"But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)

The shadows are getting long in late afternoon as Joseph comes running into the house bursting with news: Caesar Augustus has ordered a census for the whole Roman Empire. Everyone will have to go to their family’s hometown to be counted and to pay a tax. For Joseph and Mary, this means travelling to Bethlehem. Mary wants to know more, but Joseph can’t answer her questions. The Romans are not in the habit of explaining themselves to simple carpenters from Nazareth. They just give the orders and expect them to be obeyed.

Mary cannot be happy about the news. She has had to bear one burden after another for months on end, ever since God chose her to carry a child conceived by His Holy Spirit. And now this decree comes …