Zeph. 3:14, 16bc-17a,17cde, 18a, 19bc
Ps. Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 1: 39-56 (with sung Magnificat)
Can you remember the original Charlie Brown Christmas Special? With all the great Vince Guaraldi music? What was the high point of that movie? The reading from the second chapter of Luke, of course, the account of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, of Jesus’ birth, and of the angels communicating the good news to the shepherds. Why did that little reading have such an impact in that show? It’s so memorable to us. I think it was because it was so unexpected, coming from Linus, who we did not realize was such a wise sage, plopped down in the middle of the childhood drama (how old were those characters supposed to be, anyway?) of the Nativity story, with The Truth. It forced us to consider the story of Jesus’ birth in a new context, and to see it as the high priority it is for this season. Everything else about Christmas IS peripheral to it. “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” as Linus said.
We have heard these readings so many times throughout our lives. We can almost recite them by heart. It is easy to take for granted that we understand everything about them, that they have nothing more to teach us. Is there a way to keep learning from these Christmas passages, a new way to hear and see them?
I find the best way to find fresh ideas in these birth narratives, included only in Luke and Matthew, is to ask the question, “What has been left out?” What is not explicit in these stories, and how can we fill it in? We can never be sure when we conjecture the details like this, but it can at least stimulate our imaginations and give us food for meditation on these Gospels. Sometimes it can give us life-changing insights.
It helps to think about what we know of the stories’ historical and cultural contexts. For example, let us think about the beautiful reunion of Mary and Elizabeth in our Gospel today. Historians tell us Mary was probably about 15 years old. We know these faithful Jewish characters lived in territory occupied by Rome. The Romans ruled by largely by violent coercion and intimidation. The native people were disadvantaged by the Roman economy, some were desperately poor, and crime was rampant. The story indicates that Elizabeth and Zechariah lived in a rural area a significant distance away from Nazareth. So, let’s ask: what has been left out? Did 15-year-old Mary travel make this journey by herself? If not, whom did she travel with? Did Joseph accompany her? If so, how did he relate to Elizabeth and Zechariah? What was their conversation like over the three month stay? Why was their visit so long?
And why did Mary go to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s? Was it just to celebrate her pregnancy and Elizabeth’s? Or was she running away from something? What was the atmosphere in their neighborhood in Nazareth like for this unmarried pregnant teenager? Was the heat and shame a little too much for Mary and Joseph? Did they need a break from the stress?
If we really want to delve in to conjecture, we can ask what happened to Mary, anyway. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon her.” What does that mean? The beautiful Magnificat we sang tells us that she was a woman who understood oppression and victimization by violence. Was that just societal? Or personal?
These are just a sample if the questions we can ask about these readings. If we ask them out of our love for God and one another, if we ask them in the interest of wanting to know how we can conform our lives to those of these, our forebears in faith, this asking can be how we make this Christmas the one that started big spiritual changes for us. This asking also makes it easy to draw parallels to situations we see in the world today. Immigrants fleeing violence, parents trying to protect their children from persecution, homeless travelers, and poor people victimized by crime, women in danger because of unplanned pregnancies—these are situations we see on the news every day. God made statements by becoming incarnate in Mary and Joseph’s particular family, in their time, in their society. And God is still making statements today, about how and where God’s love and justice are needed, and are being made manifest. Are we listening?
What questions are you asking? What would you ask Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth, if they were here now?
Ps. Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 1: 39-56 (with sung Magnificat)
Can you remember the original Charlie Brown Christmas Special? With all the great Vince Guaraldi music? What was the high point of that movie? The reading from the second chapter of Luke, of course, the account of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, of Jesus’ birth, and of the angels communicating the good news to the shepherds. Why did that little reading have such an impact in that show? It’s so memorable to us. I think it was because it was so unexpected, coming from Linus, who we did not realize was such a wise sage, plopped down in the middle of the childhood drama (how old were those characters supposed to be, anyway?) of the Nativity story, with The Truth. It forced us to consider the story of Jesus’ birth in a new context, and to see it as the high priority it is for this season. Everything else about Christmas IS peripheral to it. “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” as Linus said.
We have heard these readings so many times throughout our lives. We can almost recite them by heart. It is easy to take for granted that we understand everything about them, that they have nothing more to teach us. Is there a way to keep learning from these Christmas passages, a new way to hear and see them?
I find the best way to find fresh ideas in these birth narratives, included only in Luke and Matthew, is to ask the question, “What has been left out?” What is not explicit in these stories, and how can we fill it in? We can never be sure when we conjecture the details like this, but it can at least stimulate our imaginations and give us food for meditation on these Gospels. Sometimes it can give us life-changing insights.
It helps to think about what we know of the stories’ historical and cultural contexts. For example, let us think about the beautiful reunion of Mary and Elizabeth in our Gospel today. Historians tell us Mary was probably about 15 years old. We know these faithful Jewish characters lived in territory occupied by Rome. The Romans ruled by largely by violent coercion and intimidation. The native people were disadvantaged by the Roman economy, some were desperately poor, and crime was rampant. The story indicates that Elizabeth and Zechariah lived in a rural area a significant distance away from Nazareth. So, let’s ask: what has been left out? Did 15-year-old Mary travel make this journey by herself? If not, whom did she travel with? Did Joseph accompany her? If so, how did he relate to Elizabeth and Zechariah? What was their conversation like over the three month stay? Why was their visit so long?
And why did Mary go to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s? Was it just to celebrate her pregnancy and Elizabeth’s? Or was she running away from something? What was the atmosphere in their neighborhood in Nazareth like for this unmarried pregnant teenager? Was the heat and shame a little too much for Mary and Joseph? Did they need a break from the stress?
If we really want to delve in to conjecture, we can ask what happened to Mary, anyway. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon her.” What does that mean? The beautiful Magnificat we sang tells us that she was a woman who understood oppression and victimization by violence. Was that just societal? Or personal?
These are just a sample if the questions we can ask about these readings. If we ask them out of our love for God and one another, if we ask them in the interest of wanting to know how we can conform our lives to those of these, our forebears in faith, this asking can be how we make this Christmas the one that started big spiritual changes for us. This asking also makes it easy to draw parallels to situations we see in the world today. Immigrants fleeing violence, parents trying to protect their children from persecution, homeless travelers, and poor people victimized by crime, women in danger because of unplanned pregnancies—these are situations we see on the news every day. God made statements by becoming incarnate in Mary and Joseph’s particular family, in their time, in their society. And God is still making statements today, about how and where God’s love and justice are needed, and are being made manifest. Are we listening?
What questions are you asking? What would you ask Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth, if they were here now?
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