FROM THE editors December 22, 2003 Issue

Christmas dawns

Editor

The pregnant mother, far from home and ready to deliver her child, urgently sought a safe place for the birth. But when she and her husband arrived at an inn, they were turned away. They found alternate shelter in a nearby stable, and there the child was born.

Perhaps the guests at the inn were not aware of the imminent birth. Had they been, someone might have made room for them. Perhaps Mary and Joseph arrived so late in the day that the guests had already retired. One wonders, though, why wise men in a distant country could know of the birth and be able to follow a star many miles to reach it, while those at the inn slept.

It's interesting that the animals in the stable did yield to the coming of the Christ. The cattle moved aside, sharing even their manger—the trough from which they ate their hay—for the newborn child to lie in. It was the rude accommodations of the stable, rather than the comparative luxury of the inn, that gave shelter to the birth of Jesus. From those humble surroundings the bright light of the Christ dawned on the universe—a light that will never set.

Send a comment to the editors

This is the end of the issue. Ready to explore further?

Online features Audio