- Mary, mother of Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1
Some expected the messiah to come in a huge, apocalyptic ball of fire swallowing up evil doers. Others expected a new King, dressed in a purple royal robe, riding in on a fine white horse with a huge righteous army to overthrow the corrupt government.
When John the Baptist started to publicly repeat the prophecies of Isaiah, it caught the attention of the religious power elite (perhaps the equivalents of our Pat Robertson or the Pope). The idea of a messiah coming to upset the status quo was distressing to them. Their power was threatened. But John was too elated to care what they thought. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord'".
Mary's words in the Gospel of Luke (the Song of Mary, or Magnificat) are meant to be sung. She rejoices in being blessed with the chance to serve God. She magnifies the Lord.
Most mainline American Protestants are not good at expressing faith with outward joy. At best, we might utter a monotone litany of praise.
Rather than reflect quietly on the meaning of it all, we could be moved, inspired by John's and Mary's joy, to proclaim to the world that our Savior is coming to save us from the darkness of sin.
The “S” word.
Please don't cringe or roll your eyes at the mention of sin.
Sin is nothing more, and nothing less, than separating ourselves from God.
This estrangement is at the root of bad things like hate, discrimination, dishonesty, abuse, oppression, racism, all the "isms," - and things less dramatic, like just being so busy that we don't seem to have time to care for the people around us.
As human beings, we are always to some degree, separated from God.
But as Christians, we believe that while we don't always see God or feel God's presence or grace, and though we neglect to remember God through prayer and deed, God never forgets us - God never leaves us.
Of course, life doesn't turn into a fairyland of gum drops and lollipops the minute we remember that God loves us. We continue to live in a tough, churning world. But the knowledge that God hasn't turned a cold shoulder gives us the chance to hope and to have courage and to take steps to overcome the separation. This is grace.
This time of year, we remember the promise that God loves us so much that he sent a simple, human representative to share that grace with us.
Don’t get hung up on whether it literally happened. The truth behind the myth is valid. The story conveys God’s love in a way that we can understand.
Jesus was said to be a simple sandal wearing man, wandering through the country, like John the Baptist, peacefully challenging structures of oppression, upsetting the status quo, caring for the reviled sick and outcast, feeding the hungry, nurturing the poor in spirit with teaching and compassion – things that we should do ourselves, today.
This is more revolutionary than if Jesus were a King with a big army. This is revolutionary because it was and is done without the threat of hellfire. It is done without bombs or violence. In fact, power isn't taken from the authorities as much as it is given to those who never had it before. The power is rooted in the knowledge that nothing, nothing separates us from God.
This message of freedom and love is how Christ continues to live among us. No wonder we are excited.
And our excitement, our elation, like Mary's, moves us to throw up our arms and sing for joy.
We celebrate the birth of a savior who, because we Christians live in his name, because he lives in us, empowers us to share that freely given grace by fighting for justice, working for peace, and living as an example to others.
Our souls magnify the Lord this Christmas. And sincere Christians everywhere, despite our differences, proclaim the coming of a Savior, the triumph over sin, and the anticipation of joy.
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