Are you kidding?
Commentary
Object:
Over the years, I grow more cynical about Christmas and just about everything that
goes along with it. I have not become a scrooge, although the advancing years have made
me more careful with my pennies. It is not that I cannot be moved by the lights, the
music, and the fellowship of the holidays. I have not become an insensitive, unfeeling
clod. My problem is that the language and the images and the music seem to have fallen
short in expressing what must have been the feelings of the real human beings going
through the events recounted in this story.
The icons and the medieval works of art portray a serenity and tranquility that does not jive with any birth that I know about. For the most part, Mary looks just like she has gotten back from the hairdresser. Most of the works seem to capture the moment right after somebody said, "Let's pose for a group photo for posterity." If you know anything about art, I am sure that your blood pressure is off the chart at my off-the-wall reaction to some of the greatest art in the Western tradition.
Yes, I would be offended at my lack of appreciation and insight. You do see my point, though. This portrayal of these events has crept into every manger scene in every home that is celebrating this holy day and can be found on the lawns of many of our houses of worship. No crying will this child make, already behaved and ready to bless the world with outstretched arms. Mary composed and comfortable is more than ready to please the insurance company by heading home on the first day. Joseph seems to have readily come to terms with the notion that he will be playing a backseat role to his own son right from the start and before he gets a start on fulfilling the expectations to have more family. Of course, the record seems to indicate that he will not live long enough to deal with the implications of any of this. There are the wise men posing as if following an aberrant star was the most natural thing in the world. Shepherds who have seen the heavenly host must wonder what this host of characters has to do with anything. However, none of this seems to make its way across the faces of this gathering. None of this is seen on the plaster eyes staring at us.
Any of you who have attended a birth know that this is not the way that it was. Particularly, if this was your first: In the midst of the adoring looks are those flashes of self-doubt that you might not be up to all this. I believe it was a miracle that got us home when I drove my wife and son from the hospital in our VW Beetle. I know that I made all the right turns; I just don't know how. I have evidence to the fact that our son is now 32 years old. However, while I cannot remember how we got home, I cannot forget that day -- cloudy, mid-forties, leaving the hospital at 3:30 p.m. It is that strange combination of intense memory and not having a clue how you made it through that gives new fathers an expression that I have never seen on a painting of Joseph. My wife did not look like Mary after going over to see if our son was still breathing nineteen times a night for the first month. If anyone had shown up on our doorstep with camels in tow or sheep dung all over their feet and sandals, I can guarantee you that neither of us would have looked anything like the manger scenes this Sunday in any of the homes I know.
This is how I have been feeling about the Christmas story for a number of years. However, as I move along I begin to find a bit of wisdom in the common manger scene as portrayed in classic art. I used to come down on the side that this story ought to be about real people -- fair enough. Nevertheless, this story is not just about real people but about how God gets real with us and what happens as a result. Literature calls it a non- anxious presence. God will be in the world and with us but will not be overwhelmed by either. There is reason to be composed and serene under such circumstances. God comes as a non-anxious presence. God comes as one who is not cut off from love by anger or who is indifferent to the human proclivity to get in trouble by violating God's laws. Plans can be made, fears left aside, mistakes made, and dreams dreamed because God has come to heal, redeem, and roll the stone away for us. Suddenly, I find myself beginning to look like some of those folks in the icons and medieval art.
Isaiah 7:10-16
In Isaiah 7:4, the prophet is told to speak these words to King Ahaz, "Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah." Are you kidding? Things do not look bright for Ahaz and the northern kingdom. Even Judah has entered into alliances that will give aid and comfort to Ahaz's enemies. It is beginning to look like the northern kingdom is surrounded and that the whole world is lined up against Ephraim. Have you been feeling like that lately? Global warming, energy shortages, terrorism -- anyone of these alone could drive the average soul to despair. Life feels like the description of the people in verse 2 "and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Isaiah 7:2). In such circumstances, it is very hard to be a non-anxious presence. It is doubly hard because it seems that a good part of the world is betting on immersing themselves and ingratiating themselves with the way things seem to be headed and absolving themselves of choosing an alternative course of action. Others figure it is best to cut themselves off from the world altogether; return to the past and wait for an alternative future to emerge.
Ahaz faces an attempted assassination plot; why should he be in, but not of, the world? Why should he not cut a deal as the southern kingdom has or just cut out off the whole business. God sympathizes with Ahaz's plight -- "Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven" (Isaiah 7:11). Yet, Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign for he will not put the Lord to the test. Like many of us he might not be too sure of this idea of refusing to cut a deal or cut out. These are tried and true ways of handling those moments when "... the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind." Often a congregation faces a controversy or deep conflict that causes them to shake before even the slightest of breezes of change. They choose to cut off from each other or to cut some deal that removes the offending item from the agenda and permits the congregation to hide behind a cloak of niceness. They seek some way through the tight spot in their life that will not involve them considering how God might be using the difficult moment to lead them to where God wants them to be. Then Isaiah said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?" (Isaiah 7:13).
God chooses to give a sign. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). There is the reason to not cut a deal to avoid dealing with the difficult times. God is with us, God is invested in the world. "Be not anxious." No matter how things turn out, God will not turn from us or on us for God is with us. God will lead God's people even through difficult times. Broken relationships are not reason enough to cut off from each other because God's power is being made perfect even in weakness; broken pieces can be turned into stepping stones.
It is time to look like those folks in the icons and medieval art who radiate serenity in the face of what life throws at us. God has given us a sign in a child that when we honor the gift, it breaks down walls and breaks open lives.
Romans 1:1-7
You have to be kidding. A few years ago there was quite a tussle among some Christians over just how we should greet one another this time of year. Happy Holidays and Merry Xmas were totally blasphemous and unacceptable for some. Who can blame those who wanted more theological heft to their greeting? I can also understand those who don't want to let themselves be judged as religious fanatics because of their yuletide greeting. We struggle to say something that is a blessing but won't batter common sensibilities.
Christmas greetings can be a tricky business. How much of your Christmas card list is governed by who sent you a card last year, or what protocol requires? With postage rates climbing, has your Christmas greeting list become a matter of dollars and cents? Christmas cheer will be ground out by computers with reminders to take advantage of the latest oil change offer and that your business really matters to them.
Look at how Paul greets the Christians at Rome, "To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7). How would that do as a yuletide greeting in your neighborhood? I have yet to see this text quoted on any Christmas card I have ever received. Try it at the office Christmas party and see where it gets you.
Paul was sending his greeting to Christians who anticipated that he was about to do "Paul, the Western Tour." We can be sure that there was an expectation for Paul to lay out his theological sophistication in this introductory letter. Sometimes I think we get stuck at various places in our faith journey because we are trying to figure things out rather than simply applying them and seeing where we come out. My hunch is that there is someone who needs the kind of greeting that Paul offers and that we can emulate.
Let's try a few variations of Paul's words for some of the folks appreciated this year. "To God's beloved intensive care nurses we salute you and wish you the joy that God can give and that we experience in the peace that Jesus Christ offers. We wish you blessing from God because we have been blessed by those who have taken care of our people at all hours of the night." I would like to see the expression on the face of the one who first read those words and on the face of the rest as they passed that card around. I suspect they would come out looking a lot like the faces on the icons and ancient art. Such greetings are the result of a birth and might lead others to the birth of a whole new sense of self.
Try it again. "To God's beloved at St. Peter's down the street, we salute you because we know what a difference your presence has made in this community. The grieving have known the blessing that come to those that mourn. Youth have said, 'Let it be to me according to your will O Lord' because you have brought peace to them that only the Lord can give." I have always been impressed by Paul's ability to express appreciation for the faith of those to whom he was writing. It seems that the early church was pretty adept at knowing what was going on in the life of the various communities that shared the Christian journey. If Paul could write to Rome with such appreciation, how come many of us cannot write to each other with the same appreciation? Christmas, the season of birth, might give birth to a whole new ministry.
One more time: "To Senator, Counselor, or Representative, in Rome. We know you are God's beloved in Rome and that Rome is a tough town, filled with compromises, second guesses about what might have been, and criticism of you and burdens for your family. We salute you for having undertaken this burden. May you know the joy which can come when your work results in success and may you feel the peace that comes from knowing that God can use all our works to bring about God's kingdom."
Such greetings might build bridges and open hearts and give birth to all sorts of good things, which is what I think the folks in the art and icons are seeing.
Matthew 1:18-25
In Matthew, it all seems to be so matter of fact that it feels unreal. "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). You have to be kidding. Only a man who had never come within miles of a real birth could write it up like that. For the sake of theological soundness, the sounds of screams, the sighs of anxious relatives, the thud of pacing sandals has been left out of this very matter-of-fact description. How could he describe such a beatific moment in such prosaic terms? The poetry of John's gospel, that does not even mention the birth, does better justice to the coming of Jesus than this. Mark's plain narration arouses the reader's attention in its own riveting way. It is as if Matthew is trying to find a compromise between the bareness of Mark and the massive tale by Luke.
What angle is Matthew taking as he portrays the events in such a matter of fact way? Matthew's approach begins to take off for me when I realize that he is describing as matter of fact when birth begins to happen in some of the prosaic places that I frequent. As a matter of fact they might become much more beatific if I paid attention to Matthew.
You gather together for the church council meeting with the usual run of business, but as a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit is also in the room. The Spirit is not there because we have known each other for years, because there is some new blood in the room, nor is the Spirit found because there are some wise grey heads in the room. The Spirit is not there because we are well-educated or that we have an eighth grade education. As a matter of fact, if there are any natal sounds to be given off from that room it will not be because of normal human relationships but because people yielded to that spirit that can be found in each other and that was there before any of us walked into the room.
This seems to be the point of the doctrine of the virgin birth. If there is going to be any birth it will come as the result of yielding to the Holy Spirit. The aphorism, "You demonstrate your manhood not by fathering a child but by raising a child" captures this nicely. Most churches go wrong by elevating the relationships they have developed over the years above the activity of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, the Spirit is in the room and in everyone who is in the room. Will we yield to this virgin birth?
There is always somebody like Joseph in the room, as well, who is ready to put a hex on the whole business. These are not necessarily bad people. Joseph was a righteous man; he just didn't know any better. These are often the folks that can list everything that can go wrong and believe they are doing everyone a favor by sharing. Often they have some good analysis and thinking on their side. However, what church has ever given birth (or any human being for that matter) by staying on the safe side of their comfort zone? You don't venture into new territory because you have the perfect map but because the Spirit will help people pull together in the midst of the wilderness. Joseph wanted to protect Mary. However, he didn't bother to ask her. There seems to be a need here for a different spirit if there is going to be any birth happening.
In his matter-of-fact way, Matthew breaks in to remind us what this is all about. "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means, 'God is with us' " (Matthew 1:22-23). This is what God had been up to all along. Some have misread God's activity as if it were more about making us safe behind a wall of righteousness rather than saved through openness to God's activity even when it leads into the gray areas. With the plain lines of an icon, Matthew evokes the richness of the gospel.
Application
What has all the effort and labor that has gone into holidays done to you? Has it left you more anxious? Are thoughts of whether you have the skills to wire all those lights without endangering yourself or your neighbors beginning to float their way across your mind? Are you doing a mental inventory of the sizes you bought? Did you get it right as to what the latest fads are in the teen world or will you bring ruin upon the name of your child if she/he wears what you have bought? Perhaps you are wondering how long the slight buzz you got at the office party will be a subject of communal conjecture.
The gospel says, "But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit' " (Matthew 1:20). I know that the usual understanding of all this is that Joseph was in a deep sleep. I have my suspicions that it may have come to him as a daydream -- the kind of thing that comes at you when you are considering things on one hand or the other. However, Joseph discovered that this was well beyond the "one hand or the other" kind of thinking. This is about the one who takes us by the hand and leads us. It is about holding hands in the face of all that would divide us. It is realizing that we are about handing on more than a recipe we are holding; we are passing on the capacity to grow from defeat. It is about giving a hand of applause and giving a hand up when someone has fallen flat on his or her face. Some of us will prove to have been quite handy at the holiday season.
Joseph chooses not to put this into the hands of the lawyers but to put his hand into the hands of God. Holiness comes from taking the hand of God's Child.
Alternative Application
Romans 1:1-7. The Christian testament goes out of its way to ground its narrations of Jesus in Hebrew scripture. Paul writes, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:1-3). Matthew never misses an opportunity to connect what is happening in Christian experience with what has happened in the witness of the Hebrews.
It seems, for most of us, the connections between Christian experience and the Hebrew witness falls into two categories. First, we can rest assured all of this was foretold and therefore must be true. Second, the connection provides the comforting beauty to Handel's Messiah and how could something so beautiful not be true?
The story itself is narrated in continuity with many discomforting themes from the Hebrew scriptures. It is about standing up to Herod's power. It is about crossing the boundaries that keep wise men and shepherds separated and segregated. It is about the rich being challenged and the poor lifted up. Paul describes himself as one set apart and as one who is sent.
I wonder if that is how people will feel as they make their way home this week from Sunday worship and the Christmas Eve service. If not, I think that we may have put asunder what God has joined together. This may be the major heresy this week, rather than expressing any doubts about the virgin birth and miraculous stars.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
My computer has a nice little feature. It's called "system restore." If, in my electronic ineptitude, I make a mistake, I can go to "system restore," and the computer will automatically restore my files to a point prior to my hapless fumble. Nice feature. It's clean -- easy -- and in a matter of moments, I am back to work on whatever project is before me.
System restore. Would that the people of Israel had such a feature in their life as a nation. Would that we had such a feature in our own life as individuals and community. Think about it. We mess up, and all we do is hit "system restore." Magically our lives return to a point before the mishap. No harm, no foul. Right?
Unfortunately, there are mistakes that strain even the ability of contemporary electronics engineers. A can of soda spilled on the keyboard by an overeager thirteen-year-old moves past a simple "system restore." A cruel infidelity in a marriage steps over the line of "oops." And a people lured away from God to idolatrous and violent ways is somehow not fixed by the push of a button.
It is at this point that all pretense must be dropped. All feints and fancies that paint the air with excuses need to be halted. This is a time for blunt honesty. Any plea offered here must come from a "contrite heart" (Isaiah 57:14); a heart humbled by the acute awareness of complicity and culpability. The plea to be entered here can be no quick fix. It is no painless return to the status quo.
Restoration in this context looks rather more like transformation than return. With hurt and destruction, this deep thing simply cannot be the same again. And perhaps herein lies the hidden beauty of our wounded nature. A "broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17) can return to God in new and powerful ways. A relationship restored in the power and wonder of confession and forgiveness can go deeper and further than previously imagined. A people who embrace the forgiveness of their God can reach to new heights of faith and power.
"Restore us, O God," becomes a prayer for the ages; a plea for all who experience separation from the holy. Who, upon reading this psalm, can deny their brokenness? Who can gaze upon this ancient text and not feel the words arc back toward the heart like a boomerang of the spirit? This is a prayer for every mouth. From bishop to pastor to layperson and back again, it is a call forward. It pulls us together into a future of right relationship with one another and with God.
And so with open and honest hearts we pray with one voice, "Restore us, O God."
The icons and the medieval works of art portray a serenity and tranquility that does not jive with any birth that I know about. For the most part, Mary looks just like she has gotten back from the hairdresser. Most of the works seem to capture the moment right after somebody said, "Let's pose for a group photo for posterity." If you know anything about art, I am sure that your blood pressure is off the chart at my off-the-wall reaction to some of the greatest art in the Western tradition.
Yes, I would be offended at my lack of appreciation and insight. You do see my point, though. This portrayal of these events has crept into every manger scene in every home that is celebrating this holy day and can be found on the lawns of many of our houses of worship. No crying will this child make, already behaved and ready to bless the world with outstretched arms. Mary composed and comfortable is more than ready to please the insurance company by heading home on the first day. Joseph seems to have readily come to terms with the notion that he will be playing a backseat role to his own son right from the start and before he gets a start on fulfilling the expectations to have more family. Of course, the record seems to indicate that he will not live long enough to deal with the implications of any of this. There are the wise men posing as if following an aberrant star was the most natural thing in the world. Shepherds who have seen the heavenly host must wonder what this host of characters has to do with anything. However, none of this seems to make its way across the faces of this gathering. None of this is seen on the plaster eyes staring at us.
Any of you who have attended a birth know that this is not the way that it was. Particularly, if this was your first: In the midst of the adoring looks are those flashes of self-doubt that you might not be up to all this. I believe it was a miracle that got us home when I drove my wife and son from the hospital in our VW Beetle. I know that I made all the right turns; I just don't know how. I have evidence to the fact that our son is now 32 years old. However, while I cannot remember how we got home, I cannot forget that day -- cloudy, mid-forties, leaving the hospital at 3:30 p.m. It is that strange combination of intense memory and not having a clue how you made it through that gives new fathers an expression that I have never seen on a painting of Joseph. My wife did not look like Mary after going over to see if our son was still breathing nineteen times a night for the first month. If anyone had shown up on our doorstep with camels in tow or sheep dung all over their feet and sandals, I can guarantee you that neither of us would have looked anything like the manger scenes this Sunday in any of the homes I know.
This is how I have been feeling about the Christmas story for a number of years. However, as I move along I begin to find a bit of wisdom in the common manger scene as portrayed in classic art. I used to come down on the side that this story ought to be about real people -- fair enough. Nevertheless, this story is not just about real people but about how God gets real with us and what happens as a result. Literature calls it a non- anxious presence. God will be in the world and with us but will not be overwhelmed by either. There is reason to be composed and serene under such circumstances. God comes as a non-anxious presence. God comes as one who is not cut off from love by anger or who is indifferent to the human proclivity to get in trouble by violating God's laws. Plans can be made, fears left aside, mistakes made, and dreams dreamed because God has come to heal, redeem, and roll the stone away for us. Suddenly, I find myself beginning to look like some of those folks in the icons and medieval art.
Isaiah 7:10-16
In Isaiah 7:4, the prophet is told to speak these words to King Ahaz, "Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah." Are you kidding? Things do not look bright for Ahaz and the northern kingdom. Even Judah has entered into alliances that will give aid and comfort to Ahaz's enemies. It is beginning to look like the northern kingdom is surrounded and that the whole world is lined up against Ephraim. Have you been feeling like that lately? Global warming, energy shortages, terrorism -- anyone of these alone could drive the average soul to despair. Life feels like the description of the people in verse 2 "and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Isaiah 7:2). In such circumstances, it is very hard to be a non-anxious presence. It is doubly hard because it seems that a good part of the world is betting on immersing themselves and ingratiating themselves with the way things seem to be headed and absolving themselves of choosing an alternative course of action. Others figure it is best to cut themselves off from the world altogether; return to the past and wait for an alternative future to emerge.
Ahaz faces an attempted assassination plot; why should he be in, but not of, the world? Why should he not cut a deal as the southern kingdom has or just cut out off the whole business. God sympathizes with Ahaz's plight -- "Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven" (Isaiah 7:11). Yet, Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign for he will not put the Lord to the test. Like many of us he might not be too sure of this idea of refusing to cut a deal or cut out. These are tried and true ways of handling those moments when "... the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind." Often a congregation faces a controversy or deep conflict that causes them to shake before even the slightest of breezes of change. They choose to cut off from each other or to cut some deal that removes the offending item from the agenda and permits the congregation to hide behind a cloak of niceness. They seek some way through the tight spot in their life that will not involve them considering how God might be using the difficult moment to lead them to where God wants them to be. Then Isaiah said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?" (Isaiah 7:13).
God chooses to give a sign. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). There is the reason to not cut a deal to avoid dealing with the difficult times. God is with us, God is invested in the world. "Be not anxious." No matter how things turn out, God will not turn from us or on us for God is with us. God will lead God's people even through difficult times. Broken relationships are not reason enough to cut off from each other because God's power is being made perfect even in weakness; broken pieces can be turned into stepping stones.
It is time to look like those folks in the icons and medieval art who radiate serenity in the face of what life throws at us. God has given us a sign in a child that when we honor the gift, it breaks down walls and breaks open lives.
Romans 1:1-7
You have to be kidding. A few years ago there was quite a tussle among some Christians over just how we should greet one another this time of year. Happy Holidays and Merry Xmas were totally blasphemous and unacceptable for some. Who can blame those who wanted more theological heft to their greeting? I can also understand those who don't want to let themselves be judged as religious fanatics because of their yuletide greeting. We struggle to say something that is a blessing but won't batter common sensibilities.
Christmas greetings can be a tricky business. How much of your Christmas card list is governed by who sent you a card last year, or what protocol requires? With postage rates climbing, has your Christmas greeting list become a matter of dollars and cents? Christmas cheer will be ground out by computers with reminders to take advantage of the latest oil change offer and that your business really matters to them.
Look at how Paul greets the Christians at Rome, "To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7). How would that do as a yuletide greeting in your neighborhood? I have yet to see this text quoted on any Christmas card I have ever received. Try it at the office Christmas party and see where it gets you.
Paul was sending his greeting to Christians who anticipated that he was about to do "Paul, the Western Tour." We can be sure that there was an expectation for Paul to lay out his theological sophistication in this introductory letter. Sometimes I think we get stuck at various places in our faith journey because we are trying to figure things out rather than simply applying them and seeing where we come out. My hunch is that there is someone who needs the kind of greeting that Paul offers and that we can emulate.
Let's try a few variations of Paul's words for some of the folks appreciated this year. "To God's beloved intensive care nurses we salute you and wish you the joy that God can give and that we experience in the peace that Jesus Christ offers. We wish you blessing from God because we have been blessed by those who have taken care of our people at all hours of the night." I would like to see the expression on the face of the one who first read those words and on the face of the rest as they passed that card around. I suspect they would come out looking a lot like the faces on the icons and ancient art. Such greetings are the result of a birth and might lead others to the birth of a whole new sense of self.
Try it again. "To God's beloved at St. Peter's down the street, we salute you because we know what a difference your presence has made in this community. The grieving have known the blessing that come to those that mourn. Youth have said, 'Let it be to me according to your will O Lord' because you have brought peace to them that only the Lord can give." I have always been impressed by Paul's ability to express appreciation for the faith of those to whom he was writing. It seems that the early church was pretty adept at knowing what was going on in the life of the various communities that shared the Christian journey. If Paul could write to Rome with such appreciation, how come many of us cannot write to each other with the same appreciation? Christmas, the season of birth, might give birth to a whole new ministry.
One more time: "To Senator, Counselor, or Representative, in Rome. We know you are God's beloved in Rome and that Rome is a tough town, filled with compromises, second guesses about what might have been, and criticism of you and burdens for your family. We salute you for having undertaken this burden. May you know the joy which can come when your work results in success and may you feel the peace that comes from knowing that God can use all our works to bring about God's kingdom."
Such greetings might build bridges and open hearts and give birth to all sorts of good things, which is what I think the folks in the art and icons are seeing.
Matthew 1:18-25
In Matthew, it all seems to be so matter of fact that it feels unreal. "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). You have to be kidding. Only a man who had never come within miles of a real birth could write it up like that. For the sake of theological soundness, the sounds of screams, the sighs of anxious relatives, the thud of pacing sandals has been left out of this very matter-of-fact description. How could he describe such a beatific moment in such prosaic terms? The poetry of John's gospel, that does not even mention the birth, does better justice to the coming of Jesus than this. Mark's plain narration arouses the reader's attention in its own riveting way. It is as if Matthew is trying to find a compromise between the bareness of Mark and the massive tale by Luke.
What angle is Matthew taking as he portrays the events in such a matter of fact way? Matthew's approach begins to take off for me when I realize that he is describing as matter of fact when birth begins to happen in some of the prosaic places that I frequent. As a matter of fact they might become much more beatific if I paid attention to Matthew.
You gather together for the church council meeting with the usual run of business, but as a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit is also in the room. The Spirit is not there because we have known each other for years, because there is some new blood in the room, nor is the Spirit found because there are some wise grey heads in the room. The Spirit is not there because we are well-educated or that we have an eighth grade education. As a matter of fact, if there are any natal sounds to be given off from that room it will not be because of normal human relationships but because people yielded to that spirit that can be found in each other and that was there before any of us walked into the room.
This seems to be the point of the doctrine of the virgin birth. If there is going to be any birth it will come as the result of yielding to the Holy Spirit. The aphorism, "You demonstrate your manhood not by fathering a child but by raising a child" captures this nicely. Most churches go wrong by elevating the relationships they have developed over the years above the activity of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, the Spirit is in the room and in everyone who is in the room. Will we yield to this virgin birth?
There is always somebody like Joseph in the room, as well, who is ready to put a hex on the whole business. These are not necessarily bad people. Joseph was a righteous man; he just didn't know any better. These are often the folks that can list everything that can go wrong and believe they are doing everyone a favor by sharing. Often they have some good analysis and thinking on their side. However, what church has ever given birth (or any human being for that matter) by staying on the safe side of their comfort zone? You don't venture into new territory because you have the perfect map but because the Spirit will help people pull together in the midst of the wilderness. Joseph wanted to protect Mary. However, he didn't bother to ask her. There seems to be a need here for a different spirit if there is going to be any birth happening.
In his matter-of-fact way, Matthew breaks in to remind us what this is all about. "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means, 'God is with us' " (Matthew 1:22-23). This is what God had been up to all along. Some have misread God's activity as if it were more about making us safe behind a wall of righteousness rather than saved through openness to God's activity even when it leads into the gray areas. With the plain lines of an icon, Matthew evokes the richness of the gospel.
Application
What has all the effort and labor that has gone into holidays done to you? Has it left you more anxious? Are thoughts of whether you have the skills to wire all those lights without endangering yourself or your neighbors beginning to float their way across your mind? Are you doing a mental inventory of the sizes you bought? Did you get it right as to what the latest fads are in the teen world or will you bring ruin upon the name of your child if she/he wears what you have bought? Perhaps you are wondering how long the slight buzz you got at the office party will be a subject of communal conjecture.
The gospel says, "But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit' " (Matthew 1:20). I know that the usual understanding of all this is that Joseph was in a deep sleep. I have my suspicions that it may have come to him as a daydream -- the kind of thing that comes at you when you are considering things on one hand or the other. However, Joseph discovered that this was well beyond the "one hand or the other" kind of thinking. This is about the one who takes us by the hand and leads us. It is about holding hands in the face of all that would divide us. It is realizing that we are about handing on more than a recipe we are holding; we are passing on the capacity to grow from defeat. It is about giving a hand of applause and giving a hand up when someone has fallen flat on his or her face. Some of us will prove to have been quite handy at the holiday season.
Joseph chooses not to put this into the hands of the lawyers but to put his hand into the hands of God. Holiness comes from taking the hand of God's Child.
Alternative Application
Romans 1:1-7. The Christian testament goes out of its way to ground its narrations of Jesus in Hebrew scripture. Paul writes, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:1-3). Matthew never misses an opportunity to connect what is happening in Christian experience with what has happened in the witness of the Hebrews.
It seems, for most of us, the connections between Christian experience and the Hebrew witness falls into two categories. First, we can rest assured all of this was foretold and therefore must be true. Second, the connection provides the comforting beauty to Handel's Messiah and how could something so beautiful not be true?
The story itself is narrated in continuity with many discomforting themes from the Hebrew scriptures. It is about standing up to Herod's power. It is about crossing the boundaries that keep wise men and shepherds separated and segregated. It is about the rich being challenged and the poor lifted up. Paul describes himself as one set apart and as one who is sent.
I wonder if that is how people will feel as they make their way home this week from Sunday worship and the Christmas Eve service. If not, I think that we may have put asunder what God has joined together. This may be the major heresy this week, rather than expressing any doubts about the virgin birth and miraculous stars.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
My computer has a nice little feature. It's called "system restore." If, in my electronic ineptitude, I make a mistake, I can go to "system restore," and the computer will automatically restore my files to a point prior to my hapless fumble. Nice feature. It's clean -- easy -- and in a matter of moments, I am back to work on whatever project is before me.
System restore. Would that the people of Israel had such a feature in their life as a nation. Would that we had such a feature in our own life as individuals and community. Think about it. We mess up, and all we do is hit "system restore." Magically our lives return to a point before the mishap. No harm, no foul. Right?
Unfortunately, there are mistakes that strain even the ability of contemporary electronics engineers. A can of soda spilled on the keyboard by an overeager thirteen-year-old moves past a simple "system restore." A cruel infidelity in a marriage steps over the line of "oops." And a people lured away from God to idolatrous and violent ways is somehow not fixed by the push of a button.
It is at this point that all pretense must be dropped. All feints and fancies that paint the air with excuses need to be halted. This is a time for blunt honesty. Any plea offered here must come from a "contrite heart" (Isaiah 57:14); a heart humbled by the acute awareness of complicity and culpability. The plea to be entered here can be no quick fix. It is no painless return to the status quo.
Restoration in this context looks rather more like transformation than return. With hurt and destruction, this deep thing simply cannot be the same again. And perhaps herein lies the hidden beauty of our wounded nature. A "broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17) can return to God in new and powerful ways. A relationship restored in the power and wonder of confession and forgiveness can go deeper and further than previously imagined. A people who embrace the forgiveness of their God can reach to new heights of faith and power.
"Restore us, O God," becomes a prayer for the ages; a plea for all who experience separation from the holy. Who, upon reading this psalm, can deny their brokenness? Who can gaze upon this ancient text and not feel the words arc back toward the heart like a boomerang of the spirit? This is a prayer for every mouth. From bishop to pastor to layperson and back again, it is a call forward. It pulls us together into a future of right relationship with one another and with God.
And so with open and honest hearts we pray with one voice, "Restore us, O God."
