Mary and Joseph traveled to a remote little town of Bethlehem and were rejected by innkeepers because there were no more available rooms. They only found an isolated place in a remote manger. Mary was tired and Joseph was puzzled.
Today, public health officials have asked us to isolate, cancel all gatherings, socialize with only those in our immediate households, and celebrate the holidays remotely on Zoom. We feel rejected, dejected and disrespected, unable to celebrate today. But Mary and Joseph probably felt that way too on that night when Jesus was born.
The good, merry news is that from a remote manger place in the back, the first Christmas eventually became a Merry Christmas! The angels came. The shepherds came. The animals came. The neighbors came. The magi came. They all came socially close together for a Savior has come!
We need to be safe this Christmas—socially distancing, washing hands, wearing masks, and being isolated and remote as the holy family was first remote so that we can have many more Christmases to come. You can be sure that more Christmases when we can be together will come and they will be very merry!