I recently read a book by a theologian who questioned many of the “truths” we’ve come to believe about the nativity. While I don’t believe everything he said, he did bring up some very interesting ideas.

The word “inn” was used interchangeably with “guest room.” It was expected that Joseph, being from the house of David would stay with relatives in Bethlehem, in their guest room that families. However, Mary was pregnant and the baby was due less than 9 months after the wedding. Joseph had protected her from stoning, but probably not from the disdain of former friends and relatives. Perhaps “no room at the inn” meant “You’re not welcome to bring that harlot into our house!”

At this time in history, families built their houses over the stable area. The unfriendly relative might have sent Joseph and his snubbed wife to the basement stables “with the rest of the animals.”

Then there are the visiting wise men. Nowhere in the Bible does it claim there were three of them. Nor can we assume they showed up that first Christmas or even the following week. If you recall, Herod called for the deaths of the boy children two years and under. That would imply the Magi (however many there were with all their retinue) didn’t show up for months or even a year later. By that time one can assume Joseph had found a suitable house for Mary and the babe to live in while he worked.While this alternative narrative rattles my long-held traditional beliefs, I’m not sure it makes a lot of difference. After all, it is the message of the story that is important, not the story itself. The message doesn’t lose anything when you change the “facts.” Truth is, Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The King of Jews was not welcomed into the world with a royal celebration, but rather came in the dark of night among the lowest of the common people. The angels sang their Gloria to the shepherds, not the wealthy merchants who were busy with worldly pursuits. It wasn’t the wise men among the Jewish people who recognized the Son of God. It was the Magi – gentiles from far regions – that laid the riches of the world before this infant descendant of David and Solomon.

That is the message I need to heed – not the traditional story, but what it meant. This appearance of the “three kings” was the epiphany – the manifestation of God himself. It was the eyes of the “outside” secular world being opened to the truth that from this point on, God was with us. His birth was God coming to you and me both tangibly and spiritually. It’s enough to make me want to kneel in awe and gratitude.

Linda Crowley