Gospel text for Quiet Christmas 20 December 2019

Luke 1.26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 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.

Reflection       A teenage peasant girl of unremarkable lineage living among some one hundred and fifty people in a tiny farming village far away from any well traveled trade routes is visited by an angel.*  When the angel arrives this girl whom we know as Mary is not in a temple and as far as we know she is not even praying. So it is no wonder Mary is “much perplexed” when the angel says, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”

Think about that moment. How would you feel if on an ordinary day you are standing in your kitchen, maybe you have just spread some almond butter on toast or ate some ice cream right out of the carton, when from the depths of your being you “hear,” “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”

Would you be like Zachariah who also had an angelic encounter? You may recall the story. Zachariah, a priest, is serving at the incense altar inside the Holiest part of the temple when the angel Gabriel appears. “When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” (Luke 1.12-15) Would you be so terrified and overwhelmed that you would be dumbstruck and speechless as Zachariah? The story continues and Zachariah is mute until the day the child is born, thereby proving the angel’s promise. Then Zachariah finally speaks the child’s name “John.” (Luke 1.20)

Or, would you be more like Mary, standing and startled in her humble home? Perplexed by the angelic promise, Mary pauses and ponders, she goes deep inside her soul and asks, “How can this be?” Then apprehending angelic assurance in the depths of her being, “For nothing will be impossible with God,” Mary consents with uncommon faith. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

Here is the thing. The incarnation we celebrate at Christmas requires not only the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, but also the consent of the ordinary peasant girl Mary. Mary could have said, “I must have had too much wine and now  it is making me hear an angel’s voice and have crazy thoughts. Surely my imagination is running away with me. I am just an ordinary girl. Great things are not meant for me.”

Mary could have reacted as did Zachariah and been silenced by  terror and disbelief. Or, Mary could have simply said, “No. There is no way I can consent to be being unwed and pregnant. Do you not understand, I could be stoned to death?”

But Mary rises to the occasion and accepts the angel’s staggering annunciation. “Let it be with me according to your word.” And so begins the intimate dance of humanity and divinity. Mary consents to the seed of divinity planted in her womb and from that moment on it is clear, nothing, no calamity, humiliation or mishap, no sickness, struggle, sacrifice not even death can separate humanity from divinity, because God is with us and we affirm the angel’s promise, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

In the dark mid winter we listen to the angel of God saying, “Do not be afraid. The Lord is with you. And now, in the center of your being you will conceive the Christ child, the light that transforms the darkness. And your light will be the light of the world and you will help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth by revealing God’s love in your light every day.” 

If you found this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you.

*https://www1.cbn.com/BibleArcheology/archive/2010/12/19/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-nazareth

Luke 2:1-14       In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Reflection        There is something profoundly different between receiving your run of the mill Christmas present (even if it happens to be gold, frankincense and myrhh) and receiving an infant. The former gifts we receive, pull off the bow, tear the wrapping (or if you are my Godmother, she can remove the wrapping paper without issuing a scar or a crinkle). Whatever our style, we unwrap the gift, recognize what is inside, take it and possess it. It does not  work quite that way with an infant.

Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends extend their empty hands to receive an infant having absolutely no idea what is inside. Whether it takes a week or a lifetime all the people who received the infant eventually figure out, they cannot possess this child. All they can do is commit to being in relationship with the child, to loving the child and experiencing the child as her or his true being is gradually revealed. 

I believe there is no better metaphor for the gradual unfolding of the revelation of God with us. We come to know incarnate God in our lived experience, in our committed relationship with God and one another. Gradually we come to know God in moments of delight and dollups of despair, in glimpses of peace, joy and love and pockets of fear, anger and lonliness. The spiritual reality is this, every moment of our lives is full of God with us. The thing is, most of the time we are too distracted to notice.

When we pause and savor each moment (regardless of whether we judge the moment as favorable or not) it is like receiving an infant into our empty hands and open hearts; we experience the true gift of Christmas. And if, ever so carefully we listen, we can almost hear the angels saying, “"Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 

                                                 Merry Christmas!

If you found this post to be meaningful please share with friends by clicking on icons below. Thank you.