Scripture: Luke 2: 1-14 &Matthew 2: 1-9
In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world. And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to “the city of David”—Bethlehem, in Judea, because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David; he went to register with Mary, his espoused wife who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her delivery. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son; she put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket.
There were shepherds in the area living in the fields and keeping night watch by turns over their flock. The angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of God shone around them; there were very much afraid. The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you—news of a great joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in David’s city, a savior—the Messiah—has been born to you. Let this be a sign to you; you’ll find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in high heaven! And on earth, peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.”
After Jesus’ birthd—astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn ruler of the Jews” We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay homage.” Herod spoke with them first. After their audience with the ruler, they set out. The star which they had observed at its rising went ahead of them until it came to a standstill over the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at seeing the star and, upon entering the house, found the child with Mary, his mother. They opened their coffers and presented the child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Let’s go back to our Gospel reading today…
This is the season of joy—joy to the world—blessed joy—baby in a manger joy—shepherds watching sheep joy—joy, joy, joy! But, it’s just possible, if we are really honest, that some of us, some of the time, want very much to walk beside good old Ebeneezer Scrooge and utter bah humbug! Sometimes the need to retreat is a healthy desire to flee the glee, quiet our minds, and turn our thoughts to simpler things. But, sometimes it is more. For some of us, some of the time, the joy is simply too much to bear in a world so full of sorrow and struggle. The shepherds, frightened out of their minds, must have felt some initial resistance to joy-- Good news in the midst of great tribulation…the very embodiment of what I often call “sacred contradictions”. Our lives are full of them and they are intertwined with our relationships, our loves, our passions, our very selves.
For a very long time, while I searched for some sort of cosmic and psychic peace, I simply mis-understood the concept of wholeness and I believe that I am not alone. Taking my cue from my simplistic reading of the many books on holistic spirituality that I devoured in my early attempts to come to terms with my ragged theological journey and work out my relationship with God, I believed that wholeness (or enlightenment, or inner peace) meant that everything simply came together as a whole and “made sense”. The more I searched for that holistic, cosmic harmonic “oneness”, the less I felt the wholeness I desired. And the farther away the very God I sought seemed to be.
Eventually, I ceased my seeking for the narrow kind of wholeness that I had previously viewed as imperative and opened myself up to the calling of God’s “sacred contradictions”. Leaving behind my either/or thinking enabled me to walk maturely into the blessed joy found in both/and awareness. And I believe that scriptures are full of the call of these apparent contradictions.
What then, of these sacred contradictions as we walk through the Advent Season—with Christmas so closely upon us, that we can feel the anticipation of waking up on Christmas morning and gathering with friends and family for a feast of joy! For those of you who bring no sadness, no turmoil, no “mixed feelings”, as we introspective folks like to say, into this season, I say “bless you and bless God for your good fortune”. For the rest of us, I invite you to consider the call to hold these “sacred contradictions” in your heart this Advent and Christmas and allow the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to fully experience all the feelings, thoughts, memories, sorrow, and joy that this season brings. For in doing so, I believe, that our hearts will be more able and willing to bring our whole selves to worship the Christ and receive the blessed joy that God has in store for us.
Embracing sorrow, struggle, and turmoil at this time of seemingly rampant happiness and gaiety seems almost sacrilegious. Kahil Gibran says this about sorrow and joy: “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?” This makes sense to me even in my simplest way of thinking: As I unite my sorrow and my joy in the embracing of both, the sorrow becomes meaningful, the joy becomes more abundant. And the apparent tension between the two disappears in the evolving “sacred contradiction” which leads to joy.
Look at the Christmas story itself—it’s full of these sacred contradictions—calling us to hold two “impossibles” in our minds at once. A virgin gives birth to the Savior of the world; Joseph is expected to love and care for a child who is not his own; shepherds, awakened by heavenly visitors are afraid for their lives and yet, eager to meet and pay homage to this child. Jesus is born in a manger—yet, destined to bring the reign of God’s justice to the earth.
And so I say to you today, embrace your complete experience of this season and the birth of the Savior—the sorrows and the joys, the pain and the gladness, the turmoil and the peace. I want to share a story with you. Last year was my first Christmas Season after a great loss in my life. And all of my sacred contradictions came to life in the three months between October and Christmas and God used every one of these in my own spiritual formation and growth. For me, my moment of truth last year, centered on decorating the Christmas tree. Now Terri and I have separate tasks in holiday decorating—she brings in all the boxes and then admires what I do with the decorations. It works for us and we began our decorating just as we did last year. Terri set up the tree and I decided to let the branches “air out”. A week later, even the dogs weren’t buying my story of why the branches needed air, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to put the ornaments on the tree. But as I opened myself up to hear the healing that God was holding out for me, I knew that it was time to “do the tree”. And so, I did. In spite of my telling myself that it would be painful to hang the shiny ornaments on the tree, as if each one reflected my then still raw grief back to me, it was a joy to behold when I finished it. Some ‘sacred contradictions’ are easier to hold than others, and yours this year may be mildly difficult or may feel like torture or somewhere in between. Whatever the case, I believe that God will grace with joy and peace your willingness to move from a dichotomous way of thinking that insists that you can only embrace one “truth” at a time to a “let me hold them all in my hands at once” way of being.
Let us return to the angels, to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds and animals—let us open our hearts to the joy of a baby—not just any baby, but a baby that would bring in the reign of God’s justice and peace. Let us say with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest!” May we all have peace this Christmas season and may joy take us by surprise again and again. Amen and Amen
Reflection Question:
Questions for reflection and study--
1. The distance form Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 70 miles. What would it be like to be Joseph taking that weeklong walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem? For Mary?
2. What, for you, is the significance of the place and circumstances around Jesus’ birth?
3. In reality, shepherds were an outcast group. How do you see “sacred contradictions” working out in the angels’ message to them?
4. The Magi made a long journey to see Jesus. Reflect on your own journey. What have you experienced along the way?
5. Both the shepherds and Magi are fleeting subjects in the story of Jesus’ birth. What impact do you imagine this experience may have had on them?
6. What gifts would you bring or will you bring to Jesus this year?
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