any mom and she'll likely tell you she agrees. There's nothing we want more than to protect our little ones and nothing we want less than long nights spent caring for a sick infant.
I wonder if Mary thought that way. I was concerned about taking my newborns into church--I couldn't imagine walking them through a large census crowd, passing by stranger after germ-ridden stranger. Did she also want to yell out, "don't breathe on the baby"? Or did she, perhaps, want to invite them all to allow that baby to breathe on them?
I can only guess, but I think there was a glimmer in her eye and a hope in her heart for each of the people she passed. Perhaps she invited them all to touch, to adore and to breathe in the new life her little new life would bring them. Perhaps she simply prayed that they would find, in Him, the fulfillment of their deepest hope. It's the prayer I'm praying for you this Christmas--let the baby breathe on you...
Anitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Monday, December 17, 2012
|
Read more...
Crowd Control
I just finished directing a show called "Let It Be Christmas" which shares the nativity story through the music of the Beatles.
Trust me on this. It actually works.
My favorite scene? The census. Where Joseph enters his busy, crowded hometown for the census, along with Mary who at that point was great with child. The song for that number? "Help".
Imagine the crowds: tired from the journey home, impatient to get registered and get out. Hot. Trying to wrangle and keep track of children in the crowds. Fatigued - for I imagine that due to the crowds it was busy and took a bit of time. Anxious.
Now, here's where I took license - for while everyone went back to his hometown, most likely they had family there to welcome them - even Joseph. And it wasn't as if they were returning to a booming metropolis, but still. I go with crowded - for theater-sake.
Here's what I do know.
They had to be uprooted for a time. To make a journey. Perhaps a long one. And not necessarily an easy trip.
Isn't that just like our walk with God? Uprooted from the comfortable life we know, to a life that takes us on a journey that is sometimes rocky, dusty, hot, and unknown? All because we've been commanded to go? Life on the road with God takes us up hills and through valleys, over uneven terrain, and even asks us to interact with those we've never met. Much like those registering for the census.
Ha. And you thought they were simply "ensemble" members. Background. Nope. They are us.
Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
|
Read more...
A Census Christmas
And so, Joseph and Mary set out for Bethlehem that they would be counted with their family, the house of David. It was the most exciting family reunion, with the most honored guest, and yet for most they were unaware - that they had been gathered, and He was there.
This week we take a thoughtful look at the census crowd, the people buzzing about Bethlehem when the holy family makes their quiet entrance. What did they see? What might they have heard? And what can we learn from these unknown onlookers.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
|
Read more...
