Lectionary blogging: Luke 2: 1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Augustus was the winner of the Roman civil war.  He was Octavian, the nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar.  Upon the assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BC), Octavian formed an alliance with Mark Antony, and they defeated the anti-Caesar faction headed by Brutus and Cassius at Philippi (42 BC).

Octavian and his ally, Mark Antony, had a falling out when Antony began a campaign to recognize Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra as the rightful heir to power in Rome.  Octavian was an adopted son, and saw Antony's move, correctly, as a political threat.  Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.  Thus ended the Roman Civil War.  Octavian--now Caesar Augustus--had ended thirteen years of chaos.  Many called him "the savior of the world." 

There is no evidence of an empire-wide census at the time of Jesus' birth.  Caesar Augustus conducted three censuses during his long reign--the one closest to the birth of Jesus was in 8 BC--but all were limited to Roman citizens.  When Quirinius (Cyrenius in Latin) was governor of Syria, there was a local census in the year AD 6, though, in any case, Bethlehem was in Judea and not in his jurisdiction.  (Keep in mind:  Herod died in 4 BC.  His son, Herod Archelaus, succeeded him, but was replaced by Quirinius in AD 6.)

Luke was not writing history.  He was writing theology in narrative form, which is much more important and much more interesting.  He starts off by noting the big wheels of the world and how they like to jerk people around.  Roman power makes Joseph dance to its tune, sending him across the country to get "counted" so that Rome could get more efficient at taking his money for taxes.

Whenever Caesar, or local governors like Quirinius, ran censuses, there would be uprisings and revolts.  People didn't like them.  The tax burden was already excessive, and people lived in a grinding poverty, under the bootheel of Rome, that was getting worse, and not better.  Some historians trace the emergence of the zealots--we could call them pro-palestinian terrorists--to the uprisings against the census of Quirinius.  The zealots, in turn, were part of a chain of events that led to the Roman-Jewish War of AD 66-70.

Luke is writing about the true "savior of the world," one from the line of the great King David.  He looks to Bethlehem, the city of David, and not to Rome, the city of Caesar.  All the synoptics take this point of view. 

In verses 6-7, Luke uses strong language to assert the birth of Jesus--literally, "But it happened, in the existence of them, there the days are fullfilled of her bringing forth."  It doesn't read very smoothly in English, but notice how Luke underlines the birth with three key words:    It happened (egeneto) in the happening (einai), the bringing forth (tipto).

Jesus is identified as Mary's "first born son."  The word is prototokos.  It will pop up again in Colossians 1 where Jesus is described as "the first born of all creation."  (Did the author of Colossians know Luke's gospel?  Was the author of Colossians, with his notable cosmic vision and high christology, expanding on Mary's "first born son" and proclaiming him the "first born of all creation"?) 

There was no room for Joseph and Mary in the kataluma.  The word refers to the upper room of a house, the guest room--not, in other words, some wayside hotel, barn, or cave.  In the case of Joseph and Mary, the guest room was already taken--Uncle Zechariah from Wichita had already claimed it--and they had to stay in the other "room" which, at night, would be home for animals, but during the day would be cleaned up and used by the family.  Joseph and Mary were not alone in the dark of night somewhere.  Mary had the baby in a home, surrounded by family.   (As an aside, notice also that Luke says nothing at all of any paternity issue.  Unlike Matthew, Luke says nothing about Joseph being troubled by the pregnancy and wanting to divorce Mary.)

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,^* the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
¹⁴‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

The birth is announced to shepherds in the field, and not to the powerful in rich palaces.  The scandal of the virgin birth is not so much that Mary was a virgin.  Lots of famous people were said to have been conceived by various gods, including Caesar Augustus himself.  The scandal was that Jesus--a poor kid from a jerkwater town--was born of a virgin.  (The image of the shepherd also is a reminder that King David, soon to be mentioned yet again, was also a shepherd.)

Whenever the word "angel" appears in scripture, I think:  "window into heaven."  Angels tell what is happening from the perspective of God.  The shepherds are bathed in light (perilampo)--the glory (doxa) of the Lord!  The shepherds were absolutely terrified--the word phobos is used twice.  What's more, it's mega.

The angel announces "good news (euangelion) of great joy for all the people."  Luke didn't invent the word euangelion.  It was a word that was commonly applied to Caesar.  "Euangelion!  Good news!  Caesar is victorious in Gaul!"  In the case of Jesus, the "good news of great joy" is for "all the people (panti to lao)"--not just the powerful, in other words, as was commonly the case, but rather all the people, even, ironically, the very people who thought "good news" was only for them.

The word savior (sotare) appears only three times in the synoptics--Luke 1, Luke 2, and John 4.  It was a politically-charged term since, after all, Caesar Augustus was known as "the savior of the world."  He had brought order to the world after a long war.  Great poets, historians, and politicians lauded the peace of Augustus.  Luke's announcement of Jesus as "savior" is a way of saying, "Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not."  Moreover, this "savior" comes from the house of David.  He is not only "lord," but "messiah."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The angels go into heaven, and the shepherds "said to one another (allelous)."  All the shepherds are involved in the discussion.  They go immediately to Bethlehem and see (idomen) "this thing that has happened (gegonos, again) which the Lord has made known (ginosko) to us."  (With the repeated use of ginomai/gegonos, and the use of the ginosko (knowledge), I wonder if Luke is taking a swipe at the proto-gnostics, those who elevated "knowledge" over the base material world.)

The shepherds share what they have learned.  Already, we get signs of the mutuality and reciprocity of the kingdom of God.  The shepherds share with each other, and with Joseph and Mary--no privileged information here.  The words of the shepherds stir "all" who hear them.  They return praising God.

Meanwhile, "Mary preserved to herself (sunetare) all these words brought together (sumballos) in her heart."  Just as the shepherds experience mutuality and, one might say, "wholeness" with each other, Mary also experiences this "wholeness" in her heart.  Sunetare has the sense of integration, taking into oneself.  Sumballos has the sense of bringing together, even throwing together.

Thus is born the true savior of the world--not Caesar Augustus, the oppressor, false savior of the world, protector of those with power and privilege, but Christ the Lord, whose birth is "good news of great joy for all the people."

Octavian and his ally, Mark Antony, had a falling out when Antony began a campaign to recognize Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra as the rightful heir to power in Rome.  Octavian was an adopted son, and saw Antony's move, correctly, as a political threat.  Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.  Thus ended the Roman Civil War.  Octavian--now Caesar Augustus--had ended thirteen years of chaos.  Many called him "the savior of the world." 

There is no evidence of an empire-wide census at the time of Jesus' birth.  Caesar Augustus conducted three censuses during his long reign--the one closest to the birth of Jesus was in 8 BC--but all were limited to Roman citizens.  When Quirinius (Cyrenius in Latin) was governor of Syria, there was a local census in the year AD 6, though, in any case, Bethlehem was in Judea and not in his jurisdiction.  (Keep in mind:  Herod died in 4 BC.  His son, Herod Archelaus, succeeded him, but was replaced by Quirinius in AD 6.)

Luke was not writing history.  He was writing theology in narrative form, which is much more important and much more interesting.  He starts off by noting the big wheels of the world and how they like to jerk people around.  Roman power makes Joseph dance to its tune, sending him across the country to get "counted" so that Rome could get more efficient at taking his money for taxes.

Whenever Caesar, or local governors like Quirinius, ran censuses, there would be uprisings and revolts.  People didn't like them.  The tax burden was already excessive, and people lived in a grinding poverty, under the bootheel of Rome, that was getting worse, and not better.  Some historians trace the emergence of the zealots--we could call them pro-palestinian terrorists--to the uprisings against the census of Quirinius.  The zealots, in turn, were part of a chain of events that led to the Roman-Jewish War of AD 66-70.

Luke is writing about the true "savior of the world," one from the line of the great King David.  He looks to Bethlehem, the city of David, and not to Rome, the city of Caesar.  All the synoptics take this point of view. 

In verses 6-7, Luke uses strong language to assert the birth of Jesus--literally, "But it happened, in the existence of them, there the days are fullfilled of her bringing forth."  It doesn't read very smoothly in English, but notice how Luke underlines the birth with three key words:    It happened (egeneto) in the happening (einai), the bringing forth (tipto).

Jesus is identified as Mary's "first born son."  The word is prototokos.  It will pop up again in Colossians 1 where Jesus is described as "the first born of all creation."  (Did the author of Colossians know Luke's gospel?  Was the author of Colossians, with his notable cosmic vision and high christology, expanding on Mary's "first born son" and proclaiming him the "first born of all creation"?) 

There was no room for Joseph and Mary in the kataluma.  The word refers to the upper room of a house, the guest room--not, in other words, some wayside hotel, barn, or cave.  In the case of Joseph and Mary, the guest room was already taken--Uncle Zechariah from Wichita had already claimed it--and they had to stay in the other "room" which, at night, would be home for animals, but during the day would be cleaned up and used by the family.  Joseph and Mary were not alone in the dark of night somewhere.  Mary had the baby in a home, surrounded by family.   (As an aside, notice also that Luke says nothing at all of any paternity issue.  Unlike Matthew, Luke says nothing about Joseph being troubled by the pregnancy and wanting to divorce Mary.)

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,^* the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
¹⁴‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

The birth is announced to shepherds in the field, and not to the powerful in rich palaces.  The scandal of the virgin birth is not so much that Mary was a virgin.  Lots of famous people were said to have been conceived by various gods, including Caesar Augustus himself.  The scandal was that Jesus--a poor kid from a jerkwater town--was born of a virgin.  (The image of the shepherd also is a reminder that King David, soon to be mentioned yet again, was also a shepherd.)

Whenever the word "angel" appears in scripture, I think:  "window into heaven."  Angels tell what is happening from the perspective of God.  The shepherds are bathed in light (perilampo)--the glory (doxa) of the Lord!  The shepherds were absolutely terrified--the word phobos is used twice.  What's more, it's mega.

The angel announces "good news (euangelion) of great joy for all the people."  Luke didn't invent the word euangelion.  It was a word that was commonly applied to Caesar.  "Euangelion!  Good news!  Caesar is victorious in Gaul!"  In the case of Jesus, the "good news of great joy" is for "all the people (panti to lao)"--not just the powerful, in other words, as was commonly the case, but rather all the people, even, ironically, the very people who thought "good news" was only for them.

The word savior (sotare) appears only three times in the synoptics--Luke 1, Luke 2, and John 4.  It was a politically-charged term since, after all, Caesar Augustus was known as "the savior of the world."  He had brought order to the world after a long war.  Great poets, historians, and politicians lauded the peace of Augustus.  Luke's announcement of Jesus as "savior" is a way of saying, "Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not."  Moreover, this "savior" comes from the house of David.  He is not only "lord," but "messiah."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The angels go into heaven, and the shepherds "said to one another (allelous)."  All the shepherds are involved in the discussion.  They go immediately to Bethlehem and see (idomen) "this thing that has happened (gegonos, again) which the Lord has made known (ginosko) to us."  (With the repeated use of ginomai/gegonos, and the use of the ginosko (knowledge), I wonder if Luke is taking a swipe at the proto-gnostics, those who elevated "knowledge" over the base material world.)

The shepherds share what they have learned.  Already, we get signs of the mutuality and reciprocity of the kingdom of God.  The shepherds share with each other, and with Joseph and Mary--no privileged information here.  The words of the shepherds stir "all" who hear them.  They return praising God.

Meanwhile, "Mary preserved to herself (sunetare) all these words brought together (sumballos) in her heart."  Just as the shepherds experience mutuality and, one might say, "wholeness" with each other, Mary also experiences this "wholeness" in her heart.  Sunetare has the sense of integration, taking into oneself.  Sumballos has the sense of bringing together, even throwing together.

Thus is born the true savior of the world--not Caesar Augustus, the oppressor, false savior of the world, protector of those with power and privilege, but Christ the Lord, whose birth is "good news of great joy for all the people."

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