Photo by Thắng-Nhật Trần
Congratulations! If you are reading this, then you are a survivor! I know that’s an odd thought during Advent as we await the arrival of the Messiah. But that is precisely what Mary and Joseph did, journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem and fulfilling the prophecies.
"For known a blessed mother thou shalt be,
all generations laud and honour thee.
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel by seers foretold.
Most highly favored lady."
The angel had appeared to Mary and called her “most highly favored lady.” But the journey from Nazareth to be counted in Bethlehem at the end of her pregnancy left her feeling anything but “favored.”
An average human walking pace can cover 20 miles in a day. But a pregnant woman in Mary’s advanced state might only make 10 miles per day. A four-day journey may have turned into seven to ten days. The authors of the canonical gospels assume the person hearing about Mary’s travels would know what it was like and how difficult it was. But then, that was how women were treated. They were expected to survive the ordeal, God willing.
That leaves the rest of us to struggle to relate in comparison to our modern travel conveniences. The journey was 70 miles of direct travel or 100 miles the long way. Our paved interstate roads can cover that in less than two hours. Unless, of course, we need to avoid some relatives seeing us in town. That was the dilemma for Jews as Samaria lay between the two cities, and the bad blood between them meant that Jews took the long way to Bethlehem along the Jordan River.
The trip was not flat travel. It climbed and descended along the way along dirt roads of that time. Their trip would have occurred in wintertime, with temperatures in the 30s during the day and frequent rains. It was a miserable time to travel and survive the colder nights.
Mary and Joseph would have likely worn heaven woolen cloaks designed to repel the elements. Like people of their day, they would have also worn long robes belted at the waist under their cloaks. Tubed socks and enclosed shoes would have offered some protection for their feet.
Archeologists have discovered warnings to travelers about the heavily forested parts of the Jordan River Valley regarding how dangerous it was. Lions, bears, and boars lived there, and travelers often fended off attacks by wild boars. Human predators such as bandits, pirates of the desert, and robbers frequented these trade routes.
Solo travelers like Mary and Joseph would have sought the relative protection of traveling alongside trade caravans. This would have put additional pressure on Mary to keep up or wait for the next caravan to pass by when she tired out.
Mary and Joseph would have carried their provisions, which primarily consisted of bread and water in wineskins. Breakfast would be dried bread, bread with oil for lunch, and bread with oil and herbs in the evening.
One has to wonder if exhausted Mary had a meltdown when they discovered no room at the Inn or elsewhere in Bethlehem. You have to wonder how Joseph handled it all. Did she feel most highly favored when she felt the first labor pains when she entered the cave and smelt the stench of the livestock? How preferred did she feel while she waited for Joseph to return with a midwife who was a stranger?
Keep Moving Forward
You’ve done it. You’ve made it this far this year by moving forward through all kinds of adversity, like Mary and Joseph. Can you list all the adversity that you have survived this year? What does that look like?
This week, we celebrate the joy of surviving another year, anticipating that Jesus will bless us with redemption and a fresh start in the new year. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians reminds us to keep moving forward in our faith journey by holding fast to what is good in our lives today, including the water of life found in the holy scriptures.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
A New Testament scholar, Leon Morris wrote, “The New Testament is full of exhortations to joyful living—startlingly so, if we fix our attention on the outward circumstances of their (original readers) lives. They were persecuted or threatened with it. They lived in straitened circumstances, often poor, always working hard for a living. They had a hard lot in life.“
Likewise, being faithful in the faith community of Thessalonica was difficult. The congregation was in danger of controlling things so strictly that the fire of the Spirit was being extinguished. Paul wants their worship and lives to be deeply spiritual rather than religious. Paul didn’t mean he wanted an “anything goes” spirit to govern them. No, says Paul, “test everything.” And “hold on to the good and avoid every kind of evil.”
Yes, God calls us to do impossible things in our strength. That’s why we follow Paul’s guidance to the Thessalonians:
In a world that mindlessly shouts, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” we are to “rejoice always.”
In a world filled with the endless sound of advertising, God wants us to “pray continually.”
In a world that is never content, we must “give thanks in all circumstances.”
In a world that has quenched the true spirit of Christmas, we must not “quench the Spirit” who gives gifts to be used and fruit to be displayed to a skeptical world.
That’s what God wants of us in the season of Advent as we await our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah Christmas
I love this adaptation of Leonard Cohen’s song, Hallelujah, by Cloverton. However, its official release was short-lived. Cloverton negotiated the rights to produce the song with his melody and had the authority to release it. When it went viral and Sony received enough complaints, they asked Cloverton to remove the music.
Leonard Cohen is Jewish, and his version invokes David. His supporters objected to the work of a Jewish artist being redone for a Christian holiday, which I can completely understand. So, Cloverton respected their wishes and took the song down, even though they were confused about how it could happen.
Lead vocalist Lance Stafford said, “When we rewrote the lyrics, I had no idea Leonard Cohen was Jewish. The song was written by a Jewish man, but it’s not a Jewish song, I would say. If it were, it would have been more obvious not to touch it. We didn’t perceive it as a song celebrating Jewish culture or written for Jewish people.”
He added: “I would be heartbroken to know if Leonard Cohen heard the song and felt it was an assault on his Jewish heritage, because that was not our intention.”
However, once the fire was lit, it could not be extinguished. It triggered debate within music and religious communities. Artists often reword and record songs by other artists with permission. Is Leonard Cohen’s original version a sacred song? I don’t think the debate has been settled.
The group Pentatonix recorded and released an acapella rendition of Halleluiah. Lovers of this song have continued to repost it as a song that speaks to their aching hearts. The music is a metaphor for surviving controversy and bearing fruit that could never be imagined.
So, in the spirit of the songs of the Psalmists we sing about God’s goodness in times of struggle, I offer this song for this week in Advent. I mean no disrespect to the Jewish community in doing so. I hope it blesses you this Advent season as it has blessed me. You’ve got this. You can survive to see another day with God in your heart. Always remember to:
Rejoice always
Pray continually
Give thanks in all circumstances
This is the will of God in Christ Jesus
I know You came to rescue me
This baby boy would grow to be
A man and one day die for me and you
My sins would drive the nails in You
That rugged cross was my cross too
Still every breath You drew was Hallelujah