The Promise...and Warning of Jesus' Birth Luke 2:1-20
The scene of Mary and Joseph journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for a census is often glossed over. In the US, we might imagine that census to be similar to the census we have to take every 10 years: where we fill out a paper and often think very little of it. For many of us, the census is at best a hope for more resources and money and at worst an annoying nuisance.
But Dr. Justo Gonzalez explains in Luke (Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible) that the census was actually another way for the oppressive Roman Empire to continue to exploit those under its rule. Dr. Gonzalez explains:
“A census had sinister implications. It was not just counting people in order to see how many they were, and what population trends were. In ancient times, and long thereafter, a census was in fact an inventory of all the wealth of a region-its people, its animals, and its crops, so that the government would be able to tax people to the maximum. A census usually announced greater poverty and exploitation.” (Gonzalez 33)
As a result, what is often portrayed as a peaceful, though perhaps somewhat inconvenient journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, is in fact a journey taken in the midst of severe political turmoil and oppression. The journey taken by Mary, who was heavily pregnant, and Joseph, was one forced on them.
It was not a journey made on a lark. Empire doesn’t care about the safety and health of the average person. After all, in ideal circumstances, the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem took perhaps about 4 days if one spent 8 hours a day traveling. Mary, about to give birth, is not traveling in ideal circumstances. In addition to physical exhaustion, Mary and Joseph may have faced other dangers on their journey: robbers, other agents of the empire, etc.
In other words, Jesus, the Messiah, the incarnation of God is being born in the midst of a violent empire to two people at the bottom of the empirical hierarchy. That reality means that the Luke birth narrative isn’t just a fantastic story of shepherds, angels, and heavenly hosts lighting up the sky but it has political significance.
It always amuses me when some Christians tell those who advocate for an end to injustice and oppression that we are politicizing the gospels and we should stop. If by stop politicizing the gospel one means stop using it to justify partisanship, I agree. If by stop politicizing, one means to stop trying to enforce a theocracy, I absolutely agree.
But if by stop politicizing the gospel one means stop centering the marginalized and advocating for social justice, then one needs to take up that issue with the original gospel writers. At the heart of the Good News is a baby who is born in the midst of an oppressive empire and whose birth and life are a direct challenge to the powers of empire.
The shepherds aren’t visiting the birth of someone who will provide them salvation in the afterlife, but one who is promising them salvation in the here and now. If the Jesus story was simply about avoiding hell, Jesus probably wouldn’t have been murdered. He would have just been another eccentric. The religious leaders may still not have liked him, but the Romans probably wouldn’t have paid him much mind.
But the story of Jesus, then and now does have political, real-world ramifications. The Jesus birth story matters in the here and now, not just in some potential afterlife. Dr. Gonzalez explains in his commentary: “...when the angel announces Jesus as “Savior,’ his declaration has both political and religious overtones. The child who has been born will free the people from bondage-bondage both to their sins and to their oppressors” (Gonzalez, 35)
As we honor this day, however, we may see fit, we Christians need to remember that Jesus’ birth is a promise and a warning. For those struggling to put food on the table, to those trying to pay bills, to those living under repressive governments, to those experiencing war, the birth of Jesus is a promise that God not only journeys with them but promises real and tangible liberation.
For those doing the oppression-it is a promise that they can break free of the sins and lies that lead to the desire to dominate and subjugate. But Jesus’ birth is also a warning for those who continue to oppress and cause harm: that their time of unlimited power is coming to an end.
That they will face the judgment of a God who so loved humanity and specifically the marginalized and suffering, that they came to earth in the form of the baby, being born in the midst of one of the most powerful empires to have ever existed.
We have over-spiritualized Jesus’ birth to make it more palpable and more easily commercialized. But Jesus’ birth signifies the start of a nonviolent revolution ordained by God to put an end to violence and oppression.
Image: Silhouette of baby Jesus and Mary kneeling before him. Text: We have over-spiritualized Jesus’ birth to make it more palpable and more easily commercialized.