Acts 2:1-4, 37-41; Luke 2:1-20

The year was zero 70 or maybe zero 71. A small group of people gathered in a house in the city of Damascus. Several of them had recently arrived, having escaped from Judea during or after the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Like other refugees, they had brought little with them, happy to have escaped with their lives and loved ones.

The new arrivals had sought out family or people who recognized the sign of the fish. They had been welcomed and taken into that community, and they were building a new life for themselves.

Recently the word had passed through the Followers to meet at Jonah’s house on a specific evening for a special worship. This small group of twenty to twenty-five people came—some with no family, but others had small children. One young woman, obviously pregnant, came alone, because her husband had been killed in the siege. She lived with her sister’s family, but they had not come.

A very old man greeted everyone and then began a story he knew from his youth.

“This is the story I was told when I became a Follower,” he explained. They had no written stories, but that did not matter, because they could not read. What they had was memories from people who had known Jesus or who had heard his stories from them.

“Years ago, when I was at the age between a child and a young man, I became a Follower of Jesus. My parents and I were in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebration. We were passing through a residential area when we heard a loud wind. It was a strange wind, because we did not feel it, only heard it.

“Then some people came spilling out of a house and speaking to the crowd. That was strange, too, because we heard them speaking Syrian, not Aramaic, like they spoke in Jerusalem. At least, we understood them to be speaking Syrian. People around us from other countries understood them in their languages.

“One of the men from the house told us about Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified and raised from the dead. He was very persuasive, so we stopped to hear more. We believed what he told us and were baptized that very day.” The old man stopped and took a drink of water.

Ayda, the young pregnant woman, nodded with the others who were listening to the old man. She remembered her baptism. A man named Phineas came to her village near Jerusalem. He stayed with her family while he was there and told everyone about Jesus of Nazareth, how he died for our sins and was resurrected. He told stories about people Jesus healed, both men and women, even children. What Ayda remembered best was the “Blesseds” that Phineas narrated, as he had been told. Phineas baptized her and her brother.

Now Ayda smiled and hugged herself with the joyful memory.

The old man cleared his throat and continued. “I stayed in Jerusalem while my parents went home. That man who spoke to us that day, his name was Simon Peter, and he took me into his house. He told me many stories, but this is the story I want to share with you this evening.”

The sound of soldiers marching in the street outside the house caused Ayda and other refugees inside to shiver with fear. The memory of Roman soldiers marching through Jerusalem tore away her smile and her joyful hug. She heard again the screams and the terror.

Recognizing the fear in the room, the old man’s voice became soft, gentle. “I want to tell you the story of the birth of our Savior. He is the reason we can live without fear. He is our comfort and our strength and our courage.”

The marching feet faded into the distance. Ayda pulled herself together, calmed by the old man’s voice and words.

“The Romans always needed money, because they had many soldiers to pay, a large army to support. One of the Caesars, Augustus, decided to try a different kind of tax. He required all the men to return to the city of their ancestors and register themselves.

“But before that … let me tell you what happened before that.

“Mary was a young woman of marrying age, and she was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. One day, while she was out in the field, an angel came to her.”

In his listeners, eyes widened and mouths gasped. An angel? What would they do if an angel showed up here in their midst?

The old man smiled, knowing their thoughts. He had told this story many times, and this was always the reaction.

“This was a friendly angel, Gabriel. He told her not to be afraid, that he had good news.”

A smile formed on each of the faces of the listeners as they leaned forward to hear better.

“Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a child by the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that moved across the face of the waters at Creation.”

Ayda stretched out her legs. That Spirit would be good news.

“The angel told her to name the child Jesus, that he would be the Son of God and would rule over Israel forever. Forever and ever.

“A few months later, Joseph realized that Mary was pregnant. He knew the child was not his, so he decided to cancel the marriage. If he made a big scene about it, she would be stoned. He didn’t want that.”

Ayda shuddered. She had seen a woman stoned, and it was a memory that woke her up in the middle of the night.

“But an angel of the Lord—I don’t know if it was the same angel—came to Joseph in a dream and told him she had not been unfaithful. He should marry her. This child was from the Holy Spirit, and they were to name him Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins.

“So the time came when Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to register for the Roman tax because Joseph’s family came from there. Mary was very pregnant. When they reached Bethlehem, they could find no place to stay. Finally, someone took them in. The guest room was full, but the family took them in.¹”

The old man paused for his listeners to grasp the situation. This baby who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, this baby who was the Son of God, would be born in the straw, surrounded by donkeys and oxen. Surely God could have made better arrangements!

“Mary gave birth there, and they laid the newborn in a manger.”

Ayda stroked her belly and tried to imagine her baby being placed in a manger. She shook her head. No, her brother-in-law, Efrayim, had given her a place in his home. Her baby would be well cared for. He would have a proper place to sleep.

A smile tugged at the old man’s lips. “But that is not the end of the story.”

People looked up at him expectantly.

“More angels,” he added. A whole host of them!

“You see, there were shepherds out in the fields that night. They had the sheep bedded down, and they had gathered around the fire. An angel appeared to them.

This time the listeners did not react. Apparently the old man’s story only had friendly angels.

“This angel told the shepherds not to be afraid. Like the other angel, he said he had good news. Great joy for everyone! And he told them about the baby that had been born in nearby Bethlehem. He said this baby was the Savior, the Messiah. And they would find him wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger.

“And then … and then the sky was filled with angels, singing and praising God.” He tried to sing, but his voice cracked, so he spoke the song. “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those favored.”

“So, what do you suppose the shepherds did?” the old man asked. He paused for an answer.

At first, nobody spoke, but then the man sitting next to Ayda suggested, “Did they go?”

She looked at her neighbor, then back at the old man. His smile nearly covered his face.

“Yes, they did. And you know what they found?” He paused again.

In almost one joyful voice, the people answered, “The baby!”

The old man nodded. “They stayed for a little while, telling Mary and Joseph about the angels. Then they sat and gazed at the baby, until they saw how tired Mary was.

“When they left, they told everyone they met about what they had seen and heard. And they went back to their flocks.”

He hesitated again, but he was not finished.

The old man looked around at the group, his eyes meeting each person’s. “And you know what you are to do, don’t you?”

They nodded, but he told them anyway. “Go and do likewise. Tell everyone you meet that Jesus Christ is born. The Savior of the world has come.”

One by one, two by two, family by family, the people left, until only Ayda and the old man remained. She glanced up at him. “Not everyone wants to know.”

His voice was gentle but firm. “But if you don’t tell them, who will? You’ll know when the time is right.”

General Questions

1) How does this story follow its Scripture?

2) How does this story expand its Scripture for you?

3) What is the message of this story?

4) How does the message apply to us today?

 Specific Questions

5) What would it be like to have to flee from your home to a foreign land?

6) Can you imagine/remember hearing the Christmas story for the first time?

7) What is the significance of the Savior of the world being born as a tiny, vulnerable baby laid in a manger?

8) How do you share the Christmas story?

1. Most houses for common people had one or two rooms. The second room was the guest room. The main room had two levels, with the lower level for the animals and the upper level for the people. They would have taken a manger to the upper level to protect the baby from being stepped on by the people living there. Bailey, Kenneth E.. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (pp. 35-36). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition. ↩︎