Everyone agreed, 4BCE had been a terrible year. It was the year of the death of Herod the Great who had ruled Judea, Samaria, and Galilee under Roman authority. It is also the year Jesus was believed to have been born.
By reputation Herod was both ‘bloody and paranoid’ ruling through mass terror and widespread surveillance, responsible for the deaths of many of his own relatives. It was a time of political turmoil and religious unrest held together by violence and fear of what would follow his death.
For ordinary people, the burden of tax weighed heavy with 50%-60% of their production taken by local and distant rulers. The Roman emperor Caesar Augustus had decreed a census be taken of all conquered lands to calculate the income he could expect. Some historians have suggested that Joseph who, with his pregnant wife Mary, was returning to his hometown of Bethlehem was a ‘downwardly mobile’ farmer who, unable to meet the demand, had lost his land. The journey was uphill at the beginning of winter and would have taken between four days and a week. It was a world of inequality where 10% were born into nobility and the remaining 90% worked the land and paid.
Information Lies in Difference
Understanding context lets us appreciate the extraordinary difference between the world into which Jesus is born and the story of his birth. Into this brutal realm comes a story of care and protection, generosity, and kindness. The baby boy is not murdered as had happened to a member of Herod’s family but is nurtured and shielded. The poor are given gifts of food and produce and riches beyond their imagining instead of the little they have taken in tax. The Magi, wise men and kings come to pay respect to the infant rather than accepting the reverence of those less powerful. It is a world turned on its head.
The Star
Above it all is the star which led the Wisemen to the stable. Astronomers have suggested that it may have been a conjunction between planets and stars. Whatever its origin, the star becomes a symbol of hope and a belief that by following its light a better future may be possible. We are encouraged to look beyond the immediate circumstances and imagine a time where the oppressive circumstances of the present are removed. It is a story that promotes a radical revision of current circumstances where inequality and disadvantage are remediated. No wonder those in power were worried.
What Does this Mean Now?
2024 has been a difficult year for many across the world with war, displacement, natural disaster, poverty, housing insecurity and loss. The story remains relevant today with its message that those who have more resources should share with those who do not, and that inequality should not be tolerated. We need a star to guide us towards a future where these things no longer dominate our world. The Christmas story shows us that even in the darkest times a better future can be imagined and its creation begun in small and ordinary ways. Just like a tiny baby.
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