Real or Romantic?

Have you ever thought about that long journey that Mary and Joseph took from Bethlehem to Nazareth? Well, I recently asked some year 4 children to consider just that. And as usual they amazed me with their insight and understanding of things we often take for granted. No one knew where Bethlehem was, so we looked at maps and worked out how far they would travel (about 70 miles) and thought about the kind of countryside they would have travelled through. We talked about the climate, about the difficulties they might encounter along the way. What would they take with them?

I then asked them to write a letter from Mary and Joseph to the family back in Nazareth saying what the journey was like and how they felt when they arrived. The results astonished me. Apparently it was a very boring journey with a very smelly donkey. They missed their family back home and they felt dizzy, tired and hot. They ran out of water and they were astonished to find that there was no room for them in Bethlehem. Mary was very depressed and Joseph felt redundant because an angle (yes I know that is not the correct spelling) told them it was a special baby. Mary worried about how she would be able to look after such an important baby, God’s own son. Would she be up to the task?

They also talked about the joy of the baby and how wonderful the whole experience was. They said how kind the inn keeper was to help them when everyone else turned them away. They knew they had been given a very special job- to care for the hope of all mankind. But my favourite by far was the little girl who ended her letter with a post script. “You’ll never guess, something really funny happened. Three wise men came to see the baby and brought presents. Fancy that!”

This Christmas I shall be thinking about that special baby in that special family. The romantic version of the angels singing and the night sky lit by a huge star does not really come close to the reality of 2 people obeying God and doing their best whatever the circumstances.

Diane