The Son of Man XII. Bethlehem

Irish Jesuit Province

The Son of Man XII. BethlehemAuthor(s): Hugh KellySource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 79, No. 942 (Dec., 1951), pp. 523-528Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20516466 .

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THE SON OF MAN?XII.

BETHLEHEM

By HUGH KELLY, S.J.

E have been considering, in the previous articles, some

aspects of the life and character of Christ, the Son of

Man; and it will seem incongruous to close the series with an account of His birth. The excuses offered for this inversion are,

first, that in this month of December the thoughts of all Christians turn towards Bethlehem; and secondly, that, what would be in

congruous and literally preposterous in the consideration of an

ordinary, historical career is not so in the case of One Whose

historical life as the earthly career of a Divine Person incarnate, was

foreseen and planned in all its details from the beginning; and was

the fulfilling of detailed prophecy. In such a life the opening scene will have a peculiar significance; it will contain t?? spirit and

purpose of the whole career.

The place and time of the birth of the Messias had been foretold

by the prophets; the place was to be Bethlehem of Juda. His mother and St. Joseph lived at Nazareth in the northern province of Galilee.

They knew well about the prophecy of Michaeas, which must have

been a source of the greatest anxiety and perplexity to them. How

could they fulfil the prophecy without exciting comment and

speculation? Because the secret of the Incarnation was known only to a few souls. Were they to take the initiative and journey to

Bethlehem? Or were they to wait on God, in the hope that His

Providence would be particularly full and active in such a divine event?

And suddenly a solution of their difficulty was given to them, a

solution as strange as it was unexpected In distant Rome the

Emperor Augustus had issued an order "

that the whole world should

be enrolled"; that is to say, he ordered a census of the Roman

Empire. For Roman citizens the empire was the whole world, and

the people who lived beyond its borders simply did not count

Augustus, as can be judged by extant documents and monuments, was fond of assessing the resources of his dominions; and the present

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IRISH MONTHLY

census was one of several which he had instituted. Whatever was

the motive on which he acted in this instance, whether it was political or economic or was even personal vanity, it would have surprised him greatly to be told that he was but carrying out the designs of

the true God; that all the bustle and activity, all the consultations

and plannings at Rome, the hastening of couriers with despatches

along the great arteries of the empire, the work of execution in the

provinces had for its real and final purpose to secure the birth of

the Saviour at Bethlehem, to make it possible for His mother to

leave Nazareth and fulfil the prophecies without exciting comment.

The census in Judea and in some other countries was carried out

on the basis of the family or tribe; hence the members had to come

for enrolment to the place which was the place of origin of the

family; and Joseph and Mary were of the family of David, whose

home town was Bethlehem. And so it came about that the state

craft, the plannings of the rulers, magistrates and officials of the

great pagan empire were harnessed all unwittingly to the task of

carrying out the designs of Divine Providence; and so Christ came

into the world within the confines of the Roman Empire and had His name entered on its roll of citizens.

It was towards the close of a short December day that Mary and

Joseph reached Bethlehem, four or five days after leaving their house

at Nazareth, ninety miles to the north. Their journey had taken them

almost the whole length of the country, and through places which

kept vividly the memories of great men and happenings of the past At such a moment, when God was bringing to pass the great event

which gave significance to their strange story as a people, these

memories would be peculiarly moving. The plain of Esdralon had

been the scene of bloody conflicts, victories and defeats; Mount

Carmel would speak of Elias and Eliseus; Samaria had its memories of Jacob, of Jezabel; the mountains of Gelvoe would recall the deaths

of Saul and Jonathan immortalized in a great psalm. But most

significant and moving moment would be that moment at which, from the height of Mount Scopus, the city of Jerusalem burst on

the view, encircling the great imposing mass of the temple, not yet

quite finished, but already gleaming and glittering in its magnificence. To Mary and to Joseph this journey through their country was

probably a journey through its history; the strange providential adventure of their race was brought home strongly to them; m

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BETHLEHEM

battles, sins, failures, punishments, repentances were all seen in their true light now that God was about to bring to pass the great event

which was the purpose of His peculiar care for this people?the event for which He had sundered them so vigorously from all other

peoples, from the paganism which surrounded them. It was their

destiny in the eternal councils of Providence to keep alive in a pagan and idolatrous world the worship of the one true God, and to be

the earthly stock from which the Messias would spring. Who could

tell what thoughts and emotions were in the mind of Mary at this

moment? The predominant feeling would be one of gratitude to

God, Who had been faithful to His promises?nay, Who was to

fulfil them in a way that surpassed all hope and expectation. On that December eyening, then, this humble pair of travellers

entered the town of Bethlehem; there was nothing about them to

indicate the greatness of their mission; they were, in the eyes of

those who may have noticed them entering, just two more of the

many strangers which the census had drawn to the town. They had

expected, no doubt, that it would have been easy for them to get

todging and hospitality at the house of some of their numerous

relatives. But the emperor's decree had brought all the scattered

family back to the old home, and so the guest room in all the houses

they knocked at was already occupied by visitors. As a last resource,

they apply to the public inn or caravanseri, which would have been a square, enclosed space into which one entered through a gate into a yard, open to the sky, where the animals were tethered and

fed; off this yard or court around the sides would be rooms where

the visitors would eat and sleep in close proximity to the animals. But even in the inn there was no place for them.

We can easily imagine the anguish which tore at the faithful heart

of Joseph as he stood in the darkening street after he had been

refused admittance to so many houses. On him rested the responsi bility for the safety and comfort of his wife; he knew how necessary k was that she should have a roof over hex head and that she should lave fitting privacy for that night of all other nights. In Mary's ieart there was no anguish. Her submission to God's providence was always perfect and kept her a deep unshaken peace. Moreover the approaching birth of her Son filled her with an unspeakable joy.

Here were perhaps surprise and wonder at the way that God was

acting. On several occasions the Gospel tells us that she wondered

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IRISH MONTHLY

at the words and deeds of her Son. The angel's words at the

Annunciation had revealed only the great outlines of the career of

the Messias; the spirit, methods, the details she would learn by

experience which was often painful and unexpected. Here, as she

stands in the street, with every door closed against her and her

unborn Child, waiting patiently for Joseph to find a shelter, she gets a new, deep insight into the ways and spirit of the Saviour, of His

attitude to the things which the world values.

But any kind of a shelter will do now, for Mary's time had come.

Many of the houses at Bethlehem were built over natural caves

or grottoes, which served as cellars, stables or store rooms. Some of

their friends may have put some such place at their disposal. It had

been used as a stable because it had a manger. Here, then, in this

place where animals lodged and fed, "

she brought forth her first

born and laid Him in a manger ". We have no ground for thinking that the stable was actually occupied by animals; the ass and the ox

which Christian traditional piety has placed beside the crib of the

Divine Infant are probably due to some words of the prophecy of

Isaias.

In such conditions the Messias, long foretold, came into the world.

We must not think that these conditions were the result of accident; that there had been some mistake or want of foresight; that the rush

of visitors had upset all arrangements. The whole setting of the birth

of the Saviour, all the details and incidents, had been planned from

all eternity with infinite wisdom and carried out with unfailing power. These plans had not miscarried, there is no failure, no sudden im

provisation here; if He is born in a stable and laid in a manger; if His mother is denied a shelter in the house of relations, and even

in the public inn, it must be that these things have been deliberately chosen as the setting of His first appearance and that they have a

deep significance for His life.

But at the same time that life which is opening in such humility, in such an absence of the usual signs of worldly esteem, will have

its own glory; if the inhabitants of His own town will not welcome

the new-born Saviour, then God will draw other worshippers to Him

in a way that will show that divine power is at His disposal. On

the plains, beyond the town of Bethlehem, which had been grazing

grounds for sheep for centuries, there was a group of shepherds

keeping the night watches over their flocks. "And behold an angel

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BETHLEHEM

of the Lord stood by them and the brightness of God shone round

them and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said unto

them: Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people; for this day is bom to you a Saviour

Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David." The message was

clear; the Messias for whom their people had waited so long had

come at last. But what were the conditions of His coming? The

angel went on to tell them. "And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in

a manger." And then as if to give the full authority to his words, to sweep away any doubt or hesitation that such an unexpected

message might produce, "suddenly there was with the angel a

multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to

God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will"

Exalted, thrilled by the vision, they hastened in the darkness to the

town, entered the stable and "

found Mary and Joseph and the Infant

lying in a manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that

had been spoken to them concerning this Child".

This handful of rough men who came in suddenly from the dark ness were the first of His own people to do honour to the Child.

That distinction was not given to the political leaders of the people, still less to the religious leaders. Perhaps it was only simple, un

worldly men, whose way of life kept them in contact with the

traditional standards, who could understand the sign given by the

angel; who would not be scandalized by the idea of a Saviour Who was an infant in swaddling clothes, and was laid in a manger. These

shepherds have been the head of an immense, never-ending

procession of pilgrims and adorers who come, at least in spirit, to

Bethlehem to greet the Saviour. These latter have not seen an angel, or heard the heavenly choirs; they have gone in the light of faith; and they, too, like their forerunners,

" have seen and understood of

the Word spoken concerning the Child ".

"Let us go over to Bethlehem and let us see this Word which is come to pass, which the Lord has shown to us"?these are the

words the shepherds spoke to one another; and at this season all

Christians will listen to them and will pass over to Bethlehem in spirit to see and understand the Word about this Child.

The whole of Christ's earthly life is of a piece and so we expect that His birth will strike the note that will be heard all along the

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IRISH MONTHLY

course of it to Calvary. In the Sermon on the Mount, which was

the official beginning of His life as Teacher, He formulated His

attitude towards the things which fallen man, L'homme moyen, sensuel, appreciates and seeks when in the Beatitudes He canonizes

the opposite things and lays it down that it is only poverty, meekness,

detachment, etc., which will bring peace to the soul and give it the

vision of God. But that same fundamental lesson was clearly

preached at Bethlehem not in words, but in deeds. His attitude

towards the things that make for comfort, vanity, and self-love, in

all its forms, is unmistakably revealed on this, His first, appearance in the world. The rejections, the disappointments, the stable and

the manger?these were not there by accident; they were an essential

part of His life; they were deliberately chosen. He practised Himself

the doctrine He preached to others. He lived the Beatitudes before

He preached them.

At this time the song of the angels will sound in our ears also,

"Glory to God . . . peace to men". In these words we may

express the purpose of the life of that Infant. Glory to God. Here

is One Who will reveal God to the world as no one else can. He

will manifest Him in His words, and works, in His life and death.

He will be Himself a monument of the mercy, the power, the wisdom, but most of all of the love of God.

Peace to men. The world has emerged from the most destructive war of history, but it has not entered into peace. The din of war

has ceased at least in our continent, but peace has not come; our

peace is rather a cessation of hostilities, a truce, an uneasy, pre carious pause in the struggle. True peace will not come as a result of battles and conquest, or of the control of material power. Peace can come only from within, when man has learned to dominate his

passions, his greed, his hatred, his ambition. The Child in the

manger is the Prince of Peace. He alone can teach man the way to peace'; for He alone can teach him how to subdue in his own

heart the eternal enemies of peace. If we listen to the unspoken Word of the Child we shall put God

in His place in life, and from God all other things will get their value

and rank. Then, when there is glory to God, there will be peace on earth for men of good will.

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The Son of Man XII. Bethlehem