It was a holy night, too, sacred and pure and quietly holy.
Humbly holy, you might say.
But it didn’t seem that way at first.
The woman was tired. They had walked for so long, they had covered so many miles in their worn sandals, and all with her being majorly pregnant.
“One last inn,” said Joseph, wearily, sensing her fatigue. “One last try and then--”
The door in front of them opened mid-sentence, a warm light illuminating a tired-looking innkeeper. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, knowing their request even before they spoke it. “I’m afraid we’re full. There aren’t any rooms left.”
Mary rubbed her swollen belly, sighing. “That’s what all the other innkeepers said.”
“Please, sir,” begged Joseph. “It’s dark, and we’ve come so far, and our baby…”
The innkeeper thought for a moment, pensive and silent, leaning tiredly against the door frame. “The only space I have is in the stable--but it’s hardly suitable for a baby.”
“But it is warm and sheltered and unoccupied, yes?”
“Well… unoccupied all except for the donkey, yes.”
Joseph exhaled. “We will take it. Thank you so much.”
So they stumbled to the stable with a borrowed blanket from the innkeeper, settling as best they could on the stubbly hay.
“There. How is that?”
“Fine, fine.” She winced. “It’ll do.”
And thus began the wait. Mary laid on the blanket on a pile of hay while Joseph paced the floor, nervous in anticipation for the baby to come.
The donkey shuffled around behind them, braying now and again as if he were impatient for something. But the two weary travelers paid him no mind.
“Anything?” asked Joseph.
“Wait,” said Mary.
The night grew darker outside the stable, but neither of them noticed. Only the donkey appreciated the stars as they began to appear, pricks of hope in a shattered world, and one of them outshining all the others in a brilliant beam of glory.
“Well?” asked Joseph.
“Be patient,” said Mary.
A light December wind blew in on them, and finally the donkey settled down to sleep. The stars grew brighter and the night grew colder.
Joseph stopped pacing.
“Now,” said Mary.
It was a difficult birth, as most are, laborious for mother and baby alike, while Joseph helped as best he could as the donkey snored obliviously in the back of the stable.
But finally newborn wails pierced the calm of the night, newborn cries from the small, perfect mouth of a small, perfect baby.
Mary’s blanket was damp and occupied, so Joseph tore pieces of cloth from his robe while she secured them snugly around her new son.
“There,” she said softly, holding him close. “There, my child. My precious. My King.”
“You are tired,” said Joseph, smiling in relief. “I will hold the baby while you get some rest.”
But Mary had already spotted the manger, discreetly tucked in a darkened corner, filled with a handful of fresh hay.
“See that feeding trough?” She pointed to it. “Bring it close. He will be safe and warm in there. Then we may both sleep.”
So Joseph pulled the manger to her side, watching in wonder as she nestled the baby deep into the hay. His little eyes caught the starlight, reflecting it back out at them, and he yawned, and before their eyes he fell asleep. He, a tiny prince, a newborn king, a holy stranger in a manger.
“Jesus,” whispered Mary, stroking his downy head. “That is his name. The name from the angels. Jesus.”
She beamed at her husband, and he back to her, and together they lay back on the blanket and tried to sleep.
“I will only doze,” murmured Joseph, studying the ceiling. “That way I can keep watch over the baby and you can get rest.”
She was too tired to answer. So she slept.
It was only Joseph now, only him and the stars and the chirping swallow outside. The donkey dozed silently, Jesus the same, and now Mary as well.
In all technicalities, Joseph was alone.
So he thought. He thought of the angel, of the message of divinity becoming mortal through Mary, of the long journey to Bethlehem, the innkeepers’ rejections, and now this.
A baby in a barn.
A Savior in a stable.
A Messiah in a manger.
Mary must be overwhelmed with emotion, he thought.
Amazed.
Astounded.
But he was too.
What wonder is this? He thought. Heaven on earth. God with us.
Mary stirred. “What is that?”
He turned. “What is what?”
“That noise.” She sat up and looked outside the stable. The bright star from earlier had settled right above them, leaking its silvery radiance over them. But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
“Shepherds,” she whispered, squinting to see. “Look.”
Joseph rose as the first one stepped into the stable. He was pale and thin, but his face was alight as if he had just received the most wonderful news.
“We’ve just received the most wonderful news,” said the shepherd, beaming with uncontainable joy as the other shepherds filed in behind him. “A baby, a King--the angels told us he was born here, born this very night.”
“The baby,” said Mary, brushing Joseph’s hem.
He handed Jesus to her, and she arranged him in her arms, smiling at the shepherds. “Here he is,” she said warmly. “Here is the Messiah the angels told you about.”
One by one, the lowly shepherds fell to their knees, bowing before the King of Kings, praising the Savior whom God had sent as a child.
“Praise to the Lord God Most High! Praise to the Lord for His indescribable gift!”
Even the donkey aroused himself to study the commotion, and a few of the shepherds’ lambs trickled in to join the warmth.
Was the star shining brighter? Mary hardly noticed it. A King in her arms, loyal subjects here praising Him, the beautiful peace of this first Christmas night.
“Hallelujah to the King of Kings! Praises to His holy name!”
She looked down at her baby, at the Ruler of the Nations that had come from her womb.
The shepherds kept singing.
The star kept shining.
The Savior kept smiling.
And Mary treasured all these things in her heart, all these glorious things on that one silent night, that most holy night.
That starlit night when Jesus was born. ✩
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