Who's child is this? December 18, 2017

Year A, Advent 4                                                      

Matthew 1:18-25                                                                   

            One of the things that you have to come to terms with when you have chosen to adopt is that it is unlikely that you will have a child who looks like you.  No one will ever say, “He’s got your smile” or “Wow, look at those eyes…I wonder where they came from?”  It’s a small thing….especially when you see your child smile and you think, “There could be no smile more beautiful than that smile.”  But it’s still something that you need to consider.

            When we talk about the story of Joseph (which we don’t do very often) the focus is usually his reaction to the information that his fiancée is pregnant and it’s definitely not his child.  We usually refer to Mary and Joseph as engaged.  This is not the most accurate translation.  Our understanding of engagement today and what it was at this time period are two very different things. Today there are elaborate proposals and photo documentation of the proposal. Engagements are important.  It is a commitment, but it is also pretty easy to break.  In the time when Jesus and Mary lived, engagements were more than a ring and an extended time to plan the perfect wedding. An engagement (or more accurately a betrothal) was a legal agreement that two families made.  After the betrothal, they were legally wed, but not yet living together.  To break a betrothal, one had to get a divorce.  To have relations with someone other than your betrothed would be adultery.  It had the same punishment for the woman…public stoning.

            One can only imagine what Joseph felt in hearing that his wife was pregnant.  Despite the fact that they did not live together, they were still referred to as husband and wife.  He must have felt betrayed by her and even her family who had arranged this.  Most likely, their marriage had been planned for years, perhaps their whole lives.  Suddenly, his whole life was changed.  Certainly, he could find another wife. Yet even if he could, people would still wonder if the child Mary had was actually his and he divorced her so no one would condemn him for having marital relations before they were officially married.  He could have survived the embarrassment and shame, but it would have probably followed him and his whole family the rest of their lives. These are all reasonable assumptions for his initial reaction to the news.

            What I wonder is what he felt after the angel came and told him, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All we know is that Joseph woke up and followed the angel’s instructions.  He took Mary as his wife.  Let’s assume for a minute that there was no doubt in Joseph’s mind that this had really happened….an angel had appeared to him and told him that the child who would be born to his wife was actually the child of God.  The father of the child was God.  Did he wonder: what is this child going to look like?  Will he look like God?  What does God look like?  Will God give this child the physical attributes of Mary but no attributes of me?  When this child comes out of Mary’s womb and I cradle him in my arms, who will I see….my son or the son of God?

            I like to think that Joseph was asking these mundane and rational questions, because that is what I would be wondering.  Now that we know the whole story, they seem like foolish questions.  But all he knew was that that this child was from the Holy Spirit.  In this time period, the first son was a very important thing in a family.  The first born would very likely acquire all that the father had.  The first son had a position of importance. Yet was this Joseph’s first son?  The questions that were whirling around his head and almost surely the head of Mary must have been unlimited. 

Think about it, everyone wonders what their child will become.  Will he be an athlete…a musician, a scientist.  Those were not the questions Jesus’s parents had.  Their son would save the world.  I am sure that put all their concerns to rest.  After this initial dream with the angel….consider the dreams or nightmares that followed.  Perhaps this child would come out of Mary not as a baby…but as a full grown man.  No baby could save the world.  That is ludicrous.  He would have huge eyes that would see all things and a huge head that would know all things.  The possibilities are terrifying.

            Who knows what he must have envisioned in the dead of night as he lay awake with fear and anxiety? What we know is this:  Joseph took Mary as his wife and he claimed Jesus as his son.  He might have looked at Jesus and seen Mary’s eyes or Mary’s smile. But I bet what he really saw was what we all see when we see babies.  He saw a miracle.  He saw a child of God…someone so precious that God had to be involved somehow. At that moment, it did not matter if he had his DNA…he had God’s DNA. He was infused with the Holy Spirt.  He was love in the flesh.

            People make a big deal of the fact that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus.  For some, it has even become a litmus test for true Christian faith.  For my part, I believe that Mary was a virgin.  I believe that is important not because it makes her pure or holy, but because it makes it clear to all of us, that this child born was no ordinary child, no matter how ordinary he looked.  The virgin birth and Joseph’s acceptance of that story is proof that something special was happening…something beyond our understanding.  We can tell the story over and over again, but we can never make it our own.  We can never tame this story because it is so amazing, so out of this world.   

            When Joseph looked into that newborn’s eyes, he saw pieces of himself…not because this child carried his DNA, but because this child knew him more than anyone else. This child could see into the depth of his soul.  At this time of year, we have an amazing opportunity. We have the chance to imagine the eyes of Jesus, the eyes that know us and loves us….without condition. We have the chance to see ourselves through those eyes, just like Joseph saw himself in Jesus’ eyes. 

Let’s try it. Let’s close our eyes for and take a deep breath.  Then for a moment, imagine that you can see the eyes of Jesus and you see yourself reflected in those eyes. What do you see? Do you see beauty? Do you see pain? Whatever you see, don’t allow yourself to judge what you see. This is not a mirror you are looking at…this is you, through Jesus’ eyes.  What you see is holy.  What you see is your divine image.  Take that with you when you leave this place.  Remember that you are holy and that you too carry the Holy Spirit.  Let that be your Christmas miracle. 

Angels we have heard: Christmas Eve

 Every year I wonder, what can I possibly say that would be new?  I know that there is really nothing new to say, but I still try to find new ways to share the message of the birth of Christ.  This year I decided to try to imagine what it would be like watching the events from heaven.  The following is a conversation between two angels.  One angel is in italics.  I also have a video and will post that soon.

----------------the story begins----------- 

“Oh my….have you heard? Tonight is the night.  The whole heavenly host is going down to visit our Lord’s people on earth.”

“Has that ever happened?”

“Not that I know of.  Sometimes, our Lord has sent down one, or two or three of his messengers to deliver his holy word, but never an entire army, a heavenly host.”

Will they bring their swords? Will there be a great battle?  I know that our Lord is most displeased.

You are right.  Our Lord is angry.  We have all heard him ranting and raving.  It’s just like when he watches sports: “Why are they doing that again?  How many times have I told them not to do that?”  When he is angry, it gets tense.  Once I went down myself to see what was going on.  It was bad.  I don’t know why people are acting like this.  It’s like they don’t even believe anymore.

I heard Gabriel went down several months ago and talked to someone. The heavenly choirs have been talking about it ever since.  You know how choirs are….Do you know why he went?”

 Well, I have heard something, but it doesn’t make any sense. They say he went to talk to a young woman named Mary.  He told her that she was going to bear the Son of God.  But that does not make any sense.  That seems like a drastic measure.  To send the Son of God down as a baby is risky.  Anything could happen.  It’s not safe.  Maybe that is why the heavenly host is going down.  They will be the body guards for the baby.

 Shhh….it’s happening now. 

 Wait…..who are they talking to?  Are they talking to shepherds?  Why are they talking to shepherds?  No one is going to get the message if they are talking to shepherds. No one listens to shepherds.

 Shhhh….we won’t be able to hear it if you keep jabbering.

Trumpet fanfare. An angel from the choir loft proclaims:

“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.” 

Choir says together:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

What could they mean? Why are they bringing joy? I thought God was disappointed.  This does not make any sense.

It does seem a little odd. Why send an army of angels to deliver that kind of message?  And what kind of sign is that….a baby in a manger?  Surely an army of angels could have done anything.

 They should have done that moving fire that our Lord used to lead Moses and his people out of Egypt.  Fire always gets people’s attention.  What is a little baby going to do?

Our Lord likes to think outside of the box.  Maybe since nothing else has really worked, he decided to shake things up a bit.  I am sure this baby is more than just your average baby, not that all babies aren’t always cute, but this is the Son of God.

 What was it again that Gabriel told the girl...Mary?

 

He told her that she would conceive a son, and she 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 forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

 Woh! That is huge news.  This Mary must be very powerful.  She must be a married to a king.

 That’s the thing, she is not married.  She is young and has very little.  She is a peasant.  But I have heard that she is very holy.  She is one of God’s favorites.  Our Lord told me that she has been especially chosen.

 That is a huge job.  Hey look, the shepherds are moving.  They looked pretty scared when all those angels were talking. Angels can be a little showy at times.  They really like to make an entrance.  No wonder the shepherds were terrified. 

 Just because you did not get chosen is no reason to be critical.  They needed to be sure to get their attention.  How else would you convince a bunch of shepherds that the savoir of humanity is about to be born to an unmarried peasant in a barn?  I mean really, you can’t make this stuff up.

 I hope they find him.

 I am sure our Lord will make sure they do.  Obviously he wanted those shepherds to be the first to greet the new baby.  Wait….it really is barn.  Do you see the baby?

 They put our Lord’s son, the hope of all humanity, in animal feeding trough?  What are they thinking?

I think it is all that they have.  Our Lord chose Mary because she is holy and good, not because she has money or power.

The shepherds are talking to them.  They have seen the Christ child. One of them is leaning over the manger in wonder.  They are so excited! They are telling them everything they saw, everything the angels told them.  They are doing a good job telling the story.  I heard shepherds are good story tellers.  It looks like Mary and Joseph are listening. Look at Mary.  She seems so wise, so pure and good.  I think I understand why our Lord chose her over a queen.  Now the shepherds are leaving.  They are making quite a raucous with their loud shouts and praises for our Lord.  That is how it should always be.  Our Lord should always be praised with such wild abandon.  Hopefully they will share the good news with the people.

 Maybe that is why our Lord chose these regular people to bear witness to this miracle. This is why he chose a baby to be his representative on earth.  It is the only way people are going to hear.  If they listen, they will come to know God as we know God.

 Do you think the baby will be safe?

 I don’t know if he will be safe.  I am sure Mary and Joseph will keep him safe for as long as they can, but as soon as people realize who he is, as soon as he starts sharing God’s message, he is no longer safe.  

 Maybe God will send the heavenly host down when things get dangerous. Our Lord can protect anyone.

 I don’t think that’s his plan this time around.  I think Jesus will grow up with the people and he will love them just as our Lord loves them.  Maybe our Lord realized that the other ways of communicating with his people wasn’t really working.  They needed to experience our Lord’s love up close and personal.

 It cannot be safe.  I am worried for him. What if it doesn’t work?

 Even we do not know what will come of this, but our Lord has a plan.  It’s a different kind of plan than we are used to.  It’s so crazy, it might just work.

I hope the people listen this time.

I do too. 

Priest to the congregation:

The plan will only work if they people will listen. Will you, the people of St. John’s, listen on this Christmas Eve?

Christmas Eve 2014: Luke 2:1-20

Scary Angels

As a priest, I have acquired quite a few angels over the years…not real angels, angel figurines and ornaments.  There was a woman in my last parish who would give me a different one every year.  With those and all my other Christmas angels, my house is overwrought with angels at this time of year.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  Some of them are playing instruments, some are singing and some are even in the shape of instruments. Of course there are a couple of things they all have in common.  They are all women, which is kind of odd when you think about it.  The angels in the Bible are usually men.  They are all pleasant looking with flowing robes. None of them look scary at all.  There are no zombie angels, no angels with limbs missing (unless you count the one with the missing foot---but that just fell off at some point when I was unpacking decorations).  None of them have their faces contorted as if they are screaming.

            Of course angels aren’t supposed to be scary.  They are supposed to be comforting like those people in Touched by an Angel, Michael Landon on Highway to Heaven or Clarence on It’s a Wonderful Life.  Those are the kind of people who you would want to have on hand if you were in a sticky situation.  Yet I am pretty sure that the angels of the Bible looked nothing like the angels we see on TV.  Usually, especially in the Gospels, the first thing that the angels would say was, “Do not be afraid.”  They would not have had to say that if the people weren’t.  And if people were responding with fear consistently, there must have been something about angels that scared people.

            So were they scary looking?  Did they come with weapons and armed guards, or was there something else going on?  Let’s consider the story we heard tonight from the Gospel of Luke.  There were shepherds watching over their flock at night.  This was before electricity, so this must have been pretty dark, probably completely dark.  They were trying to stay awake, pacing a little to keep warm and then suddenly, “An angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”

            Even if the angel looked friendly and warm, it is understandable that they were terrified.  They were surrounded by darkness and out of nowhere, an angel appeared surrounded by what we can assume was a great light.  Often the glory of the Lord is described as a great light, almost blinding.  And you know how it is when you are in the dark and all of a sudden someone turns on a light.  Even if it is not a particularly bright light, it takes a while to adjust.  You might even squint your eyes and ask the person to turn it off.  In that moment, the light can feel unwelcome.      

            The people living at the time of Jesus’s birth had gotten used to the dark.  It had been almost 500 years since the last great prophet preached to the Hebrew people.   For those years and more, they had longed for this moment, this coming of the Messiah but that longing had turned into something more like a fairy tale longing; a princess waiting for her prince to come but with no real grasp of what that prince would be like or what his coming would mean.

            So yes, they were afraid.  They were shepherds and they were used to waiting and preparing.  They were used to a routine.  While their lives were not easy by any means, they knew what to expect.  They knew what was expected of them.  But with this angel who came with the light of the glory of God, they knew in a moment that the world would never be the same.  They were terrified and in some ways, they were right to be terrified. 

            The angel told them not to be afraid. He said, “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.” Surely these words must have allayed their fears.  We know these words.  Most of us hear them every Christmas.  A Savior and a  Messiah…that has got to be good news.  There is no reason to fear that. 

            Maybe by then the shepherd’s eyes had adjusted to the light.  Yet just as they were accustomed to that light and the sound of that one angel, an entire army descended (that is what host means…it means an army).  This army did not come brandishing swords.  They brought news of peace to all whom God favors. 

            Despite the tidings of peace, my guess is that those shepherds were still a little afraid.  They had just seen something extraordinary and they knew that their world would never be the same.  The time of waiting was over.  They had a choice.  They could stay in that field and let their eyes get used to the dark again.  They could remain there because that was their job. And if they did not stay, who would care for the sheep?  They could have come up with 100 excuses to stay in that field instead of searching for a nameless child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.  But they didn’t. 

            They had seen the light.  They had heard the good news of God almighty and they could not just sit there and pretend as if their life had not changed.  No matter how scary that light was, they determined to find it again.  They had to be near it.  Not only that, but they had a message to deliver.  They did not know to whom they were delivering the message or exactly why, but they knew they had a message that was so important that an army of angels had come to them to bring it.

            So they went and they found Mary, Joseph and the child in a manger.  They saw the light in the flesh. Maybe they did not quite understand it, but they knew that what they witnessed was divine and they shared what had brought them to this place.  They shared the news from the angels with Mary and Joseph and by doing so they helped the parents of Jesus understand what had just happened.  I bet that every part of that journey (while exciting) was still terrifying. 

            Usually when we think of angels, and even God to some extent, we think of protectors, beings that will keep us safe.  But in the Bible, the angels challenged God’s people to discover a different part of themselves.  They were terrifying not because they were scary to look at but because they moved people outside of their own little worlds.  They exposed people to the light.  Obviously that light was more than just light.  It was a transformation of being and attitude.  It was a realization that they no longer lived only for themselves, but for the Savior of the World.

            Christmas should be a warm and fuzzy time.  The Christmas story should make you feel good.  But let’s not get too comfortable with this story, because at the heart of this story is disruption and discomfort.  It is risk.  It is fear and yes it is glory.  You could go home, open some presents, watch football and eat too much and call that Christmas.  Or you take this time to look for God’s angels in your own life. They might not glow softly in the night with long flowing robes and wings. In fact, I can assure you they won’t.  The angels that we Christians really need are the angels whose wings cause a windstorm of change and whose light is not a soft glow but a blaze of glory that wakes you up and inspires you to be a better version of yourself.  Merry Christmas! May it be a gloriously transformational one.