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In some ways it seems like yesterday. But it has been a very long time now, and I am getting older and I wanted to share with you the events of a most fascinating day in my life. Some of the memories are so clear, others are fading. My personal journal has been a great help to me throughout the years. It has helped me to reflect on what occurred so many years ago.

It was during a Roman census. Caesar had been wanting to raise taxes for several years, but needed to establish a real count of people in all of Rome’s world in order to do so. Although I hated the though of Rome controlling our land and taxing our people, I must admit that each year there was a census, it certainly profited me. In Bethlehem, where I used to live, we would really feel the full force of census years. Our town, quite small by most standards would nearly triple as the clan and line of David were ordered to return to our little hamlet. Many came from Jerusalem, just a few miles to the north. But for the most part my life was quite quiet in Bethlehem. I owned a modest house with 4 rooms on the southeast corner of town. My wife and I generally lived in one room and rented the other three out to visitors and travelers. This was a good way in which to bolster our rather meager income. We owned a few animals and would sell them at Passover and also were able to sell goats milk and some leather that my wife would fashion into pouches and such. It was a very humble time, but we were nonetheless quite content.

One particular census year though, the city was more crowded than I had ever seen it. Our 3 rooms were rented very quickly, and for a very good price I might add. Several others I knew who also rented out rooms were filled as soon as I was. I don’t think there was a room to be had in all of Bethlehem. One night, oh it must have been late, much past our evening meal, and my wife had already retired as had many of our guests, I was surprised by a knock at the door. I couldn’t think of who might be about as late as this, especially on a night with such a chill. When I opened the door, there stood before two of the most tired people I had ever seen. A young man, perhaps 20, strong, handsome, but very exhausted. You could see the pain of a long journey in his weary eyes. With him standing beside their feeble looking donkey was a young girl, who was very much expecting. They appeared to be husband and wife, but I had learned not to ask anymore--it was not good for business. On her young face she also wore the agony of not only their journey, but also the burden of her condition. It was quite a pitiful sight actually.

Of course I knew right away what it was that they desired, but I still asked anyway, hoping in my heart that perhaps they would not ask what I feared they would. "May I help you." I said. "Would you please have a room where we might stay the night," the young man began in a parched voice. "We have come all the way from Nazareth for the census, and we have been all over Bethlehem and have not been able to find a room." My heart really ached for the two, but I simply did not have one inch of space for them. One family would be leaving tomorrow, but that would not help tonight. "I have nothing sir, I am so sorry." "We will take any room you have, my wife is expecting very soon and she really needs a place to lie down." "Sir tomorrow night I will have a small room, but tonight I really have nothing." The look on their faces absolutely broke my heart. Their sad eyes drooped and the young girl looked as if she would faint from exhaustion.

As they began to turn around and make their way back into the night, I thought of something which might make do, but it seemed so little. "Ah Sir." I said. "There is a small cave in the hill just behind the house, and we usually keep our animals in it, but we have sold all but a few sheep this week, at least it would be a place out of the cold. I know it isn’t much, but it is all I have to offer." "You are most kind, that will be fine." I felt so odd taking this young couple back to my animal shelter, but it was truly the only shelter I could think of, and they seemed relieved to just have a place to sit down.

I cleared away some straw for them and gave them several old blankets which I rounded up, and put the sheep in a pen. At some point during the night, I don’t remember when exactly, I heard some noise from the cave and no sooner had I gotten up, then there was a rather urgent knock at the door. The young men, looking more frazzled then ever was there asking me for some water. I gave him all I had, not bothering to ask why it was needed. I didn’t really want to get involved any more than I already had.

Not long after that, I began hearing more voices coming from that area. It sounded like a group of people talking. It is the middle of the night, I thought. What could possibly be going on out there. Trying not to wake up my wife again, I put on my warmest tunic and made my way back to the cave. As I got closer, I could see 5 or 6 shepherds standing at the entrance peering in as if they were looking at something extremely valuable and important. As I approached even closer, I heard what I thought was the small coo of a baby. Could it be? No. That young women couldn’t have possibly had her baby in my animal shelter. Then I came to the cave entrance and looked in. And there, sure enough, lying in one of my feed troughs was a very tiny little baby all wrapped up in the torn blankets I had given them. It was an amazing sight. Once the shepherds noticed that I was there, they began telling me stories about how they were tending their sheep and then saw angels in the heavens telling them to come to this place to see this baby. Well you know shepherds, always telling rather tall tales, but they seemed so sure of it all. They told me that this was the Messiah--the Christ child.

Most of us in Bethlehem knew about the prophecy concerning our town being the birthplace of Israel’s Messiah King, but this child, how could this baby in my cave, born of these two poor young people be the King of Israel. It didn’t seem possible.

The next morning, the couple was gone. I assumed that they had found a more suitable place to stay, but it was one of the oddest experiences of my life. When I talk about it, it seems so much like yesterday. I have heard talk recently that a man claiming to be the Messiah has been teaching and healing people throughout the countryside. I don’t know if he is the baby that was born in my cave, but that sure would be something. I have a hard time believing that he could be the Messiah though. How could that be? Well, I guess time will tell. Someday we might know whether or not he is who he claims to be, but I think I won’t make any decision on that now. It is all too improbable.

Well that is most of what I remember from that night. It was truly something unusual. I only hope that I might have more opportunities to tell my story before my memory fades altogether. But I must go, there is work to be done, and so little time to do it, so I must be on my way. You will tell me, won’t you, if this Jesus turns out to be the Messiah, that would really be something now wouldn’t it...imagine that...the Messiah, born in my old cave, huh, what a thing that would be......