Christmas Message

This will be my last post for 2017.  I'll be back in three weeks.  Merry Christmas and may the new year be filled with many blessings.

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Scripture

Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a young woman engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The young woman’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have not known a man?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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There is so much in this passage of the angel’s visit to Mary.  I read it at different times and different words and phrases stand out for me.  The angel visit and Mary’s initial response is that she was perplexed and pondered the angel’s greeting.  I sometimes wonder if this is a euphemism for Mary cowering under a table to get away from this divine messenger.  I think about the fact that Mary has not known a man, but will conceive a child and how this would have looked to her family and community.  Near the end of the angel’s message, a small comment is made about Mary’s relative Elizabeth in her sixth month with child.  The angel follows this by saying that “Nothing is impossible with God.”  We are told that Elizabeth was old, so maybe this was the angel’s way of proving to Mary that this was going to happen.  

All these aspects fascinate me, but tonight I want to focus on a different aspect.  Never once does the angel describe this coming child as a baby.  Mary is told she will conceive a son and his name will be Jesus.  From the first, Jesus is described as the Son of the Most High and that he will be great and will be given the throne of David and his kingdom will have no end.  Mary is not being blessed with a baby.  Mary is assuming a responsibility of raising this son, who will change everything.  Even when the angels bring their message to the shepherds, they say that the sign will be a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger, but they describe who this is as good news, as a Saviour, the Messiah, and Lord.  That’s a lot of weight on a child just being born.

It’s interesting that now, in our pageants, in our nativities, in our stories and songs, we mostly look at the baby.  We talk about the sleeping baby in a manger, we focus on the weary mother and the trial of giving birth among the animals, we tend to sentimentalize this time of year and talk about the baby and it’s promise to the world, joy to the world, and angels we have heard on high, a midnight clear and a silent night.  It becomes a time of magic, hope, peace, joy, and love.  And all of this is wonderful.  It’s one of the reasons I love this time of year.  

But it’s not all about being merry and good cheer.  Mary and Joseph in one gospel had to flee to Egypt because King Herod felt threatened and wanted to kill their son.  In another gospel, the Roman Empire is taking a census, a way of enforcing taxation, and forcing a family expecting a child to be on the road, which was very dangerous in those times.  This child is being born into a world that needs saving, that needs hope, that needs light in the midst of the darkness.

Many of us are here because we are looking for the same.  We are looking for real hope, for deeper meaning in this season, beyond the holly and the mistletoe, beyond the Christmas trees and gift giving.  For some of us, this is a difficult time because of losses we have experienced, because of anxiety  and depression, because we find difficulty finding the joy which is expected of us.

Richard Rohr wrote that, “The Incarnation was already the redemption, because in Jesus’ birth God was already saying that it was good to be human, and God was on our side.”  In the church, the incarnation is not just Jesus as the Son of God but that Jesus was God.  That God chose to be born as a child, as one of us, we, who are imperfect, who make mistakes, who grumble and are obstinate, and those who struggle to love one another, and ourselves.  God chose to live among us, a people so flawed that we eventually executed our saviour, Jesus.

God is obstinate too and God does not give up on us.  Jesus died on a cross but that was not the end.  Christ is still among us, is still rooting for us, and is born within us every day.  When I look into your eyes, I see the Holy, I see the Sacred, I see Christ, and I hope you see the same in others.  The Incarnation happened then, Redemption happened then, but the Incarnation is also happening today and redemption is happening today, not just back then, but now.  And that is the mystery of Christmas.  May it be so.  Amen.