Be Still And Know

Luke 2:1-3 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. I am delighted that, in our highly secular society, Christmas still has a very special place. No one could possibly miss the fact that it is Christmas! All attempts to replace it with a festival such as Winterval have failed miserably. But even so, we have a problem. The birth of Jesus has become inextricably linked with Father Christmas and Rudolf the red nosed reindeer, and a whole host of other imaginary characters. It’s really important that we recognise Jesus’ birth was a historic event, and here Dr Luke gives us the facts. Jesus was born during the long reign of Augustus Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire from 27BC to 14AD. During his reign, he established the Pax Romana which led to a period of relative peace for more than two centuries.