BETHLEHEM TIMES
Bethlehem, Tribe of Judea
Month-December 4 B
Census
Brings Hundreds to
By Judas
Iscariot Sr.
Hundreds of citizens are flooding into the small town of Bethlehem as they
return to ancestral homes for the Enrollment of Quirinius, census of the Roman
Empire.
Our
most honorable Caesar Augustus has decreed that all the world must be taxed.
Failure to report the correct accounting of every family member and all property
will result in strict punishment. Caesar has issued taxes on all property,
including camels. Cattle, and donkeys. Reporting of all family members is
required. Boys old enough to carry a sword are being recruited by the
government and Caesar’s regiments. Roman citizens are reminded that they will
be exempt from all taxes.
Travelers are expected to arrive from
great distances since Bethlehem is the city of King David and many descendents
of Israel’s greatest king will be returning for registration. The Bethlehem
Inns which are small in number expect to do a banner business. Some have
tripled their bedroom rentals in order to take advantage of this timely event.
On a side note, sporadic reports of a
coming Messiah have surfaced.
A seeming false hope still held by many misguided
Judeans.
Teachable Moment
At evening time when your family sits down for dinner,
take out a newspaper and read a few headlines. Ask your children to thumb
through the front pages looking for other key headlines that are present in the
newspaper. Ask them to catalogue the most repeated subjects. Then ask them
to find articles in the newspaper about the workings and movement of God. And
their answer is….???? None! That’s what the world thinks about the daily
activity of God, the One who created them. Read as a family Psalm 139:13-18
and ask your children how the world could be so remise in forgetting to write
every day about God. Afterward select one of your children to read the
fictional account above, and ask all of your children to help rewrite it the way
it should be written. Type out their rewrites and put it in a newspaper
format. On Christmas Eve, pass their Bethlehem Times out to the neighborhood.
What a terrific way for your family to close out the 20th Century.
Word of God
Psalm 139: 13-18 For
thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother’s womb.
14I
will give thanks unto thee; For I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful
are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.
15My
frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought
in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine
eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written,
Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.
17How
precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18If
I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am
still with thee.
Luke
2:1-12 Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. 2This
was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3And all went to enroll themselves, every one to
his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which
is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5to enroll himself with Mary, who was betrothed to
him, being great with child. 6And it came to
pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be
delivered. 7And she brought forth her
firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And
there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch
by night over their flock. 9And an angel of
the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and
they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said
unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which shall be to all the people: 11for there
is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
12And this is the sign unto you: Ye
shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.
