If Jesus Was Born in December

            People always think of Israel as being hot, desert-y, and dry.  I could have easily gone swimming in the Sea of Galilee on Thanksgiving (if it was closer).  Israel is scorching during the summer, and hot for the fall and spring. Still, there was a reason it was called the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’.  And cows can’t graze in a desert, and bees need flowers to make honey; you need rain.  It does rain here, and that’s what’s called ‘winter’.  And it also gets cold.  It was a high of 50 degrees Fahrenheit today, and it was mostly in the 40s.  Friday it’s supposed to get down to 36 degrees. No snow here, just cold and nasty rain (it is supposed to snow in Jerusalem).

            But it’s also Christmas, which celebrates when Jesus was born.  Now, we don’t know for sure when Jesus was born (the Bible doesn’t say).  I’ve heard it said he was probably born in April; the Puritans thought he was born in September.  So no votes for December that I've heard of.  Which is probably best, even though it does make for nice Christmas pictures in northern climates.

            I hope for everyone who got a part in the original Christmas that Jesus wasn’t born in December.  First of all, Mary and Joseph walked (perhaps with the aid of a donkey) from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  That only takes you about two hours in a car, but then it would have taken anywhere between a week and a month, depending on what route you took, how often you stopped, how much energy you had after camping for several nights, etc.  Either way, it can’t have been pleasant for a very pregnant woman to go that far in the first century.  If it happened it December, it would have been absolutely miserable.  No one wants to go camping during the cold and rainy season, especially not a pregnant woman.  The shepherds and the wise men would have also been spending a lot of time outside, too.  The stable would have been smelly at any time of the year because of the animals; can you imagine the stink if it was wet too? 

            Regardless of when Jesus was born, the fact is that it was unpleasant.  He wasn’t born in a palace, but in a stable.  The rich and dignified from his own country never noticed him.  He was worshipped instead by the shepherds, who were low on the social ladder, and foreign kings, who were even lower (especially religiously).  His parents were poor and far from home, though not quite refugees (yet).  Still, in spite of the social and political situation, and even the weather, Jesus was born exactly where and when he was supposed to be.  Rain or Shine.