Joseph, husband of Mary, is one candidate for the first person to start that Christmas tradition of traveling home for Christmas. Of course, there wasn't "Christmas" yet when Joseph went to his ancestral hometown of Bethlehem, and he wasn't there to get together with the cousins. We'll never know in this world if the innkeeper was a distant relative of theirs. We don't know if Joseph had kept in touch with any of his relatives from the region because nobody recorded Joseph's story in that much detail. We actually know more about Mary's relatives than Joseph's. I can imagine a scene something like a larger family reunion in Bethlehem for the census: maybe people figured out their connections -- they were a very genealogy-conscious culture -- or maybe Joseph was just focused on finding a safe place for Mary as she went into labor. If any relationships were renewed, it's because they came in person.
We do that at holidays, too: a relationship is renewed when people come in person. There is excitement over who will be there, or disappointment over who couldn't make it this year.
The angels renewed their presence when Christ was on the way. We hadn't seen them in scripture for centuries. Human thought of them may have faded off into legend or pious myth ... until the time was right. Then Zechariah saw Gabriel, honored among the angels as herald of the Messiah from the days of Daniel. Next, Gabriel visited Mary. By the end, shepherds had also seen angels, and even Joseph in a dream.
And then God did that for us at Christmas. One of Jesus' most-beloved titles is "God with us" (Emmanuel) It is easy for God, like the angels, to fade from our consciousness. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth steal our focus. As Jesus came to us, our relationship with God is renewed. May I look forward to next time I see him.
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