21st Century Nativity
Joe's Story
by Jeremy BrownIt was all so simple to start with. I'd been working down in Sacramento as a roofer trying to make ends meet and keep the rent paid on my little one room apartment and keep enough food on the table that my wife, Mary, and I wouldn't starve. My wallet had gotten lifted a couple years back and when you are living from paycheck to paycheck, the cops don't help you out much and I didn't have the money or the time to worry about getting a new ID, so I had been using my dad's permits and ID whenever the contractors or the officials needed to see anything. Dad passed away that winter, so I had to go through all the red tape to get myself a new ID. It was something that had to be done, but it was a huge hassle. The final thing that I needed to get my hands on was a copy of my birth certificate and I was good to go and that is when things got complicated. I couldn't get an ID without a birth certificate and I couldn't get a birth certificate over the phone unless I sent them a copy of my ID. I would have to go pick it up, which wouldn't be a big deal if I hadn't been born in Portland. That meant not roofing for a couple days to drive up there and get back, which meant not getting paid for a couple days, which meant Mary and I weren't eating for a couple days.
Mary was about due to have the baby at that point. What a mess that was. Here she comes wandering up to the apartment a couple months before we are going to get married and says she's got somethin' to tell me. "Uh, Joe" she starts. "I'm pregnant." I went ballistic. Here is the girl I love, the girl that had never messed around with anybody in her life and she gets knocked up right before we were going to get hitched. She swore to me that she hadn't slept with anybody, that God talked to her and that God is the father of the baby. "Riiiiight, Mary" I replied. "And the Queen of England called and I am next in line to the throne." "No, Joe, this really is God's kid. This wasn't my idea, some guy appeared to me one night, said God had chosen me and I was having a kid. I know it sounds out there, but you have got to believe me." I threw her out. She had to be kidding me, God sends an angel to Mary to let her know she is having a kid that God fathered. Sounds like that stupid Greek crap I had to read in school.
The only problem was that I really loved this girl. She was beautiful, had an amazing heart, and a smile that could make the angel's sing. I figured we could break it off quietly, she could get out of town, have the kid, and then we could go from there. I didn't want Mary to have to go through the shame and the questions, so I thought that would be the best thing for her. To ease my worried mind, I popped a Pink Floyd CD into the stereo and decided to take a nap and the weirdest thing happened. I had this dream where a guy that sounds just like the dude Mary described showed up and told me that Mary was telling the truth. He told me to get married just like we had planned to and to hold onto our hats because this was God's kid and our lives were never going to be the same. Next thing I know, I hear the CD click off and I wake up with a start. I guess it could have been the Dark Side of the Moon talking, but I believed that this guy that talked with Mary and then with me was working for God, so Mary and I got hitched just like we had planned. But we didn't sleep together because the God messenger was pretty specific about that and he seemed like the kind of guy that a fellow shouldn't mess with.
All that said Mary and I made plans to head for Portland to get my ID figured out. We piled our gear and a couple sleeping bags into the back of my old Chevy pickup and made arrangements for our neighbor to watch the cat. I have to admit I was a little worried about how the old Chevy was going to do on such a long drive. It was held together mostly with duct tape, bailing wire, and a whole lot of luck. To be honest, I was more worried about how Mary was going to be able to make the trip. She was due any day, but if I didn't get that ID now we were going to be in serious trouble. Every time I brought up my worries, she just tossed me one of her little smiles and told me that it would be fine. "Joe, if it's God's kid, then I am sure God will protect us," she said. The events of the past nine months had left my head spinning, so I just agreed and hoped desperately that Mary was right.
It was a long trip with far too many hours bouncing down the road hoping to all things holy that the stress and the commotion wouldn't put Mary into labor before we were safely back to Sacramento. We finally got into Portland just as the sun was going down. We didn't have enough money to stay in a hotel and we didn't want to stay at a shelter so we decided to spend the night in the truck just like we had earlier in the trip. I parked under an overpass and got ready to bed down for the night. Just as I was starting to nod off Mary nudged me. "Joe, I think it's time." I was instantly awake. I don't know if there is any more terrifying phrase known to mankind when you realize that you can't go to a hospital and you are on your own. I was trying to stay calm, but the panic was rising in my eyes as I asked Mary what she wanted me to do. She just smiled, said to get the rest of the blankets, and tried to reassure me! I love this girl. It was intense, but Mary gave birth to a little baby boy and we named him Jesus. She wrapped him up in an old sweatshirt of mine and we huddled into the blankets in amazement of our new family. Slowly a group of homeless people began to drift along and started over to our truck. I was getting really nervous when an older man stepped forward and spoke. "An angel showed up while we were gathered around a fire underneath I-5 and said that we would find you here. He said that this child is going to change everything. He is the one that will finally take a stand for us. Your baby is the hope that I have spent my life looking for and starring at the stars waiting for. The angel said to come and see that our salvation has been born. Then he said, "Suddenly a whole crew of angels showed up and started belting out the most beautiful tune I have ever heard." And then this old man started to sing and slowly the others began to join in. Here were men and women that had been oppressed and trampled down singing of the hope that this baby held for them. "Glory to God in heaven and peace for those of us on earth." I watched the tears start to roll down their dirty cheeks as these men and women sang. Despite the smell of the dampness and the grime from living outside, I couldn't imagine anything as sweet as listening to this song of hope. The angels must have been mighty impressive because I can't imagine anything more heavenly than this chorus of people who most desperately felt the need for a savior.