Joseph and Mary camped with the merchants at the bottom of the small valley below the village of Bethlehem. As the sun went down, Joseph asked Mary if she wanted to spend the night with the merchants or walk the rest of the way up the hill into Bethlehem. He asked her the question because she kept pacing back and forth in the little camp, massaging her swollen belly.
One of the merchants’ sons walked over with a donkey and offered to take them into Bethlehem. He said he could be back in plenty of time for sleep. So Joseph and the young man helped Mary up onto the donkey, and the last small stretch of the journey was underway.
The three of them slowly approached the village as the sunset was almost finished. People moved their animals inside and brought water and wood from the wells for the night’s fire. Joseph thanked the merchant and offered him some money for the ride, which was refused. His smile caught the last orange light of the sunset as he reached into the travel bag draped over the donkey, held out a small leather pouch, and said, “The men wanted to bless you. We were all amazed that you had traveled so far as pregnant as you are. We recognize that your child is special somehow. Most of us have witnessed many of our women’s pregnancies. None of them have ever had the glow that you have. Our Lord has surely blessed you and your child.”
He took Joseph’s hand and pressed the pouch into his hand and wrapped his fingers around it. Then said goodbye and led his donkey back down the hill toward the Merchant’s camp.
Joseph stood silently for a moment and then turning to Mary asked, “Are you sure you can carry that pack? It will not be a problem to add it to my pack.”
Mary smiled and said, “No, the baby is coming tonight. Labor pains started down in the camp. It is why I was pacing. I have plenty of energy right now. But, it won’t be long before I will need help.”
The walk into the village was quick and they found the home of Joseph’s clan easily. Many summers were spent with his cousins here in Bethlehem working in the fields with his uncle’s flocks. Many warm and joyful memories flavored his memories of those times as he approached his clan’s home off the main road through the village.
The mud brick home was built into the side of the hill next to a limestone cave surrounded by a kraal where the animals were kept during the day. The house was very large on the bottom floor where the animals were kept during the cold winter nights, and the second floor was almost as large. There was a series of steps built into the side of the building that allowed access to the roof. And another set into the side of the hill next to the cave. Small tables were stationed around the yard and Kraal for the chores necessary for life in their village.
When Joseph and Mary approached the door, three young boys were leading a donkey from the Kraal into the house. They weren’t noticed at first as they stood in the open doorway. Lamps were being lit in the house outlining the stairs leading to the second floor and a large group of Josephs’ cousins and their families were crowded around the large communal table in the middle of the great room. The second floor was divided into three rooms. The main bedroom was where his Uncle and Aunt slept, the great room, and the guest room where visiting family members would stay when they came to visit.
Joseph knew that by now there would be no room for them in the guest room. It had taken far too long to travel from Nazareth for that. As they stood in the doorway Joseph heard Mary quietly groan and begin to breathe heavily. He was about to step into the house to get someone’s attention when he heard a voice behind him.
It was his Aunt Suzanna. The moment he and Mary turned around to see who was behind them Suzanna could see Mary’s condition.
Suzanna was carrying a basket with freshly baked bread and immediately shouted at one of the young boys to take the basket to the second floor. This caused everyone on the second floor overlooking the animal quarters to turn and look down at the very pregnant woman in the doorway. Quickly, Suzanna ordered Joseph to take the pack from Mary, saying, “How could a grown man like you force a young pregnant woman to carry her own pack! There’s a bucket next to the cave, and you, Joseph, know where the well is. We are going to need lots of water, for what I can see is about to happen!”
Instantly the women in the house surrounded Mary and propelled her up the stairs to the table in the middle of the room. The men stumbled in their haste to get out of the way.
The clan of David knew how to care for one of their own. No woman with child would ever be turned away in a Jewish home.
The remains of a meal were swept away and blankets and pillows were arranged on the table for Mary to lie down. Lots of clean cloth appeared next to the table and then the bucket filled with water – minus a bit of sloshing coming up the stairs – was placed near a stool where Suzanna and a number of the older women clustered. It was during moments like this that the wise men of the clan made themselves scarce by retreating out to the mouth of the cave where they built a fire and shared what wine they managed to salvage before being shooed out of the house.
Uncle Abijah collected a few stools for him and Joseph to sit on and a few of the older men. The younger men and the boys sat on piles of hay or on the fence. He being the host took the responsibility of entertaining his guests in the best way he knew how and began a long night of storytelling. These stories were well-known throughout Judea and centered on the great stories of their ancestors. And since the clan had a direct line of descent from King David, most of the stories were about his heroic Kingdom.
Eventually, the men heard the cries of a woman in the pain of birth and the stories quieted as they all waited to hear the cry of a newborn child. Mary’s cries became very loud and intense and were mingled with the voices of the women urging her on. After what seemed the entire night it came. The sound of a newborn son. Joseph knew his name already but hadn’t shared it with anyone besides Mary and his mind drifted to the prophecy the Angel Gabriel had told Mary. He thought, “I still don’t understand how a baby will save us from our sins.”
One of the women came out from the house stuck her head around the corner and called the men back into the house. They all quietly filed into the house up the stairs and crowded around the table where Mary was holding a baby boy. Another male in the line of King David had joined their clan. Every birth was a momentous occasion. But, the celebrations would come after everyone had a good night’s sleep.
Joseph holding the baby looked towards Aunt Suzanna as if to say, what do I do now? Suzanna and Abijah guided Joseph down the stairs where a few of the women were laying small blankets and blankets over the manger making a makeshift cradle for the baby. Joseph started to put the baby into the manger and a knock came at the door. Everyone looked at Abijah to see how he would respond as most people would keep their doors barred during the night as there were still bandits in the land.
But, then Abijah heard the voice of one of his shepherds and his voice carried an urgent excitement that caught everyone’s attention. So he opened the door and there stood all of the village’s shepherds and not a few sheep crowded in the narrow street in front of the house. The shepherds began to tell a story of an Angel delivering an exciting announcement of the savior of Israel being born in Bethlehem and some of the men remembered seeing a pregnant woman entering the village.
Abijah stepped back into the house allowing the shepherds to crowd around the door where Joseph and now Mary – wrapped in a blanket – stood on either end of the manger. Uncle Abijah’s sheepdog stood next to Mary with her paws on the manger looking at the baby. The pair of donkeys were restlessly shifting around behind the crowd of people; now marveling at what the Angels had told the shepherds, competing for a chance to see their savior.
Uncle Abijah stepped up to Joseph and asked loudly enough for everyone to hear, “What are going to name him Joseph?”
Joseph looked at Mary and back to Abijah and Suzanna and said, “His name is Jesus!”
Truth & Passion 
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