Mary & Joseph’s Journey to Bethlehem

Mary and Joseph’s Journey to Bethlehem

by Colleen Rooney

One can only wonder what was going on in Mary and Joseph’s minds and hearts as they prepared to travel to Bethlehem for the census (Luke 2: 1 – 5). Both were probably familiar with the journey at least to Jerusalem. Joseph was obligated by Jewish law to travel three times a year to Jerusalem for the major Jewish feasts. Mary had, no doubt, traveled with her parents at various times to Jerusalem for the same feasts. Jerusalem was but a few miles from Bethlehem, the city of David. Joseph was of the family line of King David and was returning to the ancestral home to register for the census. Both he and Mary were of the house of King David, the ancestral tribe of Judah. They may have had relatives who still lived in Bethlehem and could possibly have visited them on a family trip in the past. Now they were preparing to go to Bethlehem for the census, but more significantly for the birth of the promised Savior, Jesus, the Divine Infant. Mary’s pregnancy was drawing to a close. Joseph was aware that she would soon be delivered. What must they both have been thinking? I will leave to the scholars and those with spiritual depth to speculate on their interior dispositions. On the practical side, I would like us to consider some preparations. Mary would have been making swaddling garments for the baby. First, she would card the wool, then separate the fibers into yarn. When she had enough yarn, she would then set her loom to weave the yarn into cloth. The cloth provided much needed wraps to swaddle her baby Son. Did she dye the swaddling clothes some color or leave them natural? We do not know. We do know she was an accomplished weaver as one might expect from a woman who was naturally gifted in every way. Unlike you and me, she did not have the darkness of mind or confusion of impulses that often distract us from learning something well and then executing it precisely. Mary

wove the swaddling clothes simply and beautifully as she would later weave Jesus’s seamless tunic (John 19:23). Joseph had many concerns on his mind. He knew the trip to Bethlehem (about 60 – 70 miles) would not be easy for Mary in her advanced stage of pregnancy. Certainly, she would ride on the donkey with some type of protective covering used as a makeshift saddle, but it would not be comfortable. He knew she would not complain, but it bothered him that he could not make it easier for her. They would take a slower pace than normal, yet still it would be physically taxing. The preparations for the Child were relatively simple. However, preparing for the trip and the duration of their stay was more complex, as they did not know when the Child would be born or where they would be staying. Once the Child was born, they knew it would be at least 40 days before they returned to Nazareth. Jesus would need to be circumcised on the eighth day according to Jewish Law (Genesis 17:10 and Luke 2:21). They were not required to go to the Temple for the circumcision. They were required to go to the Temple for the presentation of the first-born son and the purification of the mother. That occurred 40 days after the birth of the child (Leviticus 12 and Luke 2:22). Mary and Joseph had to plan to stay in Bethlehem

at least through the Presentation. It would be far too tiring for Mary with the Baby Jesus to travel home after the circumcision and back again to Jerusalem for the Presentation considering how arduous travel was in those days. Food preparations were required for the trip. Surely, they could occasionally find someone who would sell them something but that would cost money, of which they had little. Along with making Jesus’ swaddling clothes, Mary was preparing and baking extra bread to take with them. She also was taking her mortar and pestle for grinding flour, some type of surface for kneading the dough and allowing it to rise, and sour dough starter. She may have had a small cook stove or a baking pit at home; however, if she did not, there were outdoor communal ovens, somewhat like we see at woodfire pizza eateries, where Mary could bake her bread along with other women in Nazareth. Similar facilities would be available in Bethlehem. They must have some food and drink to carry with them. We can imagine Mary drying various fruits and vegetables to take along. Perhaps she made extra cheese. Joseph certainly would have helped her with that, as it was a tedious and tiring job. It is unlikely they took any dried meat since they did not eat meat except for feasts. They probably took dried fish or fish soaked in oil. Whatever foodstuffs they took with them, preparation was required. They would need to be well-organized and have packed carefully. Unless they had two donkeys, which they are never depicted as having, the donkey carrying Mary would be carrying some of their foods. The couple would need to take along food for the donkey, too. Joseph was considering which tools to bring for the time away from Nazareth. He expected to return after the Presentation, but he might be able to pick up a little work while they were in Bethlehem for 40 or so days. The tools common to a carpenter or tradesmen were the instrument used for marking, called a rule, the compass for drawing circles, the line for measuring, and the ax for felling trees or shaping wood. Did Joseph bring these tools? We are not sure.

Others in Nazareth also would have to travel to their ancestral homes for the census. There were animals to be fed. Or did Mary and Joseph take their animals with them? We cannot be certain. Perhaps they left the care of their animals to a young cousin. The boy or girl would feed a goat, chickens, or maybe a sheep in the morning and evening until Mary and Joseph returned with a new baby. Like all of us, Mary and Joseph had many practical matters to consider before they began their journey to Bethlehem. What we can be sure of is early one morning they started out on their sixtyplus-mile journey to Bethlehem. They would have begun with Joseph leading

the Shema as part of their daily prayers. The trip was normally about a 3-4 day journey that the Jews often made in caravans of men, women, and children. There may have been a few others traveling with Mary and Joseph. We can expect that the couple traveled slower than usual, stopping now and then to rest and for Mary to change position. They would eat and drink a bit along the way, but the couple knew they had to use their resources wisely, so their meals were small. Their thoughts must have been turned inward on this momentous event that was soon to take place. Perhaps those traveling with them found them to be quiet, not given to chatter. Whatever their fellow travelers thought of them, they could not help but sense an abiding spirit of calm and a deep joyous silence. The journey was exhausting. It was tiring normally, but for Mary in her ninth month it was draining. Although Mary received the special privilege of the virginal birth, she nevertheless experienced the weight of the infant within her body and the accompanying physical weariness brought about in pregnancy. Like her Son, she was like us in all things except sin. Mary was not Divine, but she was immaculately conceived and never committed personal sin. She did experience hunger, weariness, and sleepiness. Joseph approached Bethlehem with a sigh of relief. He was glad to be at their destination and to find a place for them to stay. He, too, was weary, and now he felt the embarrassment and shock --there were no rooms left. He sought out family and public inns, but no one had any room for them. There was not an ounce of privacy to be found for a mother about to give birth (Luke 2: 1 – 7). Then out of the evening’s darkness came a man, humble and quiet, who, seeing the young couple and their plight, offered them his cave a bit out of the way. It was a shelter for some of his animals. It was not much, but it was all he had to offer the young mother. With quiet thanks, Joseph and Mary followed his directions, stopping only to rest for a moment. It was under a cold, starry night when they tied the donkey to a post, gave him some feed, and unrolled their sleeping mats. Their provisions were set aside as they said their evening prayers. It was none too soon, as the Pure and Holy Virgin Mary knew her time had now come to give birth in this modest place to the Divine Infant.

“His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FRIENDS!