It was a night much like last night when,  two thousand years ago, the Roman ruler Augustus enjoyed doing whatever it was emperors did. The same night Quirinius, Rome’s governor in Syria, was worried about a census being gathered in the occupied territory called Palestine. Other officials, important and unimportant, were busy with their activities and plans sure that they were contributing to the efforts which would enable the empire to last throughout eternity.

Little did they know, or could they have known, that a baby being born of poor parents in a stable which would make their plans, expectations, and census insignificant. Here, where the poor gathered and the smell of life was everywhere, there was emerging a life which would affect the lives of their posterity in such a way as to divide eras.

The Nativity Story reminds us that history’s significant events are often hidden, and fame is an elusive quality. The mighty political and social acts of the First Century are now little more than footnotes in the world’s compendium of prominent events. Who, in that ancient time, would have dreamed that prayers of a mother would prove more lasting than the commands of Caesar?

Christmas, if it does nothing else, should teach humility. Who among us, no matter how wise of mighty, can assess the truly important event of our time and guarantee its immortality? The babe in the manger, after twenty centuries, still humbles us all.

– Rev. John A. Taylor
from “Tis the Season, c. First Unitarian Society of Ithaca