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Home , Joachim, Star of Bethlehem, The Nativity Story

THE NATIVITY STORY • During the reign of Herod the King • Caesar was the emperor of . • of •

THE NATIVITY OF : WHEN? WHERE?

• A consequence of the fall was the loss of peace with . • Christ’s incarnation does what failed to do. • The incarnation was always part of God’s plan and will for creation. • Not a result of the fall. • The Passion and the Cross of Christ were the result of the fall. • The incarnation was the end of the creation.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: WHY? • Revelations of God in the are revelations of the Word () without flesh. • had communion with the Word of God (Pre-incarnate Christ), but also saw his incarnation (enfleshment). • Adam—heard the footsteps. • —wrestled with Him. • —saw Him as a man on a throne. • Daniel—saw Him as a man approaching the Ancient of Days. • They did not see God’s nature, but the type and image of what was to come. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: WE’VE SEEN HIM BEFORE! • Family of Christ: • and Anna (Sister of Elizabeth) • Parents of Mary • Zacharias ( in the Temple of ) and Elizabeth (Sister of Anna) • Parents of • (Carpenter by trade) husband to Salome and a widower when everyone has to figure out what to do with Mary. • His kids with Salome: James, Justus, Jude, Simon, and several girls. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE PLAYERS (CHARACTERS)

• Shepherds • They are the first to witness the birth. • Not a chance event—and NOT because they were nearest to the cave. • Imitators and followers of the way of life and virtues of the Patriarchs (fathers) of the Old Testament. • Christ will be the true Shepherd of the Israelite and Gentile people. (Echoes of the story within the story, repetition of symbol). • In their simplicity they were more able to see what the crafty and complicated could not. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE PLAYERS (CHARACTERS) • Wisemen (The /Gentiles) • God was revealed to the Magi and they were granted to worship Christ—whom they had discovered. (Tradition gives their names as , Gaspar, and Balthasar.) • They recognized Christ “because of the their inner knowledge.” • Not astrologers as we know them today. • In a spiritual state suitable for seeing and worshipping God. • Not a matter of science, but of noetic (spiritual) purity. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE PLAYERS (CHARACTERS) • (the /) • Assisted in the mystery of the incarnation. • Mary (), Joseph, Joachim and Anna, and to the wise men as the Star of Bethlehem. • Not a natural star: • This star moved and stood still. • Was moving lower than the other stars. • When the magi arrived, it came low and stopped over the house. • Moved from East to West then South from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. • It was exceedingly bright—could be seen in the day as well.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE PLAYERS (CHARACTERS) • The Prophets • • Ancient historians tell us that the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.) wished to include texts of Holy Scripture in the famous Library at Alexandria. He invited scholars from Jerusalem, and the sent their wise men. Simeon was one of the seventy scholars who came to Alexandria to translate the Holy Scriptures into Greek. The completed work was called “The ” (The Seventy).

• Simeon was translating a book of the Isaiah, and read the words: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a Son” (Is 7:14). He thought that “virgin” was inaccurate, and he wanted to correct the text to read “young woman.” At that moment an appeared to him and held back his hand saying, “You shall see these words fulfilled. You shall not die until you behold Christ born of a pure and spotless Virgin.” • He will die with Herod’s destruction of the Holy Innocents along with Zacharias. • Anna • Served God with and prayers night and day. • The female counterpart to Simeon.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE PLAYERS (CHARACTERS) • Gabriel announces John the Baptist’s coming birth to Zacharias. • He and Elizabeth are very old (Remember and ). • Zacharias is struck speechless. • Gabriel announces Christ’s Birth to Mary. • “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Lk 1:38 • She becomes . “Birth-giver of God.”

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • Mary is betrothed to Joseph. • Mary is found to be pregnant. • Joseph thinks to put Mary away quietly so she will not be a public example. • Gabriel intervenes: “Joseph, son of , do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the . And she will bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Mt. 1:20-21.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth • John is born.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • Caesar Augustus calls for the great census. All people within the Roman Empire must return to their villages of origin to be registered. • Joseph and Mary (now VERY pregnant) travel from Nazareth in to the City of David, which is called Bethlehem for the census. • There was no place for them to stay. So they stay in the stables/cave of one of the inns.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

• Jesus is born. • Gabriel announces the birth to the shepherds. (Lk 2:8-20) • The shepherds worship Christ.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • Eight days after the birth, Mary and Joseph have Christ circumcised. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, is the one that does it. • Mary and Joseph rest as Mary finishes her 40 days of purification after the birth.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

• At the end of the 40 days purification, Mary and Joseph take Christ to the Temple of Jerusalem for presentation. • They run into Simeon and Anna. • “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Lk 2:29-32) • The Magi visit Bethlehem sometime after Mary’s 40 days. • They bring for the royalty of the King. • They bring for the prayers of the High Priest. • They bring for the death He was to endure.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

• The Magi go home by a different route than they promised to Herod. • Joseph is warned to flee to . He gathers the family (Jesus, Mary, James the Just—youngest? Son of Joseph and Salome) and departs in the middle of the night to Egypt where they remain until the death of Herod.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

• Herod, having been deceived by the Magi is furious and orders the death of all “male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” (Mt. 2:16). • Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • 14,000 children will die. • Included in the dead will be Simeon, Zechariah, and Elizabeth. • The rage of Herod fell on Simeon the God- Receiver, who declared before everyone in the Temple that the had been born. When the holy Elder died, Herod would not give permission for him to be properly buried.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • Elizabeth hid herself and young John in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple in Jerusalem. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered him, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar because he would not tell the whereabouts of his son John, the future Baptist of the Lord Jesus Christ (MT 23: 35). • Elizabeth died forty days later and John dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE

• Herod dies: • A horrid condition struck him down and he died, eaten alive by worms. • Before his death, the king murdered the chief and scribes of the , and also his brother, his sister and her husband, as well as his own wife Mariam, three of his sons, and seventy men of wisdom who were members of the Sanhedrin. • He initiated this bloodbath so that the day of his death would not be one of rejoicing, but one of mourning. THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE TIMELINE • At the death of Herod, Joseph and family return to Nazareth. • When Christ is 12 years old, on the annual family trip to Jerusalem for the Feast of the , Jesus remains in the Temple and Mary and Joseph lose him and travel a full day before realizing they have left him behind. • After three days of looking for him, they find him in the Temple with the teachers. (Lk 2:41-50) • This incident is the last we see of Joseph. He will die before Jesus’ baptism and ministry begins.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE POST-SCRIPT