Luke 2:1-21 can be divided into three episodes. The Christmas liturgy distributes 2:1-15 and 2:16-20 into two masses. Verse 21 is about the circumcision and naming of the new born babe and is marked out from the preceding with the phrase "and when eight days were fulfilled for his circumcision..." just as with verse 22 the account of the presentation begins with the phrase "and when the days of their purification were fulfilled."
The selection then can be outlined as follows
- 1-5 The census of Quirinius brings Joseph and wife to Bethlehem
- 6-7 Mary gives birth while they were in Bethlehem
- 8-20 Shepherds receive the news of the birth from angels
- 21 The circumcision and naming of the child
The dating of the first census of Quirinius is a problematic area in biblical chronology. It is not our interest to discuss the problem here. Here are three articles however that can shed light on the problem and suggest a solution.
What is important in the narrative is that an event brings Joseph and his wife to Bethlehem, the hometown of David. It is there where Mary gives birth.
The Birth of Jesus and Its Meaning
In just two verses, Luke describes the birth of Jesus. The scene is most often depicted in our Christmas cards. Luke narrates without any additional comments that while Mary and Joseph were at Bethlehem, the time for Mary to give birth came. Since they did not find any room in the inn, Mary wrapped her child in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Popular preaching from the time of the Fathers to Francis of Assissi and to our time focused on the image of the babe in the manger. And why not? This is the Messiah. But the narrative does not stop here. The following "kai" does not allow for a pause in the narrative at this point. Luke does not seem to allow us to dwell on the poverty of the condition of the Messiah. Even Mary does not seem to mind. She gives birth in a condition of poverty; she simply does what is possible in that condition: keep her babe warm with whatever is available.
If this were a movie, we can see Luke panning the camera into another direction: to the night skies and then to a group of shepherds who are keeping watch of their sheep. And then a sight that startles the shepherds and frightens them (ephobethesan phobon megan): a chorus of angels filling the nightsky with an unearthly splendor. The message of the angels is about the significance of the previously narrated birth:
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
Literarily, therefore, Luke allows the choir of angels to comment on the event of Jesus' birth. A savior is born and the sign is a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The message concludes with a hymn: "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace to men of good will."
Some exegetes ((see the Harper Collins Study Bible, in loco)) note the juxtaposition of the words "good news", "savior" and "peace" which echo imperial roman propaganda. As in the other gospels, we have here the Christian proclamation about the true King of kings contraposed against the Emperor of Rome. The closing hymn of the angels implicitly -- in this light -- contraposes the "peace" that is promised by Imperial propaganda and the "peace" that only the Messiah can give. However, it should also be noted that the closing hymn anticipates the shouts of the crowds at Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem:
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest." Luke 19:38
One may ask at this point: why were the shepherds the first to hear the good news of the angels? One may plausibly answer that David too was a shepherd. However, another line is suggested by the description that the shepherds were outside at night watching the sheep. To these group of men are applicable the verbs "agrupneite" and "gregoreite" -- two verbs characteristic of those who watch for the coming of the Lord. Those who keep awake and watch are privileged to see the coming of the Lord just like the shepherds who first received the good news of his birth.
The Shepherds Proclaim the Good News
First, a heavenly voice pronounces the good news to a human being. Then the human being passes the good news to another human being. This is the pattern that we have seen with Gabriel and Mary, and then Mary and Elizabeth. The same pattern is verified here: the angel gives the message to shepherds, and the shepherds bring the message to Mary and sing about it at story's close.
After listening to the message of the angels, the shepherds say to each other: "Let us go as far as Bethlehem and let us see this word that has happened (rhema touto to gegonos)" which the Lord has made known to us." The Greek word "rhema" is a translation of the Hebrew dabhar which primarily means an "event". "Word" is first an event that is reported (as by angels); it is seen (like the events surrounding the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt), proclaimed (e.g. by Moses and the prophets) and then written down so as not to be forgotten, that the word may be continually re-presented in the midst of the assembly. Mistaken is the notion that "word" is something written alone; the written word, without the proclamation of those who remember, is dead. With the shepherds going to Bethlehem, we find a "word" that is handed on.
It is interesting that Luke describes the shepherds hurrying to Bethlehem. The verb used is the same as the one used to describe Mary hurrying to Elizabeth. It is also the characteristic of the missionaries that Jesus sends later on. The hurrying shepherds, like Mary before them, anticipate the haste with which the good news is proclaimed. Upon arriving at the place indicated to them and seeing the object of their visit, they "made known the words that have been spoken to them about this child". The key word here is "to make known" -- the same verb used to describe the act of revelation done earlier to them "by the Lord" (v. 15 ). The reaction of those who heard what the shepherds had to say was "amazement" -- the same reaction that Mary and Joseph will have later on when Simeon will speak about their child.
The narrative ends with the shepherds "glorifying and singing praises to God about all the things they have heard and seen just as these were said to them". There are two ways of thanking someone. One may directly say "Thank you" to one who has done one a favor. Or, one may praise him before others to his hearing. The shepherds thanked God the second way. This closing image that Luke gives us of shepherds singing and glorifying God as they return to their place is similar to the reaction of those who first hear of pagans becoming Christians at the preaching of Peter (cf. Acts 11:18)
Mary and the Proclaimed Word
Stylistically, Luke has put Mary's actions as a kind of frame that brings together the birth of Jesus, the news of the angels and the proclamation of the shepherds. In fact, Mary is the main agent in vv. 6-7 and v. 19. In this last verse, her actions are described as "keeping" all these words, and "putting them together in her heart". Mary in these passages is never passive: she gives birth and keeps her baby warm, actions characteristic of a mother. And finally, she listens to the proclamation about her son, keeping "the words" in her heart, and actively thinking about them, just as any Christian should, who has heard the Word of God proclaimed in the liturgy.Born Under the Law
Our selected passage ends with a brief account of the circumcision and naming of Mary's boy-child. With the name given by the angel applied to the new born, we find Mary and Joseph, like Zechariah and Elizabeth before them, obeying the word of the angel. By the circumcision of the eight day, Jesus becomes a part aker of the covenant made with Abraham. In the following section of the Presentation, he the first-born is brought to the temple in keeping with the Law of Moses. With these two images then, we hear an echo of Gal. 4:4-5: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption."
