Christmas Day, 2022: Luke 2: 1-20
Today is Christmas. We remember the story of the couple who travelled 70 miles to address a political demand. They come to a very crowded town, because all of David’s descendents had to travel to Bethlehem. There is no room for them, but they have a stable. A baby is born, and shepherds are told of his birth, and come to admire him.
We are used to hearing the story as one about a family who is not welcomed. But a recent article in the Christian Century by Kelly Nikondeha reframed the story for me. What if we thought about the story as one of people making room for everyone who needed it, even though there was really no room left? This squares with Palestinian concepts of hospitality, after all. Many of us have slept on sofas, or in attics, or other found places. I have friends who have camped outside a crowded house at a holiday: they join for meals, but there’s no more room.
What if we imagined other women coming to the stable to help Mary? Before the shepherds arrived, there were other women, helping Mary and Joseph, providing care for the new family. This was what happened in pre-modern societies: women helped birth children, and cared for women who had just borne them.
Most of the images we have of the nativity are of an isolated couple in a stable disconnected from a community. The stable was in town, so in the midst of life. When local women learned that a woman needed help, and they came. The stable was warm, and there was bedding.
This imagining of the story makes it a story of people caring for each other, welcoming a stranger in need. It is a story of community. It is a fitting start to the story of Jesus, who himself built a community that welcomed everyone.
Over the years, I have added figures to my creche. The central figures are lovely wooden ones my father bought in the 1960s. But the rest is now entirely non-canonical, with a lama, an elephant, a penguin, some Lego Santas and Cookie Monster, among others. When one friend saw my creche, the next year she appeared with a rubber duckie Jesus and Santa. They have now joined the crew. When asked about it, I tell people that since we say that all are welcome at God’s table, all are welcome in the stable too.
As we welcome the Christ child, we are asked to welcome those who show up and need to be cared for.
We wish all of you a Christmas in community.