Gospel Lesson 1—John 1:1-5, 9-14 --In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has
been made. In him was life, and that life was the Light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from God, full of grace and truth.
Gospel Lesson 2—Luke 2: 8-19
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 the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Advent Reflection 1
Our songs today lead us in the path towards Christmas Eve—that night of all nights when Jesus was born in a stable with only his mother and earthly father present in the midst of God’s creatures. We don’t really know what animals were there. The stable likely held the innkeeper’s camel—not a really delightful animal at all. There were probably oxen, cows, and lambs, and even chickens—animals that either served as beasts of burden or as a future food source. There was no nurse or mid-wife, save the angelic kind, and Joseph was left to tend to the rather messiness of a human baby’s birth all by himself.
Artists and theologians cleaned that scene up as soon as they were able. Even the Gospel writers failed to record the actual birthing of Jesus; a baby simply appears and is wrapped in swaddling clothes. We see lovely paintings and statues from early centuries with a wonderfully bright star and angel floating overhead. Theologians moved rather quickly to argue only the meaning of the child’s birth and, even now, no one thinks that it is polite to mention that most women scream when they are in labor, and human babies and their mothers need a good deal of cleaning up before they are ready to receive company. What is it about this birth that makes us so queasy to talk about the actuality of it as we move rather quickly to singing angels in the heavens, cute little shepherd boys, and majestic royal kings bringing lovely packaged gifts of the highest treasure?
It seems to me that once we acknowledge that Mary probably moaned in labor, that Jesus cried like any other infant when he was hungry and that the new earthly father, Joseph, more than likely was scared to death when left to handle this birth alone, we come to terms with the fact that Jesus truly was one of us. Unfortunately, the theologians began rather early to formulate a saintly, sanitized version of the birth of the savior, which pointed more to halos then to the helplessness of a newborn. This begins, at least subconsciously, a long road of denial that the God of all Creation, became not only one of us; but, in the person of Jesus Christ, was like us in every way. It is in this identification of Jesus as fully God, fully human—that we lose our excuses that God cannot possibly understand all the pain, confusion and rejection that we have experienced in our lives. Only when we embrace the divinity AND humanity of Jesus, can we respond to this Jesus who stands in front of us this day with outstretched arms, welcoming us into a shared sacred journey—a journey of daily walking in the presence of the One who has walked this way before.
Advent Reflection 2
And so we celebrate the birth of our savior; we join in the songs and speak our praise aloud. We rejoice with the joy of God’s exceeding abundance. Is this not the time for us to let go of all that darkens the light of the Christ-child and walk gladly into that stable. Why not imagine with me, just for a second, that you are standing in front of the stall? See the smile of the proud parents, who are protectively, yet proudly, holding their child for you to see. Why here, why now? You have come to this place because of a call that would not let you go—a summons from somewhere deep in your heart that you had to see for yourself. And here you stand, reveling in the knowledge that you have followed the call this time, no excuses, no detours, nothing standing in the way. This time you kneel in worship because you listened with your spirit and followed your heart to the source of the goodness and hope that rises up within you. This time, you open your heart to the True Light, the light that brings focus and clarity to our understanding.
So many other times you have felt the call but have not followed. Why this time? So many other things could have called you away; but you listened and then you took the chance that God would be waiting for you—God in a manger, with straw for a bed. So very simple, and yet so many of us wait—feeling unworthy, unable to come. And, yet, you came. A miracle occurrs. You hear the revelation that God is coming to earth; you open your heart to transformation, and you experience a sacred redemption. In the incarnation of the Holy Child, we come to know that we are welcome, that, like the baby in the manger, we are included as children of God. We come to know this when others come with us, those who have welcomed us into a place where we can feel the sweet touch of God’s love—that transforming love that allows us to know that we are accepted as we are—that we are held in the loving embrace of God because of who we are, not in spite of who we are. You come and we stand together in the light of the star, gazing at a baby, a baby not just like us, but a baby who is one of us—who will grow and hear the taunts and jeers one day and will have to answer the same question that we answer. “Am I a child of God?” And, so God declares to Jesus and to us—“This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased”. This is our promise today as we stand here, God lovingly lifts us up with a divine wellspring of mercy and grace. This is our promise today, that we know we are loved. And, we are finally home. Amen and Amen.
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