As I enter my 8th month of pregnancy around this Christmas holiday, I cannot help but to reflect on Mary and her experience with the most profound pregnancy in the history of our world. I try to imagine what that journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem must have been like for her so late in pregnancy. The image that typically pops into most of our heads is Mary riding on the back of a donkey while Joseph walks on the path that would have been about 70 miles, taking four or five days to complete. However, Scripture does not actually specify that Mary rode on a donkey. In reality, we don’t know how Mary got from Nazareth to Bethlehem – maybe she rode a donkey, perhaps she was pulled in a cart drawn by horse or donkey, or she possibly could have walked alongside Joseph.
What I do know from personal experience is that no matter how she got there it was probably uncomfortable. Granted, Mary was a lot younger and probably a much stronger woman than I am. I’ll be honest - even making the journey from my couch to the fridge or up and down the 3 flights of stairs in our building while pregnant can feel like quite a feat some days. I cannot imagine the physical and mental feat it must have been for Mary to travel for days on end over that terrain. Not to mention that if she was 9 months pregnant when they made that trip, it’s likely that she could have been having contractions along the way as her body prepared to birth her son.
As I reflect on my own fears and expectations of bringing a child into this world, I wonder what thoughts went through Mary’s mind as she neared the birth of her child while away from the comforts of her own home and family. Was she nervous and fearful for the pains of childbirth? Was she eager and excited to meet her baby? What did she expect knowing she was about to birth the Son of the Most High?
I anticipate what it will be like to give birth in a hospital, with a room and bed all to myself and the comforts of my husband, mom and medical team by my side. Did Mary think she would have some of the same comforts of at least a private room and bed in a home or inn? Speaking of the inn...The word used in Luke 2:6 in the Greek is “kataluma” which is the same term used to describe the “upper room” where Jesus and his disciples ate the last supper. Many scholars agree that this upper room was likely a guest room at Joseph’s family’s home and was already occupied by Joseph’s family, leaving no room for him and Mary to stay. So, did Joseph’s family send a poor pregnant woman about to give birth to a stable outside in a field somewhere? As Stephanie Tanner from Full House would say…
Well, this probably isn’t exactly what happened. According to Kenneth Bailey in his book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, traditional homes during this time had two rooms – the private upper room was the best room meant for guests and a lower room where the animals would be brought in for the night to sleep, possibly with the rest of the family sleeping there as well. While this certainly does not change the humble circumstances in which Jesus was born, it does give a perspective that perhaps Mary and Joseph were still surrounded by, and Jesus born among, family.
Now that the scene has been set, let’s talk about the raw and messy part – childbirth. I have always had a personal goal of giving birth unmedicated, letting my body do as it is designed to do, if circumstances allow. In preparation for this, Matt and I have been taking a very in-depth “natural” childbirth course, educating ourselves on the process so we have some idea of what to expect and how to prepare my body to go through such a difficult task. We’ve also been watching a lot of unmedicated birth videos and let me tell you, the birth of a child is miraculous, incredible, beautiful and emotional, but it is also very messy and kind of gross.
Jesus’ birth was no exception to this. Most images or movies depicting the Christ child right after birth show a very put together and clean mama and baby, but let’s not put a filter on this natural process. I love this artist’s depiction of Mary giving birth (Creator: Natalie Lennard from birthundisturbed.com)
I mean the animals could have given her a little more space, but the rawness of Mary crying out as she squats and gives that last push to birth her son who is covered in blood and other bodily fluids is beautiful, it’s powerful, it’s real. I’m filled with awe as I am reminded that Jesus Christ – the Messiah, Savior, the Son of God – was born into this world the way we all are – messy, crying and utterly dependent on our parent(s) for survival.
In his book, Honest Advent, Scott Erickson writes, “Everything about God Almighty incarnating through the vulnerable process of human birth confronts all of our ideas of overcoming power. The sanitized brand we’ve created to celebrate Christmas aesthetically suggests we can only experience God-with-Us by cleaning up all of life’s messy details. When everything is perfect, we’ll get that Christmas tingle. But what we see through the details of the birthing process is that the Christ story is actually about a God who brings salvation into the world through all those messy details…a saving way came into the world just like we did – in all of its goopy humanity. A birth is a rite of passage in human vulnerability, and the Almighty did not insulate Itself from participating in that. There is something overwhelmingly sacred about meditating on that reality during this time of year. That the Christ was born of blood – like we are. That the Christ partook in the powerless vulnerability of coming into the world naked and weak – like we often still feel. That the Christ was born into the fecal muck of human biology, which we seem to wade through for the rest of our lives.”
So my dear friend, if this Christmas season you are struggling to feel put together, to clean up or even hide the messiness of your life, and you feel like you need to have it all together to joyfully celebrate the birth of our Savior, let this be a reminder that God Himself chose to come into this world, He came to you, through the messiness of human birth and life. He does not shy away from nor ignore the mess; He doesn’t require you to hide or clean up your own mess before He will draw near to you. He wants to meet you right there in it.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…God with us!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!