I am often asked by friends,  as if I am a theological scholar,  which day is more important… which day is to be celebrated with more vigor, Easter or Christmas?  I do not know if this is a legitimate question to ask,  or one that may be just appropriate for the “everyday” Christians- who tend to view the church calendar in that way- Easter time or Christmas time. But if we reflect on the question, we can find an answer.  Indeed a profound answer, that may even summarize what can become- a great theological statement.

We all know that, “in the beginning… God said, ‘Let there be light.’ and there was light. God saw the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness he called ‘night’. And there was an evening and there was a morning- the first day.” [Genesis 1:2-5]

Since that very first day, our lives revolve around day and night.  Light and darkness.  As children, we always feared the darkness.  We would ask our mothers to leave a night light on.  We enjoyed playing with our friends and even going to school, but we learned that when the street lights came on- night and its accompanying darkness were coming.

Night and darkness have always seemed unsettling to most of us, if not down right evil.  Things become dark and uncertain. We do not see as clearly as we do “by the light of day”.  The Bible even supports this theory. Genesis refers to “dreadful darkness” and a “plague of darkness”.  Job warns us of  “gloom and utter darkness”-  a “darkness that cannot be escaped.”  Indeed there are nearly thirty references to “darkness” alone in the Book of Job.

And when the world was filled with it’s great despair- in it’s darkest night, the Christ child is born.  Christmas Day!  The beginning of  the story. 

Then we have the Easter story, which is actually an end to the story– but yet a beginning.  Christ suffers his passion. Unlike Christmas with it’s Advent- Eastertide come to us through Lent. A time of fasting and vigils. A time, that unlike Christmas, is somber.  In Easter,  Christ gives to us the gift of his Last Supper and goes with his disciples to pray- at night, in a place called Gethsemane.  So late and dark was the hour that his disciples could not even stay awake.  Christ is arrested and led to trial.  Peter waits through a dark night, but fearfully denies knowing Jesus.  Crucified, though day “a great darkness came across the land”. The world waits in darkness.  Easter morning, by the glow of the predawn light, Mary Magdalene makes her way through the garden to discover the tomb empty.  The glory of Easter morning-  and the Resurrection of the Risen Christ!

We know bad things happen at night, in darkness.  When we are uncertain.  When we are afraid.  Jesus even tells us, “People do not light a lamp and place it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on a stand,  so that it gives light to everyone that is in the house.” [Matthew 5:15]  Indeed Christ knows our fear and comforts us;  “I have come into the world as a light- so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” [John 12:46]

So this then is the promise of Easter.  Indeed the promise of Christmas.  That though we fear the darkness, the uncertainty of life- we have the promise of the Resurrection!  “The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear!” [Psalm 27:1]  Christ has fulfilled his promise of everlasting life and given to us the proof.  His Resurrection on Easter morning is what makes us Christians!  We can happily and boldly face our lives, and the unexpected bumps we will hit along the road- because we know that Christ has conquered death.  He offers to us the same, if we take up his cross and follow him!

And we can do that.  Without stumbling. Without falling. Without fear.  Because unlike those who live in darkness, we have been saved!  For Christ tells us, “Whoever follows me, will never walk in darkness! ” [John 8:12]

So the darkness is behind us. Before is the light of morning. The glorious light of Easter morning!  “For God is light, in him there is no darkness at all! ” [1 John 1:5]  Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen today!

“Oh God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.”  [OCACNA Sacramentary (c) 2012 p.179]

While watching the news and reflecting on the election of the new Pope, I cannot help but be struck with curiosity about a picture of the newest Papal leader washing someone’s feet. At  first I thought this was a recent photograph, but it seems this occurred many years ago. So who is this new leader of the Roman Catholic Church? It seems he is a humble man whose promotion has sparked hope among many individuals and groups who did not feel they had a voice within the Catholic Church in years past

Francis, the first Jesuit pope and first non-European since the Middle Ages, decided to call himself Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, the humble friar who dedicated his life to helping the poor.  On his first day on the job, Pope Francis not only returned to the Vatican-owned residence to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself, he thanked every worker there, each by name. The new pontiff brings a common touch. The son of middle-class Italian immigrants, he denied himself the luxuries that previous cardinals in Buenos Aires enjoyed. He lived in a simple apartment, often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina’s capital.

As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he showed compassion for the victims of HIV-AIDS and in 2001, visited a hospice to kiss and wash the feet of 12 AIDS patients. In 2008, he also washed the feet of 12 recovering drug addicts at a rehabilitation center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It is these vivid images of humility and service which remind me of the Bible reading for today:

John 12:1-8

12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 12:2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 12:5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 12:6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 12:7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 12:8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The new Pope, in his humble actions as the new leader of an often troubled Church, reminds me of Mary. Though she was considered no one special, and her introduction is far less publicized than the election of Pope Francis, her role in the recognition of Jesus, as Savior, is no less crucial to our salvation.

Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
² both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
⁷ No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
⁹ so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
¹⁰ For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses^[b] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had^[c] named lands after themselves.

¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.

²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding   are like the beasts that perish.

In reflecting on Psalm 49, We must look within ourselves and realize that wealth won’t last: How should we think about the wealth of the wicked i.e. banks and money lenders of all types?  Should their power and prosperity cause us to worry? Yes absolutely! How should we feel when we have great abundance or lack of resources? Should these circumstances cause us to be either confident or afraid? This psalm answers these questions by reminding us that wealth won’t last. Wisdom teaches us that our financial situations are never an appropriate cause of fear or self-reliance. Let us look at Psalm 49’s clear-headed recognition that wealth won’t last.

Psalm 49:1-4 Explains that the following instructions carry wisdom for absolutely everyone—“both low and high, rich and poor alike”

(Psalm 49:2). The relevance of this psalm’s instruction about wealth is significant. It indicates that everyone needs to be taught how to view wealth wisely. “All who live in this world” (Psalm 49:1) are susceptible to temptation in this area. Money is the leading contender against faith in God!

Psalm 49:5- These passages ask, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Wealth may give us a false sense of immortality, but in the end it cannot save us from death. The ultimate futility of worldly wealth is worthless in the day of wrath. Turning our attention from this world to the next, we must realize that as a part of God’s creation, material resources such as money and wealth are good and not evil in themselves. Wealth has a limited capacity to insulate us from many of life’s dangers and difficulties. We should not despise wealth or deny its practical utility, but we must recognize how incredibly limited worldly wealth is from an eternal perspective (Psalm 49:7-9). Wealth is transient. Cars rust. Houses fall apart. Bank accounts dwindle. Sooner or later it all disappears.

For these very reasons, Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on earth, but in heaven.  Please remember “It’s not just because wealth might be lost; it’s because wealth will always be lost” Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die. No exceptions. Whether we are rich or poor, God can demand our lives of us at any moment. When that happens, the money we have will be of no use, but righteousness expressed by the right use of wealth will endure forever. (Psalm 49:16-20)  In closing when we see how our minds have been reoriented according to this “eternal perspective”, we will find wealth to be far less impressive and important.

“Mirror , Mirror on the wall, who’s the Fairest of them all?” We all remember this line from that favorite fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Who is speaking such eloquent words? As we all know, the evil Queen, who wishes to be the fairest in the land.  As her daily habit, she consults her magic mirror, to reaffirm her beauty and charm. And being an enchanted mirror, it wisely tells her what she wants to hear. That is til someone more fair enters the kingdom, and we all know how the story ends. How many of us wish for just such a magic mirror, one which would show us at our most beautiful. Even on days when we aren’t feeling so pretty, or seem to be stressing over a perceived physical flaw that only we can see.

So what do we do? Well women put on makeup, style their hair, and wear their prettiest dress. Men, take great pains over their facial hair, to shave or not, bring out that tired suit, and of course a tie which must match. All this, serves to clothe us in an armor of acceptance, and allows us to face yet another day. We even plaster a smile on our face, while inside we are crying, dying just a little bit from the pressure of trying to fit in, to appear normal.

As described in Exodus 34:29-35, Moses did this very same thing. 34:29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 34:31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 34:32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34:34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 34:35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Why did Moses feel the need to wear a veil? Surely it was not to hide the affect our Lord had on his countinence, his face shining as if a beacon in the darkness. Maybe he felt others would judge him, that  they would be scared of the change which was clearly in evidence. I can most certainly relate to this, feeling as if others are judging my outer self. Afraid that what hides behind the veil, even if it is good, would cause others to dislike or reject me. But as Moses did, and which we all must do, take off that veil, be our true selves. Our faith will then shine, and God sees us as who we really are. There is no need to be afraid or fear rejection in His presence.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18, 4:1-2 3:16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 3:18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 4:1 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 4:2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

We have learned to remove our veil, our false faces we present to the world, and let the evidence of God’s love shine plainly on our faces. So let’s look in that mirror again, but this time it’s not enchanted. Just an everyday bathroom mirror, and as you stare at this person whom you have lived with all your life, how do you see her now? Is your face veiled, to hide who you really are, a daughter of Christ? Can you remove your cloth armor (the veil), step out the front door, and face the world as an authentic person? Making no excuses, being someone who loves and accepts herself, warts, tattoos, piercings, cellulite, and wrinkles included, because of that blessed shining love only a Father can give to his favorite children. Can you be YOU!?

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:8-20  King James Version (KJV)

After 2000 years of Christmas sermons, in hundreds of languages, in different countries throughout the world, and by way of innumerable faith traditions, is there anything new or original left to be said about Christmas, and what it means, that hasn’t been said before?   Perhaps not.  However, like re-reading that favorite book for the 17^th time, or watching that favorite movie or television show for the 358^th time, even when you know exactly what comes next, what the very next word is going to be, often we find a new meaning or a new slant on something that is as tried and true as Christmas itself.

 And so it is with me this year.  The Gospel reading for today  recalls the story of the angels bringing the news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds.  Now, we all know that story.  We’ve heard it many times over, and those of us who cherish “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will always, in some ways, hear Linus quoting from Luke, no matter who is reading that passage of the Bible to us.   We know the story.  We SEE the story in every Nativity scene we pass by.  There is almost always a shepherd near the manger carrying a lamb on his shoulders and another lamb or sheep to be seen somewhere hanging around.    It’s always seemed to me that the sheep and the shepherds were just THERE, minor players in a Christmas play, the “extras” assigned to the kids who didn’t quite measure up to the roles of Mary or Joseph;  they enter stage left, ooh and aah over the baby, and exit stage right, singing “Go tell it on the mountain”, singularly unimportant and taking secondary roles to the more illustrious wise men (who in reality weren’t there at all) and most definitely playing supporting roles to the Holy Family, or just standing around as so much scenery, contributing to the mood and filling up the bare spots in the Nativity scene.  I overheard a conversation recently that made me really think about the shepherds.  While visiting some friends, their cat jumped into the midst of the family crèche and knocked over the obligatory shepherd.  It was chipped.  The younger daughter of the family was somewhat distressed, and to make the little girl feel better, the mother said to her, “Don’t worry about it, Honey.  It’s just the shepherd.  He’s not all that important.”    I didn’t think much about it at the time, but when reading the Scripture appointed for today, it struck me.  Not all that important?  But weren’t they?  Who WERE these shepherds?  Why were they there in the first place?  Why did THEY get the news of Christ’s birth in such a spectacular way?  Who were they that they should be eyewitnesses of God’s glory and receive history’s greatest birth announcement?

In Christ’s day, shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the Palestinian social ladder. They shared the same unenviable status as tax collectors and dung sweepers. Only Luke mentions them.  When the twelve tribes of Israel migrated to Egypt, they encountered a lifestyle foreign to them. The Egyptians were agriculturalists. As farmers, they despised shepherding because sheep and goats meant death to crops. Battles between farmers and shepherds are as old as they are fierce. The first murder in history erupted from a farmer’s resentment of a shepherd.  Smug religious leaders maintained a strict caste system at the expense of shepherds and other common folk. Shepherds were officially labeled “sinners”—a technical term for a class of despised people.

Into this social context of religious snobbery and class prejudice, God’s Son stepped forth. How surprising and significant that God the Father handpicked lowly, unpretentious shepherds to be the first to hear the joyous news: “It’s a boy, and He’s the Messiah!”  What an affront to the religious leaders who were so conspicuously absent from the divine mailing list.  Even from birth, Christ moved among the lowly.  It was the sinners, not the self-righteous, He came to save.  So is it  really all that surprising that the first announcement of Christ’s birth was to the lowly shepherds on Bethlehem’s hillsides?

Consider the events leading up to Christ’s birth.   Mary was barely 15.  Christ was born to an unwed mother, Mary, a servant girl; Mary the young woman who delivered while only betrothed to Joseph.  He was born in a stable, a cave!   A holy God being born to a couple no different than immigrants, far from home and in a strange city, in a place where animals were kept.  A couple who couldn’t even find a place to stay, turned out of every inn!  It’s all too bizarre.

Yet this is the God we experience.  This is our claim;  This is the meaning of his very name: Immanuel, meaning “God with us” — with us not just in nice times, but most especially in the times of our lives when we are in the caves, and stables of our lives, when we are turned out of the places we’d like to be, when we are at the lowest of low points, when we are out in the dark, and in the cold like the shepherds.

Our God, the God who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ, is the God of the oppressed, the repressed, the depressed; the God of the sad, the grieving, the sorrowful; the God of the lonely, the lowly, the poor, the God of the Shepherds; the God of the despised, the destitute, the dejected. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who stood with the enslaved Hebrews in Egypt, who led them out of Egypt to a promised land of freedom.  Our God is the God of widows and orphans and stranded travelers. Our God is the God who doesn’t stay neat and tidy and spotless, but comes and stands beside us in our times of deepest need, who comes among us as the child in the dirty manger and the God of the shepherds on the hillside.  The God we’re speaking of dares to join the unsuccessful, the failures, the dispossessed, and the downtrodden;  the God of the Shepherds.

Wherever there is suffering, our God is there. He stands with Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector, and with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. He is with us when we face cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. He is with us when we face amputations, operations, loneliness, the loss of a loved one, or even death itself.  The God of the manger and the Shepherd is Immanuel, God with us. At our deepest times of loss and need, in the dirtiest and most embarrassing parts of our lives, God is with us, His rod and His staff, they comfort us.  It is God who glues us back together when we become, like that figure in my friends’ Nativity scene, chipped, flawed, and much less than perfect.

And it is up to us, to demonstrate the love of God, the God of the lowly, the downtrodden, to the world.  We, like the shepherds in the Christmas story, are to be the ones who are to proclaim the good news “which shall be to all people” to all the people of the world.   It is our responsibility as Christians to be the instruments through which God can work in this world.  As was  most famously stated more than four centuries ago by Saint Theresa of Avila:

Christ has no body but yours,
no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

 My very favorite Christmas carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” includes the lines, “What, then, shall I bring him, empty as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man I would do my part.  What can I give Him?  I can give Him my heart.”

Won’t you, this Christmas, give Him your heart?  Won’t you, like the shepherds in the children’s plays of the Christmas story, be one to “go tell it on the mountain, over the fields and everywhere” that Jesus Christ is born?  Amen.

 

 

 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 23,2012

The peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you all!

We can sense the excitement in the air!  Christmas is but a couple of days away!  The joyous birthday celebration of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But what of that very first Christmas?  It really wasn’t even Christmas then.  Bethlehem.  A small town located in the hills of  Judea, a not ten miles from Jerusalem.  Rich in the history of the Jewish people.  Rachel is buried here, and it was here that Ruth and Boaz met and were married- ultimately becoming the great grandparents of David, second king of the Jews.

“Thus says the Lord, you Bethlehem… from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler of all Israel.” [Micah 5:2] “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  And he will be our peace…” [Micah 5:4-5]

When it was announced that a census was to be taken by Quirinius (Roman Governor of Syria), Joseph “… went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, to whom he was pledged to be married and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in the manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”  [Luke 2:4-7]

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you this day in the town of David, a Savior has been born- he is Christ, the Lord. This will be a sign unto you, you will find him wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.” [Luke 2:8-12]

We can imagine this chaotic scene.  The small town of Bethlehem crowded and brimming with people, many of them extended families as the census required them to travel to their ancestral villages.  Sharing homes and rooms. Bustling with activity and of course, noise.  Hardly conducive to the stress and strain of childbirth.  But with this information, we tend to overlook an important point.  Our savior was not abandoned, nor born in conditions to harsh.

We learn from scripture, that shepherds were nearby in the fields tending to their sheep at night.  Normally, winters in this part of the world are deary, cold and rainy.  This seems not to have been the case.  Had it been, shepherds normally would have moved their sheep inside barns.  We may believe that this winter’s night was somewhat mild.

Scripture all tells us that there was no “guest room” for Mary to deliver her child.  It is a likely assumption, as they traveled to Bethlehem to register in their ancestral home, that Joseph and Mary had family there.  Being pregnant, we could assume she would not have been turned away.  But with each house filled to the rafters with noisy relatives, where to birth a baby in peace?  In a manger, of course!

A manger, a small attachment to the main house were animals were quartered.  It is dry, warm and cozy.  Close enough for family, but removed enough for quiet.  There Mary and Joseph, could rest from their tiresome journey and insure the baby Jesus was comfortable too.

We needn’t paint a picture of harsh uninviting conditions.  Yes, babies were born in more comfortable conditions such as a house or bed, but this was a frenzied night.  We must remember too, God had provided a magnificent star and a chorus of angels to serenade his birth- could we truly believe God would allow Jesus in a mess?

I cannot think of a more beautiful and tranquil way in which to enter the world at the time. A dry warm manger, laying peaceful under the watchful eyes of mother- and a donkey and a cow or two. A cow has such beautiful eyes. Jesus must have smiled and perhaps even giggled.

Bethlehem- noisy, crowded, bustling.  The manger- dry, warm, safe.

“O holy Child of Bethlehem, acsend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in-  be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angel, the great glad tidings tell. O come to us, abide with us- our dear Lord Emmanuel!” [O Little of Bethlehem, fourth stanza by Fr. Phillip Brooks. (c) 1865.]

Luke 1:26-38

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,  ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.   ²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  ²⁹But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  ³⁰The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  ³¹And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.   ³²He 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.   ³³He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”   ³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”   ³⁵The 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.   ³⁶And 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.   ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”  ³⁸Then 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.

As we read in Luke 1:38, Mary says “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  WOW!  Now that has to be the most courageous act of faith I’ve ever read!  I pray for the strength to act like Our Savior’s Mother, the strength to relinquish the wants of MY WILL and honestly and earnestly pray for “THY WILL BE DONE” – less and less of me, more and more of Our Father’s Will.  To always do what is right and good and just and holy in His sight.  But is it that easy?

Here, the Blessed Virgin is truly our example of unwavering faith which she shows by pressing through any fears, worries or anxieties she may have had.  By giving her ‘YES’ to Our Father, by submitting to “let it be with me according to your word” – she shows us that no matter what we may be faced with or feeling,  it is possible to have total faith in God to get us through even the most inexplicable situations.  Just think of some of the trials awaiting Mary simply for submitting to God’s Will.  It could cost her life, being pregnant and unmarried was punishable by death from stoning!  She could have lost her fiancé, Joseph.  She had no idea how he would react to this news!  Can you imagine the looks from her own friends and family she might have received – not to mention the others in her town, from her synagogue, at the market?  I have to believe that at some point these concerns and countless others had to have crossed the Blessed Mother’s mind.  Still, she obeyed. She submitted.  Even if she was terrified, she chose to carry the Son of God, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In Mary lies a profound secret of great faith that none of us should miss.  DO IT AFRAID.

It is very easy for someone outside of our situations, various as they are, to tell us, when we are faced with real fears, worries and anxieties, to ‘give it to God’ or to ‘cast our cares on the Lord – and leave them there’ or to ‘fear not.’  But for the one actively facing those frightful feelings it often does not seem so simple.  It is in these trials, that I meet Mary.  Though the scriptures don’t tell us WHAT the Virgin Mother was feeling when she submitted to God and showed amazing faith, we can well imagine that she must have panicked at some point, or several points!  But she said yes anyway.  She did it afraid.  Often times, we must do the same thing.  We must endure our trial, shaking in our boots, but pressing inward and onward.  Moving through our various situations scared, but faithfully, still pushing ahead.

May we be so bold in our faith in Our Lord, that our souls will also proclaim the greatness of Our God.  When we accept God's word and when we obey his commands, we will realize great joy and an overwhelming peace becomes available to us – even if what we are faced with seems like it is just too much for us to handle.  Our faith allows us to see that we are not alone, that we can get through all of the curve balls lugged at us, even if we’re terrified.  It is written that God will never leave us nor forsake us, that He is with us always.  Not occasionally, not ‘just through the easy and lovely and happy times.’  Always.  And when we flex our muscles of faith, we’re giving our own fiat, our own ‘YES!’, which allows God to expand in us and use us - and give us the joy, peace, hope and love we need for ourselves and that we need to be a light to the world – to everyone we encounter.

The hope of the world rested on Mary’s ‘YES’ – and she obeyed and Jesus was born.  In a similar way as Christians, the hope of our world rests today on us – will we be like her – will we give our ‘YES’ to God’s will in our lives, no matter how afraid we may be?  Will we give birth to God in our thoughts, words and deeds?  Will we obey the Lord and walk in His ways, no matter how frightening the circumstances are or could become?  Or shall we choose our will to be done because it is easier and requires no courageous faith?  The angel Gabriel tells us in verse 37 “For nothing is impossible with God.”  So when we do not answer with a resounding ‘YES’ to allow God’s birth in our lives, we limit what we can ever have or ever do or ever become.  We must meet the Lords knock on the doors of our hearts with a resounding invitation in – then the Holy Spirit can begin the produce the fruit of Christ-like living in our lives – to the point that  the love, joy, peace, patience and prosperity flow out of us an onto each person that crosses our paths.  But we must un-wrap these gifts of the Spirit so we may, first, use them in our lives and then pass them on and share them with our brothers and sisters.  They cannot flow from us if they are not in us.  And it all starts with our yes to God.