In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) -Luke 2:1-2
I'm the first to admit Luke's history is a bit wonky here. The census of Quirinius was about a decade after the death of Herod the Great, but as Luke was writing so long after the fact I'll let him off. It's probably a bit of dramatic or literary licence to link Jesus birth to that particular govenor- trying to tie things neatly down, or maybe just a mistake. We have our reason for Mary and Joseph to need to up sticks and shoot over to Bethlehem, despite her late stage of pregnancy.
So here we have the gist of many an Internet meme of the last few weeks- a Palestinian family in need of shelter due to the political situation. My daughter's RE homework this week was to discuss similarities is the current refugee crisis and the Christmas story. I'll share a little of what she wrote:
"Mary and Joseph had to travel a long way to Bethlehem, just like the refuges from Syria fleeing from the war.
Nobody wanted to take in Mary and Joseph in their time of need. People here would help refuges but the government don't agree with the public."
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