Summoned to be Witnesses

On this celebration of Christmas, Luke’s Gospel features accounts of two proclamations, one preceding and one following the briefly described birth of Jesus. The report of the first proclamation, which opens the Gospel, suggests the context of the world into which Jesus is born. The reigning Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, has proclaimed a decree that all those living under his jurisdiction report to their own town to be enrolled in a census. At this time, Jews such as Joseph and Mary were living as colonized people under Roman rule. A census provided more than a head count, especially within the occupied province of Judea. Registering these individuals would provide an instrument for levying taxation on them. In turn, these resources would support the increasing build-up of bureaucracies and military assets, as well as continue to support the extravagant projects of a Roman elite class. Yet none of these expenditures likely would benefit the taxed inhabitants of Judea. Only wealth, power and compliance, especially by those now obliged to live under the imposing and formidable Roman rule, defined and constituted success for this empire.  

Though Joseph was from the house of David, that is Bethlehem, he now lived with Mary in the Galilean region. Perhaps for reasons of safety or work opportunities as a carpenter, his current town of residence, Nazareth, was far from his place of origin. Though the journey with his pregnant wife Mary would be long, he, like other colonized Jews, dared not fail to register in his home, Bethlehem. “While they were there, the time came for her to give birth to her first-born son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk 2:6-7). 

Actually, the Greek word katalyma does not refer to an inn, but more likely to a guest room on the second floor of a family’s home. That Bethlehem was Joseph’s original home even may suggest that this now unavailable room may have been in a home of relatives who ordinarily might have welcomed them. But Mary would not want to have shared the common space of a second-floor guest room, even with other relatives, while giving birth. Instead, Mary and Joseph may have occupied the space below, a main-floor enclosure that served as a storeroom where the family’s one or two animals could be stabled. As a more compatible space for privacy, and perhaps surrounded by a few women relatives serving as midwives, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Though less romanticized than the replay of the yearly nativity pageants, the birth of Jesus may have occurred in friendlier, even familial, circumstances as the new parents visited Bethlehem. 

Immediately following this abbreviated account of Jesus’ birth, the central event of Christmas, a second proclamation follows. This one offers a sharp contrast with the origin and character of the Roman proclamation. “A messenger of the LORD appears to shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock” (Lk 2:8). They proclaim news of great joy, not merely for some people, but for all (Lk 2:10). While such experiences of the divine are difficult to describe, the Isaiah reading nurtures our imagination. “The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2), he writes. Of course, such unanticipated religious experiences cultivate questions and even fear. But in contrast to the fear that the imperial power of Rome elicits, this experience of God relieves the shepherds’ anxiety. It cultivates, instead, wonderment, curiosity and hope for a Savior’s reign that is fixed upon those who have “dwelt in a land of gloom” (Is 9:2).  

This anticipated Messiah’s kingdom will not wield unbridled power that subjugates some and elevates others. Instead, as the Psalmist writes, “he will rule the world with justice and the people with his constancy” (Ps 96:13). As this mysterious angelic proclamation resounds with praise to God, it also invites these shepherds to seek out this newly born savior who is Christ the Lord.  

The verses following the Gospel passage for Christmas describe the shepherds doing just that and telling others of the birth of one whom Isaiah had called “Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace” (Is 9:5). As at the tomb of Jesus so at his birth, God summons not the powerful to announce the good news but calls upon ordinary people of faith – shepherds and disciples of all backgrounds – to be witnesses to the inbreaking of the divine. Ordinary people like us are summoned this Christmas to be witnesses to Jesus ever present in our lives, in the Eucharist, in God’s Word and in one another.  Like the shepherds, we must set aside our doubts and fears. With openness and audacity we must seek him so we, too, can proclaim his continued abiding presence here and now with our words and our deeds. “For today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord!”