I’ve often heard “the Christmas story” read from Luke, chapter 2, and seen robed amateur actors portray Mary and Joseph by hovering over some child’s toy doll lying in a makeshift manger.
Perhaps you’ve viewed that kind of scene and heard a background choir sing these words from an old Christmas favorite: “Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin Mother and Child! Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”
Songwriter Andrew Peterson suggests that much of that holy night wasn’t silent. More about that later, but first, let’s trace the trail to Bethlehem.
Luke writes, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” (The International Standard Version translates, “…that the whole world should be registered.”)
Rome then governed the known world (all southern and western Europe, western Asia and northern Africa), and Augustus wanted names recorded as preparation for gathering taxes.
Someone said that our poorly-born Christ, by means of Augustus, the mightiest prince in the world, had his cradle prepared in Bethlehem, as the prophets foretold.
Luke continues, “And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth wrapped around a newborn infant to hold his legs and arms still), and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Micah prophesied of Jesus’ birthplace: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Bethlehem, which lies a few miles southwest of Jerusalem, means “house of bread.” Ephratah means “fertile.”)
I recently heard a recording of Randy Travis singing “Labor of Love,” written by Andrew Peterson. Many of our Christmas songs, such as “Silent Night,” paint a peaceful picture of baby Jesus lying pleasantly in a manger as Mary and Joseph smilingly show him to visiting shepherds. (Even the donkey is smiling on some Christmas card illustrations!) But songwriter Peterson offers a little different view of how things might have been on the night Jesus was born.
Peterson writes, “It was not a silent night / There was blood on the ground / You could hear a woman cry in the alleyway that night on the streets of David's town / And the stable was not clean / And the cobblestones were cold / And little Mary full of grace with tears upon her face had no mother's hand to hold.
“It was a labor of pain / It was a cold sky above / But for the girl on the ground in the dark / With every beat of her beautiful heart / It was a labor of love.”
Perhaps you’ve viewed that kind of scene and heard a background choir sing these words from an old Christmas favorite: “Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin Mother and Child! Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”
Songwriter Andrew Peterson suggests that much of that holy night wasn’t silent. More about that later, but first, let’s trace the trail to Bethlehem.
Luke writes, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” (The International Standard Version translates, “…that the whole world should be registered.”)
Rome then governed the known world (all southern and western Europe, western Asia and northern Africa), and Augustus wanted names recorded as preparation for gathering taxes.
Someone said that our poorly-born Christ, by means of Augustus, the mightiest prince in the world, had his cradle prepared in Bethlehem, as the prophets foretold.
Luke continues, “And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth wrapped around a newborn infant to hold his legs and arms still), and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Micah prophesied of Jesus’ birthplace: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Bethlehem, which lies a few miles southwest of Jerusalem, means “house of bread.” Ephratah means “fertile.”)
I recently heard a recording of Randy Travis singing “Labor of Love,” written by Andrew Peterson. Many of our Christmas songs, such as “Silent Night,” paint a peaceful picture of baby Jesus lying pleasantly in a manger as Mary and Joseph smilingly show him to visiting shepherds. (Even the donkey is smiling on some Christmas card illustrations!) But songwriter Peterson offers a little different view of how things might have been on the night Jesus was born.
Peterson writes, “It was not a silent night / There was blood on the ground / You could hear a woman cry in the alleyway that night on the streets of David's town / And the stable was not clean / And the cobblestones were cold / And little Mary full of grace with tears upon her face had no mother's hand to hold.
“It was a labor of pain / It was a cold sky above / But for the girl on the ground in the dark / With every beat of her beautiful heart / It was a labor of love.”
Peterson attempts to depict the realism and humanity surrounding Christ’s birth. Here’s the second verse of his song:
“Noble Joseph by her side / Callused hands and weary eyes / No midwives to be found on the streets of David's town in the middle of the night / So he held her and he prayed / Shafts of moonlight on his face / But the baby in her womb, he was the maker of the moon / He was the Author of the Faith that could make the mountains move.
“It was a labor of pain / It was a cold sky above / But for the girl on the ground in the dark / With every beat of her beautiful heart / It was a labor of love.”
When an angel told Mary that she would give birth to Christ, she responded, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” God calls us to serve and represent Jesus, and when we encounter difficult circumstances and relationships, we can remember Mary and her “labor of love.”
“Noble Joseph by her side / Callused hands and weary eyes / No midwives to be found on the streets of David's town in the middle of the night / So he held her and he prayed / Shafts of moonlight on his face / But the baby in her womb, he was the maker of the moon / He was the Author of the Faith that could make the mountains move.
“It was a labor of pain / It was a cold sky above / But for the girl on the ground in the dark / With every beat of her beautiful heart / It was a labor of love.”
When an angel told Mary that she would give birth to Christ, she responded, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” God calls us to serve and represent Jesus, and when we encounter difficult circumstances and relationships, we can remember Mary and her “labor of love.”
