Posted on 12/24/2005 8:51:11 AM PST by Tax-chick
A Crowded, Noisy, Holy Night in Bethlehem
Last night I read a very interesting discussion of the Christmas story, in a book about an archaeological expedition to Southern Arabia. A group of American and British explorers working in Oman celebrated Christmas at the small settlement of Shisur, along with the local Arabs. The researchers theorized that Shisur, generally believed to be a medieval construction, was actually the site of ancient Ubar, a city built around the frankincense trade originating in what is now Oman and Yemen. Their excavations eventually demonstrated conclusively that the site had indeed maintained a substantial and wealthy population in the years from 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. (approximately).
The participants reflected on the story of the birth of Christ and the arrival of the “wise men from the east,” in the context of the ancient trading system of which they were exploring the modern remnants.
“Juri [the primary archaeologist] reminded us that the first Christmas had more to do with palm than pine trees and that the gifts were ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh.’ ‘There’s a good possibility that’s translated wrong,’ he added. ‘Gold could mean not shiny metal stuff, but a “gold grade” of incense, perhaps a balsam. The Bible tells us there were twelve, maybe more, kinds of incense. So the gifts could have been what you’d find not far from here: three kinds of incense. Golden balsam, silver frankincense, and myrrh.’
“If Shisur proved to date to biblical times, incense caravans may well have set out from here on a long and arduous journey north across Arabia – and, for some, on to Jerusalem. In order to return home before the scorching heat of summer, Arabian traders would have timed their arrival in Jerusalem for late December or early January.
“Across the valley from Jerusalem are caves where the traders might have sheltered their camels from the winter rain and cold. Often, when local inns were full, traders and other travelers stayed in the caves. If an infant was born in their midst, Arabian wayfarers would have considered themselves blessed and offered the child gifts of their incense.”
(Nicholas Clapp, The Road to Ubar, pp. 183-184)
Our usual picture of the Nativity, at least in Europe and the United States, shows Joseph and Mary alone in the stable, Baby Jesus resting in the manger, cow and donkey, perhaps a lamb. “Silent night … all is calm …” However, plenty of other scenes can be imagined, equally consistent with the Gospel descriptions. Is it likely that Mary and Joseph were the only people in Bethlehem that night who were unable to find room in an inn (caravanserai, fourth-cousin’s guest room …)? All the Mediterranean world was on the move, either for the Roman census or for more usual commercial purposes. And why should the Holy Family be alone in the shelter? Middle Eastern cities, visitors from every time period testify, are jam-packed with people. Privacy such as we experience in the modern West is neither expected nor desired.
To me, the picture of Jesus’ birth, not alone in a silent stable, but surrounded by (why not?) Arabic incense traders, their camels, some goats, cooking, washing-up – the commonplace activities of the nomadic Middle East, is warm and lovely, and symbolic of His mission as “Ensign for the Nations,” in the words of Isaiah. A personal experience of birth illustrates the contrast between this and the conventional “silent night” scene. Four years ago, I had a baby boy on December 22. The next evening, I was resting quietly in my room with my son, quiet music on my tape player, all very Christmas Card-y – if the Blessed Mother wore orange hunting socks and a red plaid flannel bathrobe. All is calm. Then a young African woman who had just delivered a son was moved into the room across the hall. Family members began arriving in droves: parents, grandparents, in-laws and cousins, siblings of the young mother, many in traditional African dress for the occasion. Laughter, gifts, occasional songs came from the room, and the celebration spilled out in the hall.
Eventually a member of the nursing staff came to ask me if the neighbors were getting too loud … but they weren’t. “They’re just happy – it doesn’t bother me, as long as they don’t start drumming!” The nurse looked pleased; I think the staff was enjoying the family’s excitement, too. After supper, the African family took their new baby home, and the remaining mothers and babies enjoyed a peaceful night, except for the usual disruptions of a newborn infant. The night alone with my son, before returning home to my husband, five other children, and additional expected family members, was truly a blessing. I’m a modern American woman who revels in silence and privacy. However, Joseph and Mary and Jesus were traditional Middle Easterners, as different from me in culture as the African family who crossed my path in the hospital, two days before Christmas.
My meditation on the Nativity this year, as I wait for the birth of my eighth child, isn’t about a “silent night.” It’s about a loud, excited caravan of Arabian tribesmen, rejoicing over the birth of a baby boy, because every baby is a wondrous gift of God … and perhaps sensing the even more wondrous salvation to come from the little Jewish boy born among them in the crowded, noisy cave.
Christmas vanity ping!
There's a good many set in stone beliefs of what the Bible states that have been translated incorrectly. Words and meanings change within the English language continually, and it's even more difficult when it's been translated through several different languages and a few centuries. Not too long ago, "gay" meant happy, now days it has nothing to do with happiness. They, whomever they are, have even changed the names of dinosaurs from when I was in school. It's been said that "virgin" as in the Virgin Mary was used to distinquish a young woman who hadn't yet married.
There are also differences between what a word "means," simply in the dictionary sense, and what it connotes in a culture. Then we have the issue of "reading in" what's not there ... such as the stable in the story of the birth of Jesus! The Gospel just says "manger." In a similar way, the "three kings" are imagined, simply because three gifts are mentioned.
On the one hand, there are historical facts, some of which we simply don't know. But on the other hand, the things that aren't said give us room for spiritual reflection from different approaches.
What a nice story Tax-Chick...I got all teary-eyed when I read it!
Thank you, Dudley! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
You're a good woman, TC! God Bless you and yours! Merry Christmas!
Very true indeed! Merry Christmas.
Thank you, Kolokotronis! Merry Christmas (at the appropriate date :-) to you and your family.
What a lovely post. I'm printing it out to give to my rector this evening.
Have a very merry and blessed Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you and your family and Cats!
Our tree has survived 24 hours, but not because James isn't trying :-).
Merry Christmas to you and your family, and especially to little one #8, on his first-minus-one Christmas. :-)
Merry Christmas to you too! There's a lot to be said for a boy who isn't demanding food, trying to dismantle the decor, or needing to sit on the toilet every 15 minutes :-).
Perserverance is a good thing, a bit wearing on the parents, but a good thing, nontheless!
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas! Each day is another chance for him to have a Conversion, as it were :-).
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