Not that that can’t happen with Brown’s points, which are interesting — and which I don’t exactly dispute — but I just wonder about the motive, you know?

Good things to file away, though. Oh, and I also thing it depends on whether one has been preaching in a context for a while or not. A pastor in a comfortable setting with a congregation looking for Brown type stuff is very different than popping in for a one time xmas eve communion and sermon gig (as am I).

Peace, friend. And thanks for the food for thought.

When thinking about Jesus’ actual birth (Luke 2:6-8), Raymond Brown in The Birth of The Messiah comments on what the lodging in the “stable” might have looked like. It could be possible this provides some more sermon insight, or it might just be interesting trivia.

1. There is nothing in Luke’s text to make us think that Mary was in labor when they arrived in Bethlehem. The text actually says, “while they were there.” It is quite possible, then, that Mary and Joseph had a place in the inn before the actual birth.

2. Related to that, the concept of “inn,” according to Brown, is misunderstood as well. Inns in the first century often included large groups of travelers gathering under one roof for the night. It could be that there was room in the “inn” for Mary and Joseph, but there was certainly not room for a woman to give birth.

3. The location of the “manger,” which the Greek word phante can also be translated as “stall,” can lead us to think that Mary birthed Jesus in the location reserved for the animals of the travelers who are staying in the “inn.” It could have been actually in the same room as the sleeping travelers, with the travelers sleeping in elevated cots while there animals congregated in the middle. Luke, however, tells us that this “inn” did not have sufficient space for the birthing of Jesus, so it appears that he was born in a separate location from the other travelers. (Could these other travelers be the ones whom the shepherds spoke to who were so “astonished?)

What I find particularly striking about this is that Mary and Joseph are perfectly acceptable travelers until Jesus is born. They become “outsiders” precisely at the time that God is entering into human history.

Maybe this is food for thought or just useless trivia or something helpful for a future Christmas Eve service. It is interesting to consider these translation/exegesis points when thinking about your reference to the contemporary Christmas celebration in Bethlehem.

Yes on the peace thing. The closing remarks on Bakken’s boots store tries to point a little to the peace of Christ issue — the already and not yet nature of Christ’s coming — that I really don’t want to delve in to too much. It’s so easy to try to do too much at xmas eve, but maybe I’ve still got some room to go. Thanks, again.

Anyone else?