Advent & Justice

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.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. - Luke 2:1-5

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be tracing the theme of justice through the Advent story. It’s not commonly spoken of in our evangelical tradition, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. As a great theologian pointed out 45 years ago:

It is impossible to interpret the Scriptures correctly and thus understand Jesus aright unless the interpretation is done in the light of the consciousness of the oppressed in their struggle of liberation.
- James Cone, God of the Oppressed

One simple way to open our eyes to ‘the light of the consciousness of the oppressed’ is to understand the historical setting for the birth of our Savior, Jesus. It was the census that caused Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem, and the census was a powerful tool leveraged against the oppressed..

Caesar Augustus, arguably the wealthiest and most powerful man in the Western Hemisphere at the time, decided that he needed more wealth and power - which are the two purposes of a census. He counted people throughout his empire so that he could increase his tax revenue and so that he could draft young men into his military.

As mere pawns in the game of this political game, Mary and Joseph (and Jesus, in utero) were forced to travel 60 miles from their home, almost certainly by foot, while she was at the end of her pregnancy - just so more money could be extracted from them to pay for the forces occupying their country.

How might this picture shift how you lean into the Christmas story this year? In what ways do you relate to Caesar, leveraging your influence to gain additional benefit (consider how you spend your money, your time, your vote, etc.)? In what ways do you relate to Mary and Joseph, feeling pushed around by a system you cannot resist without serious repercussions?