For unto you is born… a Savior. Luke 2:11
NO ROOM IN THE INN (1982)
Bro. Thomas Edward Taggart
Astor Lodge No. 505, Albia, IA
(Luke 2:1-18)
A long time ago, in a small country far away from here, there was a man leading a donkey down a narrow dusty road. It was almost dark, and he still had not reached his destination. He kept glancing over his shoulder to check on his wife who was riding the animal behind him. He could see that she was exhausted from the long journey. Even though she was quite a bit younger than he, this last thirty miles from Jerusalem, where they had camped last night among the other travelers, had been especially hard on her. To make things more complicated, their child could be born at any time. He cursed himself for ever letting Mary talk him into bringing her with him. But she insisted that their son could not be born anywhere but in Bethlehem, the ancestral home of both their families.
As he walked, he recalled the strange events of the past year. He remembered their betrothal, how he had been reluctant to ask for Mary’s hand because of the difference in their ages. But he loved this young girl very much and found the courage to confront her father. To his surprise, her parents were in favor of the marriage. They knew that Joseph had a reputation for honesty and was levelheaded and was well established in his trade as the village carpenter, so they knew their daughter would be well taken care of. Besides, they suspected Mary was in love with Joseph too.
They had been very happy, but suddenly a change came over Mary that Joseph could not understand and shortly after she left Nazareth to spend a few months at the home of her cousin Elizabeth. When she returned, she told him the story of how she had been visited by the angel of the Lord, who told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. It was an unbelievable story, but there was no denying the swelling of her body that was evidence of the growing life within it. At first Joseph didn’t believe her. How could his Mary do such a thing? And then try to cover it up with this story about the angel. He had thought it best not to go through with the wedding and to send Mary away somewhere where she could avoid the gossip of the neighbors and the shame. But he loved her so, and he could not imagine going through the rest of his life without her. Then while he was trying to decide what he should do; he had a dream.
He was never one to put much stock in dreams, but this was so real that he wasn’t sure that it was a dream. The angel of the Lord had come to him one night and told him that he should take Mary as his wife, that the child she was carrying was the son of God just as she had said, and that he would be called Jesus and would save his people from their sins. It was a staggering thought. The Messiah was soon to be born and he and Mary would be responsible for raising him and teaching him what he needed to know to be a man in this world. So, Mary and Joseph were wed.
Unity Lodge No. 146 