CS-2016-txt-ART.indd 44
44
THE CURIOUS SIGN OF THE MANGER
Review copy only—not for distribution.
being brought about for a reason. This birth is
not just a scene of humility; it is also a scene of
gob-smacking rejection. This baby is born in the
stable outside because there was no room at the
inn. Nobody would give their room to this pregnant mother. Really?
Now Australian society has a bit of a reputation for being a tough kind of place, but I have
seen the most hardened, grizzled chauvinist
stand up and give his seat to a pregnant woman
on public transport. I have seen people with
significant disabilities struggle up out of their
seats to accommodate an expectant mother. I
have seen bumper-to-bumper traffic stop on a
main road of Sydney in order to allow a pregnant
mum to safely cross. You see, in the end there
are just some things that we will not, and cannot
be, hard-hearted about. The needs of a pregnant
mother appear to be one of them.
But that wasn’t the case in Bethlehem that
night. Nobody would hand over their room and
warm bed to her and her potential child. “You
can have the stable, lady.” That’s one hard, hard
town all right.
12/09/2016 1:02 PM