Summary: We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, but sometimes they seem so trivial we tend to ignore them. Christmas trivia is a good example. Dr. Luke was a man of detail, and he records for us a number of things that can be called Christmas trivia.

One of the great paradoxes of Christmas is that almost everything the Bible tells us about

this most sacred event, is secular in nature. It is filled with what is temporal rather than

eternal; physical rather than spiritual; and world oriented rather than heaven oriented.

Christmas is really a very earthly event. This was by design, of course, for it marks the

beginning of God's personal involvement, in the flesh, on this earthly level of reality. When

God became man he went all the way, and participated fully in the secular realm common to

all men.

Just being born of a woman was as commonplace as it gets, for this is the universal

experience of all men. The Buddhist, the atheist, the cultist, and every other type of person,

comes into this world by the same method Jesus came. Birth does not take place in a sacred

setting, but in a secular setting, such as a hospital or the home. In the case of Jesus, the

setting was even more secular than usual, for he was born in a stable. It is also a very secular

job to be running an inn, and keeping up a stable, and shepherding sheep. Taking the census

was also very secular, along with paying taxes. The point is the whole setting of the first

Christmas is a secular setting. There is not a priest, rabbi, prophet, or preacher anywhere on

the scene. The angels do appear to the shepherds in the field and add the heavenly

involvement to the story, and the star is seen by the wise men afar, but the fact is, most of

what we see is simply secular.

Some of the secular props on the stage of history during this greatest of dramas have

played a important role. The church fathers considered the wise men to have been Persians.

In 614 A.D. when the Persians invaded and conquered the Holy Land, they did not destroy

the oldest church in the world-the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The reason was

because they saw on the golden mosaic over the doorway the wise men depicted as Persians

with their native headdress. This was the only holy site they did not attack. This trivial

secular detail changed the course of history, as far as this site of the birth of Jesus goes.

Without it, the church could have been destroyed. The trivial can play a tremendous role in

history. Never underestimate the impact of the seemingly insignificant.

The book, The Ugly American, is about an ugly-faced American engineer, Homer Atkins.

He was brought to Vietnam to build dams and roads. While he was there he solved a century

old problem by designing a bicycle treadmill pump. No longer did the women have to carry

water in pails up the hillside to water the paddies. His wife Emma made this suggestion, for

she was concerned about the fact that every woman over 60 had a bent back. The broom

the women used had such a short handle, because wood was expensive and in short supply.

Emma discovered a long stock reed and planted some near her door. Then she bound

coconut fronds to one of the long reeds she cut. She invited women to her house to see her

sweep with a long handled broom. It caught on, and years later when Homer and Emma

were living back in Pittsburgh, they received a letter from the villagers, part of which went

like this-

"In the village of Chang 'Dong today, the backs of

our people are straight and firm. No longer

are their bodies painful and bent. You will be

pleased to know that on the outskirts of the

village we have constructed a small shrine in

your memory... At the foot are these words:

'In memory of the woman who unbent the backs

of our people.' "

Her concern about such a trivial thing as the length of broom handles had a significant

impact on the life of a whole people. As we approach another Christmas it is of interest to

focus on some of the trivial secular details the Bible records about this event. We will see that

trivia could be called significa.

Significa are the small and minor matters which, nevertheless, have great impact and

influence. Every trivial thing that Jesus touched He transformed into significa.

A cradle was a lowly thing

And held of little worth

Till Jesus in a cradle slept

When first he came to earth.

A woman was a chattel owned

To pamper, scorn, or sell

Till Jesus proffered Living Truth

To one at Jacob's well.

A child? Just one more mouth to feed!

Not held in high esteem

Till Jesus made a little lad

The center of his Theme.

The lowliest death there was to die

Was nailing to a tree:

Aloft his followers hold the Cross-

Symbol of Victory!

-Stella Fisher Burgess.

We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, but sometimes they

seem so trivial we tend to ignore them. Christmas trivia is a good example. Dr. Luke was a

man of detail, and he records for us a number of things that can be called Christmas trivia,

but which upon examination become Christmas significa. Take his mention of Caesar

Augustus, for example.

There have been few leaders in history who have been so loved by their followers that

they celebrated their birthday with festivities spread over two days. But the first character

on the stage of the Christmas story was just such a man. Augustus was one of the greatest

leaders of history. His birth was the biggest until the birthday of Jesus surpassed it. People

of all ranks in life would bring money presents to the capital, and Augustus would use the

money to promote religion in Rome.

Augustus was a deeply religious man in a world that had gone sour on religion. The

average roman citizen had abandoned the gods, and had become skeptical. Augustus was

determined to bring about a revival of religion, and moral renewal. He restored 82 temples

in the city of Rome alone, and built temples and shrines all over the Empire.

He fought to strengthen the traditional family. Men had forsaken marriage, and were

being promiscuous. The sensual life-style had caused the population to fall. He passed laws

that made promiscuity a crime, and which rewarded men who married and had three

children. He fought immorality on the stage, and promoted good entertainment. He was

fighting the very battles that Christians are fighting in our culture today.

He was far from perfect, and did some brutal things in his reign, but he held his power

and reigned for 44 years, because he was a man for the people. He was just and merciful and

did all he could to meet the needs of the poor. He sold government surplus at very cheap

rates, and sometimes even gave them away.

He was able to establish an empire where there was peace and prosperity for 55 million

people. He did not believe in fighting wars just to prove he was stronger, like many rulers

before and after him. He said those who take great risks in battle for some small advantage

are like a man who fishes with a golden hook. Nothing he could catch would be worth the loss

of the hook.

He was a man of peace, and when he did conquer a nation, he allowed their own people to

continue as their leaders, and he formed friendly relationships by means of intermarriage,

just as Solomon did. He was greatly loved, and when he went on a tour of the Empire, his

homecomings were events of great celebration. The people and the Senate agreed he should

be given the title that Americans gave to Washington-The Father of His Country. When the

Senate so proclaimed him, he responded with tears in his eyes and said, "Fathers of the

Senate, I have at last achieved my highest ambition. What more can I ask of the immortal

gods than that they may permit me to enjoy your approval until my dying day?" This wish

was granted.

He was a pagan emperor, yet he is the first character in the Christmas story, because the

God of the universe decided to honor him with the role of making a decree that led to the

birth of His Son in Bethlehem. This Son was coming into a world that Augustus had

prepared. It was a world where peace was more widespread than war; where justice for all

men was practiced; where the world was one, and people could travel with comparative

safety, making the spread of the Gospel possible.

God honored this great pagan ruler by giving him a role in the greatest story ever told.

Our culture honors him also by naming one of the twelve months of the year after him-August.

He named this month himself and did it on August 19. When Augustus died in 14

A.D., Jesus was about 19 years old. These were the silent years of His life, and Augustus

probably did not even know about Jesus, for He had not yet began His public ministry. But

Jesus as a 19 year old knew of him. Augustus was the emperor of the empire in which Jesus

was a citizen. Jesus as a carpenter had to pay taxes to this man, and support his causes.

When Jesus said render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, He had done so himself for

years.

Augustus played a role in the birth of Jesus, and in the kind of world He would grow up

in, and Jesus played a role in his life by inspiring Dr. Luke to include him in the Christmas

story. There were dozens of possible ways God could have gotten the prophesy fulfilled of

the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, but He chose to use Augustus, and make his name

famous for the rest of history.

It is even possible that Augustus did know about Jesus. Herod was the King of Judea

when Jesus was born, and Herod was a friend of Augustus. Herod was on the side of

Anthony and Cleopatra, but when Augustus defeated them Herod quickly pleaded for

forgiveness. He brought large gifts to Rome, and won the favor of Augustus, and they

became close personal friends. There was frequent correspondence between Herod and

Augustus. Herod as the ruler of the Jews was able to persuade Augustus to give Jews some

special privileges in certain parts of the world. Augustus, therefore, knew about the Jews

and their religious practices. We know this because we have some of the letters that

Augustus wrote himself. In one of them that he wrote to Tiberius he says, "Not even a Jew

fasts so scrupulously on his Sabbaths, as I have done today. Not until dusk had fallen did I

touch a thing, and that was at the baths, before I had my oil rub, when I swallowed two

mouthfuls of bread."

Augustus knew about the Jews, no doubt, because of the close relationship he had with

Herod. The two sons of Herod, Antipas and Archelaus, grew up in Rome, and when Herod

died it was Augustus who settled the disputes between them. He divided the Kingdom giving

them each part. This Archelaus was the King over Judea when Joseph and Mary and the

child Jesus came back out of Egypt.

The point is, the close contact and communication of Augustus with Herod and his family

would leave the door open for possible communication about the birth of one called the King

of the Jews. Herod was greatly disturbed and all of Jerusalem with him. He took brutal

action in trying to kill this new born King by killing the babies of Bethlehem. This sort of

thing makes news, and so if Augustus did not hear of it from Herod, it is likely he heard of it

by the grapevine. All of this does not prove that he knew of the birth of Jesus, but it shows

the fascinating relationship of all the people involved in the Christmas story.

The coming of Jesus was so humble and quiet, and yet it was an international event

involving the decree of Augustus 1500 miles away in Rome, and the King of Judea. The

whole world was involved even though no one could know the impact of what was going on.

Augustus could never know that his death in 767 AUC, that is from the founding of Rome,

would for all of history be changed to 14 A. D. in honor of the birth of that baby in

Bethlehem that his decree got to that place. He could not know that his birthday would fade,

and that the birthday of this obscure child born in an obscure part of the Empire, would

become the greatest universal celebration the world would ever know.

Augustus left his mark on history for all time. On the day of his death at age 75 he kissed

his wife and said, "Good by, Livia, never forget whose wife you have been!" He died almost

at once. He died in September, but in honor of Augustus they changed the month to August,

and pushed the whole year ahead. It was a radical change for a man who had radically

changed the world.

It was no accident that a man like Augustus was on the stage of history at the time of the

Incarnation. It was in the fullness of time that God sent forth His Son to be born of a

woman. God selected this time and this place, and in His providence a man like Augustus

was the ruler of the earthly kingdom. The value of this whole history is that it helps us see

that God had it all planned. Even the secular world was uniquely prepared for the coming of

His Son. It was a unique time in secular history, and would become the most unique in sacred

history. But the two were not in opposition, but were united by the providence of God. God

used the secular decree of Augustus to fulfill prophecy, and thus, we see God is not the God

of the sacred only, but the God of the secular as well. It is a challenge to try and recognize

God in the secular realm, for He is often hidden, and we tend to miss Him, and do not see

that He is involved. The Christmas story so combines the sacred and the secular that we get

a good look at how God is involved in both.

In verse 7 we see Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths, and laid him in a manger. Here was the

first garment of the Son of God in the flesh, and it was not a garment of royalty or some

special anointed cloth from the priest. It was a common every day piece of cloth that would

be used for any baby. It was as secular as a modern day diaper. Jesus was sinless, but he still

had to wear the garments of fallen man. Adam in his sinlessness was naked and needed no

covering. Jesus was sinless, but he identified with fallen man the moment he entered the

world, and was clothed with this secular garment. As far as the record goes, Jesus never

wore a sacred garment in his life. He had a beautiful seem-less robe, and it became as bright

as light on the Mt. of Transfiguration. The soldiers gambled for it at the cross. But there is

no record that Jesus ever wore anything but secular clothes. He never became a priest, but

was a layman all his life. He wore the garments of the typical man of his day.

Jesus was wrapped up in cloth right out of the womb, and wrapped up again in cloth

before he was laid in the tomb. Jesus spent his earthly life, just like you and me, in being

protected and warmed by clothing. This minor detail at his birth makes it clear that he would

have suffered chills and possibly a rash from the straw, without the protection of the cloth.

This detail makes it clear that Jesus needed all of the secular care of any other baby. He

needed to be kept clean and warm, and so Mary had to do everything for Jesus that she did

for her other children. He did not live with a halo around His head, and all Mary had to do

was pray and everything would be done. It was work, like all motherhood is, for Mary to

raise Jesus. Christmas trivia like this makes the reality of the Incarnation come alive. It

forces you to see God really did become flesh and dwell among us. Let's look at another

trivial detail.

NO ROOM.

This tiny bit of Christmas trivia has motivated the use of oceans of ink in

speculating about the inn keeper. But what it really tells us is that God did not send His Son

into the world with special privileges. He had to come as one of the rest of us, and endure a

world where there is no end to inconveniences. God never promised us a rose garden, and

He never promised it even to His only Son. Jesus had to put up with more of the problems of

secular living than most of us. It is easy to get sentimental about the first Christmas, because

of the Christmas songs and idyllic Christmas cards. But the fact is, Jesus came into this

world during the rush hour, and it was a mess. There were no special express lanes open for

Him and His parents. They just had to put up with the inconvenience and make the best of

it.

When you drive into a town late at night, and you are tired, and all you see is no vacancy

on the motels, you are not being picked on. You are in the best company, for even this first

family in the Kingdom of God had the same experience. The sooner we learn it the better off

we will be. God does not give His children special privileges in the secular world. Jesus had

to have reservations or be turned away. Jesus had to sleep or be miserably tired. Jesus had

to pay taxes and walk dusty roads to get anywhere. Just about any secular thing you have to

do, Jesus had to do. He became a common man, and not one who could skip the

inconveniences of life. This is the message of the no room in the inn. Nobody was trying to

be unkind to Jesus or His parents. This was just the real world where we all have to live.

I discovered an interesting poem to help us see just where other Bible personalities are in

relation to the baby Jesus on that first Christmas. Keith Preston writes,

Peter was a fisher boy

helping with the haul;

Pilot was a shavetail

Leading troops in Gaul.

Judas was as innocent

As little child can be;

The wood that made the crucifix

Was still a growing tree;

Unminted was the silver

That made the traitor's pay;

And none had yet commercialized

The spirit of the day.

It is true, the day was not commercialized because nobody knew of it's significance, but it

is superficial to imply that human nature was different then. No doubt, if Joseph had been

richer, or had been a dignitary representing Rome, he could have gotten a room. Bribery

worked in Bethlehem, I am sure, and greed was no less alive than it is now. There is no point

in trying to idealize the first Christmas, for the whole idea of Christmas trivia is to make it

clear that Jesus was born into the same fallen secular world we all live in. He was not a

privileged character, but had the same problems we do, and had to be taken into exile in

Egypt soon after He was born. In His adult life, He said the birds have nests and the foxes

have holes, but the Son of man has no where to lay His head. Jesus was away from home

most of His life. He is still looking for a place to stay in our lives.

Oh, my brothers, are we wiser,

Are we better now than they?

Have we any room for Jesus

In the life we live today?

Room for pleasures-doors wide open

And for business, but for Him

Only here and there a manger

Like to that of Bethlehem.

If you look to Christmas, expecting it to be a spectacular event that will lift you to the

peak of ecstasy, you'll probably be setting yourself up for a fall. Christmas trivia tells us to

look instead for the blessings in small packages. The trivial details of commonplace life are

where we will find our greatest pleasures. There will be inconvenience, untimely travel, bad

weather, no room, missed connections, diapers, and spilled eggnog, and a list that could go

on and on. This Christmas will be no different than the first one, and we will not escape the

realities of a fallen world anymore than did the Christ-child and His parents. But, now as

then, God will be working in the midst of all the Christmas trivia to accomplish His purpose

in our lives.

The best preparation for Christmas is to look for God in the trivial, and the secular, and

be thankful for the blessings of the commonplace. Do not demand of God what His only Son

never got, but surrender to Christ and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit, that you might see

significance in contemporary Christmas trivia.