Christ is born! A rough manger is his cradle. We have a reason for rejoicing, even today, in a world that makes us ponder the fate of the whole human race, perhaps of all life on the earth. The story of the birth of Christ unfolds, according to St. Luke, much like a play in four acts, therein revealing our cause for celebration of Christ’s birth at his cradle in Bethlehem.

The first act has to do with the journey Mary and Joseph had to make from Nazareth to Bethlehem. About all we know of the journey is it was something like eighty miles, and it would take, by foot or donkey, several days to complete. As I write this, neighbors of mine have just departed for Lancaster, Pennsylvania; their trip is about a thousand miles farther than that which the expectant parents had to make years ago. T…