To provide you with a full complement of resources, this installment of The Immediate Word offers two main articles -- one primarily addressing a Fourth Sunday of Advent text, and another focusing on the Nativity.
For the Advent 4 piece, team member Leah Lonsbury addresses the well-known Magnificat text. While on the surface we are drawn in by its joyful tone and its keen insight about God completely upending the human order of things, Leah reminds us that there’s much more going on in this passage -- after all, Mary’s outburst comes from an unwed teenage mother... who despite Joseph's steadfast support fits the stereotype of someone who is a social outcast.
As Leah points out, there are many different views in our society toward those who are pregnant -- especially as the large-scale introduction of women into the labor force in the last half-century has made women working while they are pregnant a common phenomenon. But as a case argued before the Supreme Court last week indicated, in numerous cases pregnant women still face a significant risk of losing their jobs. Leah examines what this controversy indicates about our attitude toward women, especially those of “lowly” station -- especially in light of Mary’s viewpoint as described in the Advent 4 and Christmas scripture texts.
For Christmas Eve, team member Dean Feldmeyer looks at vv. 10-14 of Luke’s nativity account, in which the angel tells the frightened shepherds: “Do not be afraid... I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people... Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” At its core, this is the Christmas message -- the birth of the Messiah trumps all of our fears and brings peace to a troubled world. But as Dean suggests, that flies in the face of our current headlines -- which are dominated by fear, and which we use to justify all sorts of harsh measures as we seek to find security. The list goes on and on... fear generated by the daily threats policemen face used to justify aggressive tactics like chokeholds, racial profiling, and the shooting of a young boy brandishing a toy gun; fear of an Ebola pandemic used to justify excessive quarantines of entire populations; and as a congressional report released last week reminded us, fear generated by 9/11 and the horrors of Islamic terrorists used to justify sadistic (and ineffective) CIA interrogation tactics. But Dean tells us that the angel’s tidings contain a deeper message beyond merely the traditional story that we read anew each year. No matter how intimidating our fear or how dispiriting the great evil in the world, the birth of the Savior reveals to us that a much greater power has been unleashed, which in the long arc of human history will conquer the darkness in our lives. And so, Dean points out, we have the assurance we need to conquer our fears.
UPS and Mary: A Story of Delivery
by Leah Lonsbury
Luke 1:46b-55
The Magnificat shows up this week as the primary psalm selection for Advent 4. High church traditions know it well as a familiar canticle text, and famous composers have taken it up as the subject of scores that soar heavenward. And yet, once we get past Mary’s joyous outburst about how God turns the human order of things upside-down, there is something else that remains.
It’s clear that this peasant, an unwed teenage mother, has known what it means to be trodden on and held in low esteem. Mary checks all the boxes for the type of person society loves to discriminate against -- in her day and in ours. Mary’s song is full of exuberance about the rich and powerful being brought down and the poor and lowly being lifted up, because she’s always been on the bottom rung of the ladder. That is particularly true now that she’s pregnant and unwed. Her song resonates with women across the ages, because not much has changed about the way society views women’s lives and bodies, particularly when they are pregnant.
Just last week, a case argued before the Supreme Court indicates that women still face significant obstacles when pregnant and for many years thereafter, especially in a culture where the primary breadwinner in 40% of households is now a female. This case and this court, whose conservative majority Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg accuses of having a “blind spot” when it comes to women’s rights, will surely be watched closely by the tens of millions of women and their families who could be affected when it comes to decision time.
If God has looked upon Mary’s “lowliness” with favor and decided everything should be different, when will we? The world’s women are waiting to join Mary’s song of celebration.
In the News
Peggy Young is no feminist crusader, but she’s the reason the Supreme Court is considering protections for pregnant women in the workforce. Young has never seen herself as a political activist, but she’s the reason why pro-life and pro-choice groups and most women’s groups have crossed the ideological chasm to band together in support of women’s rights in the workplace.
This all because Young wanted to deliver -- a UPS truck’s cargo and her healthy baby girl.
In 1999, UPS hired Young as an “air driver,” someone who delivers small packages for the company. When she became pregnant in 2006 and let UPS know her happy news, the company requested that she get a note from her doctor. Young’s doctor thought the request was strange, but wrote a note saying she should not lift more than 20 lbs. as her pregnancy advanced. Despite the fact that Young’s route rarely required her to lift more than an envelope and that co-workers were willing to step in as needed, UPS told Young that she since she wasn’t able to lift 70 lbs. while pregnant she would have to take unpaid leave. That also meant no health insurance or pension for pregnant Young and her family. UPS simply refused to assign Young to light duty. In her suit, Young alleges that UPS made these kinds of accommodations for non-pregnant employees “injured off the job” (how UPS terms pregnancy and claims they did not cover for anyone -- pregnant or not). She also accuses UPS of accommodating employees who had lost their licenses because of drunk-driving convictions, or who had been involved in accidents and were taken off the road for disciplinary reasons.
In 2008, Young returned to work and sued UPS under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978, a law whose intent the Supreme Court justices are attempting to tease out as they hear the case. The PDA (an act of Congress) amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and was “enacted in response to a Supreme Court ruling that found that pregnant women were not protected under laws that prohibit sex discrimination because their pregnancy had nothing to do with gender,” according to attorney and Slate contributor Gillian Thomas.
Thomas continues: “The PDA requires that employers treat ‘women affected by pregnancy’ the same as ‘other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work.’ ”
It seems reasonable to question why we even need a law about this in 2014. However, even with the PDA in place, the number of discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) continues to rise, especially amongst low-wage female workers and women working in traditionally male fields. Young -- as one of the female drivers who comprise less than 10% of UPS’s Capital Division driver contingent -- understands what it means to be a woman in a “man’s world.”
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Young said:
It is all so unreal. Somebody tells you you can’t work, when there’s nothing wrong with you, you think, “Really? In this day and age?” I’m not hurt. I’m not disabled. I’m pregnant. I’m having a child. That’s it.
Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued along those same lines during the Supreme Court’s hearing of the case. During his allotted time, Verrilli explained that the whole point of the PDA “is to reduce the number of women who are driven from the workforce or forced to go months without an income as a result of becoming pregnant.”
Even UPS seems to get that on some level. The company has since changed its policy on accommodating pregnant women (which will go into effect in January 2015), but it is still defending its old policy all the way to the Supreme Court. This despite the fact that in recent years “nine states, including Maryland where Young lives and works, have passed bipartisan laws to grant pregnant workers the short-term accommodations they need to keep them working, just like workers with disabilities receive on the job.” Additionally, “the EEOC issued new guidelines in July explicitly calling for employers to give pregnant workers reasonable accommodations.”
Now back to that “it seems reasonable” statement. What’s the deal, UPS? Why can’t you deliver for your female employees and their families? Unfortunately, UPS doesn’t stand alone in this department. Walmart, Pier One, Old Navy, and Kroger have refused to make simple accommodations for the pregnant members of their workforces -- even just small changes like allowing a woman to carry a water bottle or sit down periodically. A recent study done by the National Partnership for Women and Families estimated that 250,000 working women have their requests for workplace accommodations denied. These women are left with the awful choice of losing their job or risking their pregnancy. And a lost job during pregnancy can be particularly alarming with a new mouth to feed on the way.
Slate’s courts and law reporter Dahlia Lithwick explored this as she detailed Solicitor General Verrilli’s line of thinking:
It’s critical to understand that even though the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, nine states, and UPS have now changed their policies to afford greater protections to pregnant women, as more and more women work, especially in demanding, physical jobs, these accommodations matter more and more. According to the Census Bureau, an estimated 62 percent of women who had given birth in the previous year were in the labor force, and women are the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of American families with children, according to a Pew study.
More from Verrilli along these lines: “[T]he one thing an employer can’t do... is draw distinctions that treat pregnancy-related medical conditions worse than other conditions with comparable effects on ability to work.”
Is UPS in violation of that “one thing”? That’s exactly what the Supreme Court is charged with determining in this case. Advocates for women of all stripes are watching for this outcome, especially after last summer’s momentous ruling on the Hobby Lobby contraception case. The same five conservative justices who made that ruling possible have also thrown out a mass sex discrimination class action against Walmart and rejected the equal pay lawsuit brought by Lilly Ledbetter.
Mamas and mamas-to-be, things aren’t looking too promising.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written for The Immediate Word on pregnancy discrimination and the loss of rights for a woman when she finds herself pregnant. Remember the custody case of Olympic skier Bode Miller? Sara McKenna and Miller were casually dating when McKenna became pregnant with Miller’s baby. When she moved from California to New York in order to attend college on the GI Bill in a family-friendly program, a custody battle began. The New York judge blasted McKenna for her “appropriation of the child while in utero,” calling her “irresponsible” and “reprehensible.”
When the McKenna/Miller child was 7 months old, a judge in California granted primary custody to Miller and his new wife, whom he married the same month as McKenna let him know she was pregnant.
Closer to home, I have my own workplace pregnancy tales of woe to tell from my years in church leadership. Here’s just one. On the fourth Sunday of Advent 6 years ago, I was getting ready to start worship, during which I would be preaching on the Magnificat. The senior pastor casually stopped in my office and dropped the news that a contingent of the congregation had gone to his wife to tell her to ask him to require me to wear my robe to cover my pregnant body until I delivered my daughter in January. He was “just relaying the message,” he said as he chuckled awkwardly. Then he got quiet. Shaking mad, I silently took off my robe, struggled past him in the doorway (I was 8 months pregnant, remember!) and went to the sanctuary to deliver my sermon on Mary’s passionate song about overturning the way things were... and are.
In the Scriptures
Rolf Jacobson of workingpreacher.org invites us to “hear, feel, and savor Mary’s cry of resistance” this week in worship. He writes:
The so-called Magnificat (somehow that name is too tame) is a radical protest song. The kind of song that the enslaved Israelites might have sung in Egypt. The kind of song you might have heard on the lips of the exiled Judeans in Babylon. The kind of song that has been sung by countless people of faith through the ages in resistance, in defiance of empires, slavers, terrorists, invaders, and the like.... Mary’s Psalm sounded the initial, clear, trumpet call that the event of the Christ’s advent was to be a world-transforming, universe-shaking event.
This Advent, can we let Mary’s song prompt us to be the Good News to the women around us and the families that they support? Women we encounter knowingly or unknowingly every day continue to wait for each of us to transform their unjust world and shake their glass ceilings and unfair working conditions until they break open into something more reasonable, livable, righteousness, and more like actual Good News. Radical Good News moves for women might not seem as risky or eventful as we might think at first. Calling a congressperson and asking them to vote for and with women is Good News. Thinking first “Would I say this to or expect this from a male co-worker?” is Good News. Seeking to work for and buy from companies who have balanced and fair practices for all employees is Good News. These are good first steps and more radical than we might think in the lives of women who have been consistently disappointed and disadvantaged by work situations and societal constraints.
And this kind of thoughtful living is absolutely what we’re called to as followers of Mary’s son. The Magnificat is Mary’s song of resistance (Jacobson) and riotous glee at a radical overturning, and we have agreed to follow up and build from the upside-down foundation that Jesus has established for us in the baby of this peasant, teenage, unwed woman (a trinity inspiring disgrace and disdain in Mary’s time and today). We are called to sing and live Mary’s song -- to deliver the Christ Child in this way. As Meister Eckhart wrote: “We are all meant to be mothers of God... for God is always needing to be born.”
That knowledge should challenge us, and make us at least uncomfortable enough to act in resistance in some way each and every day. To do otherwise is to misinterpret the message of the baby in Mary’s womb.
In the Pulpit
This week the preacher might consider...
* following Jacobson’s challenge: “Seek the Lord and inquire how it is that we have closed our ears to Mary’s radical song of resistance, even though there is so much oppression and evil in the world. We have turned Christmas into a cattle-lowing, no-crying-he-makes Jesus, Silent Night.”
* preaching on the question of what song of resistance the gathered congregation is called to sing at this particular moment as the Body of Christ. Where and to whom will that song carry them? What will it require of them? How will they be changed? How will God’s beloved family be changed?
* telling Mary’s story of pregnancy discrimination -- what she risked and what bravery was required of her. What was at stake for Mary? What choices did she have? The pastor at my church has wondered aloud from the pulpit about how many women Gabriel had to ask before Mary’s “yes.” What did it take for her to see and hear his request to take on this herculean task? How is Mary’s story like the story of pregnant women and the work they do today?
* telling Mary’s story by telling contemporary tales of pregnancy discrimination and the commonplace violation of women’s rights as workers, mothers, and human beings.
* championing Joseph as an early feminist. He chose to protect and love Mary and this unconventional child despite the customs and rules of his day. What did he risk?
Fear Not!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Fear not!
Really? Fear not?
Easy for you to say. You’re an angel. You don’t have to live down here where danger lurks around every corner and hides in every shadow. There’s plenty to be afraid of out there.
If you don’t believe me, you’re just not paying attention. Listen to the evening news. They’ll set you straight. Fear is an altogether appropriate response to the world we live in. Only a fool isn’t afraid these days.
So if you’re going to tell me to “fear not,” the next thing out of your mouth had better be some good news -- some really good news, in fact.
In the News
What hath fear wrought?
We are afraid of Ebola and we are afraid that immigrants will take precious American jobs, so we very nearly close our borders. Apparently those famous lines of Emma Lazarus which adorn the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty apply only if there is no risk involved: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free” -- but make sure they are healthy and they aren’t going to take a job that someone who was born here might want.
A police officer shoots a 12-year-old child who is reported to have a gun which may or may not be a toy. His defense? He was afraid when -- less than two seconds after arriving at the scene -- he saw the child reach for his waist area.
People riot and destroy homes, churches, and businesses. Their justification? They are afraid of the police. And if you don’t agree with them and excuse their actions, then you don’t understand the true depth of racism in America. Armed vigilantes show up to stand on top of buildings with binoculars and high-powered rifles. Why? They are afraid of the rioters, and they are tired of being afraid.
The evening news bombards us almost nightly with all the things that we should fear, from identity theft and pyramid schemes to ISIS and al-Qaida to peanuts and gluten in our diets. And now, torture.
What hath fear wrought?
Last week the Senate Intelligence Committee released the 528-page executive summary of their report on the behavior of the CIA in questioning suspects shortly after 9/11. Their conclusion: it was torture. The CIA or those in their employ and under their direction used methods so brutal that reporters and news anchors could not even talk about some of those methods candidly in prime time. And not only did those who acted on our behalf use torture, they lied about it to us and to Congress, and sometimes to their own superiors and even their peers.
It’s not that we didn’t know the CIA was torturing people. That had been established as fact some time ago. President Obama signed an executive order ending in it in 2009. We just didn’t know, or want to know, how far they were going and how brutal their “enhanced interrogation techniques” were.
Now we know at least some of it. Not all. What the committee released was, after all, a “heavily redacted, 528-page summary of a 6,000-page congressional report.”
Responses to the report are many and varied.
Charles P. Pierce, writing for Esquire magazine’s online politics blog, notes that the report signals that “any concept of American exceptionalism based on... the rule of law... has been rendered a sad and superannuated farce.” He goes on to say: “We have lost forever the right to moral leadership that we claimed at Nuremberg and the tribunals that investigated the actions of the Japanese in the Pacific.”
Pierce also provides a gruesome description of the “enhanced interrogation technique” known as waterboarding -- only the description comes from J.L. Wilson, Right Reverend Lord of Singapore, in his “Testimony to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East,” on December 16, 1946. Wilson’s testimony was used to convict the Japanese of war crimes.
In an op-ed piece for the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus says of the report: “No one can review this account without feeling horror and shame, and without feeling anger at the degree to which public officials and the public itself were misled about what was being done in the name of national security.”
George W. Bush defended the CIA, even though he hadn’t seen the report. They work hard, he said, and they are patriots -- so if the report suggests otherwise, it’s “off base.” Republican members of the Intelligence Committee want us to remember that torture was “only a small part” of what the CIA did. In an interview on Meet the Press, former Vice President Dick Cheney insisted that President George W. Bush was not misled, knew everything that was going on, approved of it, and was morally right to do so because, in spite of what the Senate report claims, “it worked.” He credits torture with being the reason the military was able to find and kill Osama Bin Laden and prevent any further serious attacks on the United States. He sums up the report as being simply “a crock.”
CIA Director John Brennan said that the torture had “provided information that was useful and was used in the ultimate operation to go against Bin Laden,” though when asked for specifics, he admitted that such information was “unknowable.” He also admitted that some CIA officers’ actions were “not authorized, were abhorrent, and rightly should be repudiated by all.”
Arguments defending the use of torture can be pretty much summed up thus:
1. It wasn’t torture; it was “enhanced interrogation techniques” (EITs).
This, of course, is the argument that if you change the name of a thing, you change the substance and essence of that thing. And besides, how bad can it be if we have given it an acronym, right?
2. It was torture, but it was justifiable torture because we got important information as a result and that information saved people’s lives.
Also known as the “Jack Bauer Defense” (after the fictional hero of the television series 24, who regularly tortures suspects to get life-saving information), this argument is thoroughly repudiated in the report by examples of detainees lying and telling their torturers whatever they think the CIA wants to hear just to get the torture to stop.
3. It was torture and we didn’t really ever get any actionable information from it, but hey, it was right after 9/11 and we were being driven by panic, desperation, and fear.
Also known as the “I was scared” or “stand your ground” defense. Briefly put: If I am scared I am excused from responsibility for any actions I take to allay my fears or the fears of others if I am operating on their behalf.
What hath fear wrought?
Out of fear, we abandoned our core values, our guiding principles, and our highest ideals. In our desperate panic and fear, and in our horrible thirst for revenge, we became like those whom we sought to defeat.
Walt Kelly’s wry observation from the comic strip Pogo is even more applicable than we ever would have thought: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Is our only comfort, our only assurance to be found in the myths of Jack Bauer and redemptive violence?
Christianity offers an alternative to rampant and ubiquitous fear -- and that alternative comes where and when we least expect it.
In the Scriptures
After hearing it read so many times at Christmas Eve candlelight services, we can almost recite it by heart: In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then the angel of the Lord stood before 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 always assumed -- as I let this passage wash over me on Christmas Eve, soothing me with its familiarity and assurance -- that there was an unspoken “of me” implied in the angel’s admonition to not be afraid: “Do not be afraid OF ME.”
He was, after all, a pretty frightening sight.
Probably he was one of the seraphim, one of YHWH’s host, the army of heaven. If that is so, biblical scholars tell us, then he was a creature with six wings. The bottom half of his body was like that of a human being, but the top half was like that of fierce animal -- a lion or a bear or even a snake (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible Vol. 1, [Abingdon Press, 1962], pp. 128-134). When seraphim spoke or sang, their voices created earthquakes that shook “the foundations of the thresholds,” the strongest part of the temple (cf. Isaiah 6). Pretty scary!
But lately I have begun to wonder if the angel’s instruction isn’t a more general one.
Maybe what he’s saying is not just “don’t be afraid of me,” but something more like “stop being so afraid.”
Maybe he’s saying something like what Paul says to Timothy in his first letter to the young pastor: “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Fear, anxiety, worry, and dread are no way to live life. Trepidation and timidity are no longer our default settings.
Usually in delivering a sermon, the indicative comes first and the imperative follows. The preacher tells people what is the case, and then says what we are called to do about it. The angel reverses the order. He lays out the imperative first: “Stop being so afraid!”
And then he delivers the indicative; he tells us why we need to no longer be afraid: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people: To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
The Messiah, the anointed one of God, the Savior for which your people have been waiting these past two thousand years has finally been born. The time of fear is over. The time for celebration has begun.
Now, don’t get the angel’s message wrong. The old empire -- the Roman Empire that was built on violence and oppression and subjugation -- is still in place. Their soldiers still occupy the streets. Caesar is still Caesar.
Nothing has changed.
But everything has been transformed.
This child, who is born this night in the humblest of circumstances, will grow up to be a man who changes not the world, but how we see, perceive, relate to, and live in the world.
In the Pulpit
The movie The Untouchables tells a highly romanticized story about how federal Treasury agents under the leadership of Eliot Ness cleaned up organized crime in Chicago during Prohibition. Ness, played by Kevin Costner, comes to Chicago full of idealism and righteous indignation over the state of lawlessness in the city. He quotes scripture often and is meticulous in his interpretations of the law as he pursues justice.
But his enemies, led by Al Capone, are not so burdened with moral scruples -- and Ness soon learns that if he is going to win his war on crime, he is going to have to give up some of his. By the end of the film he has won the war but he has found little joy in the victory. He despairs over the compromises he has made and sums up his own fallen state: “I have foresworn myself. I have broken every law I have sworn to uphold. I have become what I beheld and I am content that I have done right!”
As I listened to former government officials and bureaucrats defend the use of torture, I could not help thinking of that line: “I have broken very law I have sworn to uphold, I have become what I beheld...”
That is how fear works. That which we fear we hate, and that which we hate we seek to destroy -- and in attempting to destroy it, we become like it.
Abigail Marsh, professor of psychology at Georgetown University, has studied the human brain to discover how we process fear. She says that when we see or sense something that might harm us, our brain automatically triggers a signal to our nervous system that makes us jump and then freeze so we won’t be seen. A second signal elevates our heart rate, increases our blood pressure, and dumps adrenaline into the bloodstream, preparing us to do one of two things.
Our first instinct is to run away. If flight is not possible, our second instinct is to fight or at least try to defend ourselves from the danger.
Freeze. Flee. Fight. Those are our instincts, written into our DNA, programmed into our nervous systems.
No choice, right? Wrong.
Because we are an advanced species, we have what is called a “parasympathetic nervous system” that brings not just our instincts but our brain into play as well. The brain can override the instinctive nervous system and analyze the situation, allowing us to make rational choices about how we will respond.
That’s why we don’t run screaming from the movie theater every time something scary happens on the screen. We jump, we scream, then our brain takes over and tells us that it’s not real, that it’s just a movie. Our blood pressure returns to normal, our adrenaline level recedes, and we go back to munching our popcorn until the next time Jason or Freddie Kruger jumps out of the shadows.
We don’t always have to respond out of our fear. We have been made so that we can set our fear aside, ignore it, and respond with courage and bravery, with love, kindness, and even self-sacrifice. Dr. Kent Brantly and nurse Kaci Hickox, who were honored by Time magazine as Person of the Year along with other Ebola fighters, understand this. “I hope that compassion and knowledge will soon overcome fear so that we can beat Ebola” (emphasis added), said Hickox upon hearing that her efforts had been recognized and honored.
Malala Yousafzay, the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, understands the power of the human mind to overcome fear. Here is what the Nobel committee had to say about her in a press release: “Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people too can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.” Even after being dragged off of a bus and shot, Malala has (after her recovery) continued in her efforts.
And if those examples are not sufficient, we have yet another supreme example in the one we call Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
This child whose birth we celebrate will grow to be the man who defies Rome, who stands against the powers of his world, who responds to oppression with courage even unto death, because he knows that death is not the final word.
God’s grace has made it so.
There is a life that is available to us, a life so full of meaning, so filled with hope and love and grace and peace that death cannot defeat it. It is the immeasurable life, the eternal life, the life that is ours in Jesus, the Christ.
It is the life that overcomes fear. It is the life of which Paul speaks when, in his letter to the Romans, he says: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God...” (Romans 8:14-16).
To be the adopted children of God. There is, my friends, no greater Christmas gift.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Luke 1:26-38 (with connections to Luke 2:10)
On Not Being Afraid
Police in Sydney, Australia, ended a hostage crisis Tuesday morning when they stormed a downtown café, bringing to a close a 16-hour standoff that led to the deaths of the captor and two hostages.
The crisis was instigated when an armed man took control of the café Monday morning. A self-styled Islamic cleric, he carried a black flag with Arabic script -- a banner similar to the one used by Islamic militants in other countries. It is unclear if the man -- who has faced multiple previous criminal charges -- was acting alone or as part of a terrorist plot. According to one Australian commentator, however, the man was successful in his mission to create fear. Peter Hartcher, the Sydney Morning Herald’s political and international editor, wrote:
Why do political activists turn to terrorism? Australia gave the world a lesson today.
They turn to terrorism to win attention, to cause fear, and to use that fear to produce an overreaction. That overreaction is the measure of their success.
Terrorism is a tool of the weak against the strong. It is designed to turn the enemy's strength against itself. One man showed how to get extraordinary attention and inflict serious disruption using only a gun and a Muslim prayer banner.
Successful terrorism is so rare in Australia that the overreaction is perhaps understandable. The police response seemed exactly right. But our political and media systems need to get better at measured reaction.
In the face of threats, fear is a natural response. The very heart of the Christmas story provides an alternative to living in fear. “Do not be afraid,” the angel says to a young Mary. Later, the hosts of heaven bring the same announcement to lowly shepherds. Perhaps it is a message for us as well, especially in the face of global terrorism and unrest.
*****
Luke 1:46-55
Lifting Up the Lowly
Mary rejoiced in the favor bestowed upon her by God (Luke 1:46-55). The Magnificat celebrates her discovery that “nothing will be impossible with God.” Her song extols God’s goodness to those who are poor and marginalized, and that could be an important refrain for many to hear this year.
Even as the economy seems to be improving, studies are showing that those stuck on the bottom rung of the economic ladder may never be able to enter the middle class. Nationwide, about 1 in 8 low-income students earn an associate’s degree within three years. If you have to choose between paying a car repair bill or college tuition, education usually suffers.
Jim Tankersley of the Washington Post reflects on the struggles faced by the poor today:
Why is it so hard today for the children of poverty to finish the schooling they need to climb into the middle class? Researchers blame changes in society and the economy, which have made it easier for students to drop out or be discouraged from enrolling in the first place.
When you live on the margins, economists are discovering, even the smallest disruption can knock you off course and out of school. Things like your car breaking down, or your neighbor saying she can’t watch your child anymore, or your boss threatening to fire you if you don’t work more hours in your low-wage job.
Emerging research suggests there’s a broader social pull at work too, linked to the nation’s faltering middle class and the widening gap between the very rich and everyone else. Dwindling economic opportunity, University of Maryland economist Melissa Kearney has found, compounds across generations to keep children poor.
If you are poor, growing up in a place where the income gap between you and the middle class is wide and seemingly insurmountable -- if you don’t see a lot of people like you moving up in life -- you’re much more likely to make choices that will keep you out of the middle class yourself, Kearney discovered.
*****
Romans 16:25-27
The Mystery Is No Longer Secret
Paul commends the Romans to the grace of God disclosed in Jesus Christ, a “mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed.” This mystery can perhaps be compared to what scientists have now discovered happened to the Earth during its last bout of climate change some 56 million years ago. A new study shows that a rise in prehistoric carbon levels may have contributed to warmer oceans and a loss of oceanic ecosystems. The good news in the report is that most species alive during the late Paleocene period survived (although there were also fewer species around). The bad news? It took nearly 200,000 years for the Earth to rebound from that period of warming. This study might prompt also remind Christians to be mindful of the environment as part of what Paul calls “the obedience of faith” in thanksgiving to God’s proclamation in Jesus Christ.
*****
Isaiah 9:2-7
A Child Is Given
Gabriel and Elizabeth: their names almost sound as if they jumped right from the biblical story. But this retired couple from southern California is doing more than announcing a birth. They’ve recently opened their home to two of the more than 600 Asian and Pacific Islander children in southern California in need of foster care.
Gabriel and Elizabeth Cho heard about the crisis on the news, and began praying. “I thought, ‘OK, maybe it’s my place to take care of them,’ ” said Mr. Cho in a Los Angeles Times article. The Chos, who are active in their Roman Catholic parish, decided God might be calling them to care for children in need. In September, the Chos opened their home to siblings -- a 14-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy. Despite many challenges, the new family is making strides. Like Isaiah’s vision of a people who had walked in darkness, the children and their foster parents are discovering new light. The girl told Mrs. Cho that she never expected to discover unconditional love. Now, says Mr. Cho, there is joy in their hearts and in their home. On them, a light has shined.
*****
Titus 2:11-14
Grace Has Appeared
It’s a story that has probably made the rounds of a few pulpits, and was most recently included in Rev. Timothy J. Mooney’s book Like a Child. But it deserves a hearing, and corresponds well to the Christmas texts. The story -- credited by Mooney to this Pepperdine University article -- tells of an encounter between a young family and an older homeless man. While eating in a diner, the man begins waving at the couple’s young son. They’re startled, of course, but what transpires could only be named a miracle of grace. It is a story of how grace appears in our often graceless world.
*****
Luke 2:1-14
Mary, Did You Know?
Babies aren’t cheap -- they cost much more than the expense of procuring a Palestinian hotel room. Hospital delivery room fees and prenatal care totals somewhere north of $8,000, according to Parents.com. But that’s just a drop in the bucket when it comes to raising a child until age 18. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates it will cost a typical family $245,000 to raise a child born this year -- up nearly 2% from the year before. That includes housing, food, clothes, and other necessities -- but not college, which can add tens of thousands more dollars to the tab.
*****
Luke 2:1-14
Keeping Watch
No matter how pastoral or bucolic working with sheep may seem, being a shepherd is brutal work -- and that has not changed much in the centuries since the angels appeared to the Judean shepherds. Amanda Owen, a modern shepherd in the Yorkshire, England, countryside, knows firsthand the work involved in rearing sheep. She runs a 2,000-acre farm, tends 1,000 head of sheep, and cares for her seven children -- the youngest of whom goes to work with her, strapped to her body as she rounds up her flocks every day.
Just as it was when Jesus was born, shepherding is a grueling, demanding job.
“People come to our farm on a sunny summer’s day and think we live an idyll,” Owen says. “But if you’re trying to round up sheep in snow so deep you can’t lift your legs or carrying a hay bale a mile through three-foot drifts or tying a sheep’s prolapse with string because you’re miles from a vet, it’s a different picture. You can spend hours looking for a lost sheep, then find it drowned in a bog, because where there’s livestock there’s dead stock.”
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From team member Ron Love:
Luke 1:26-38
The Word of God is powerful, for it answers many theological mysteries. The Book of Genesis confesses the creative power of God’s Word; when God spoke there was a new day and it was good. The creative power of God’s Word theologically explains the incarnation and the virgin birth as depicted by Renaissance artists. In his painting titled Annunciation, Fra Angelico visualized the Word becoming flesh through the power of the angel’s words entering Mary’s ear. The dove of the Spirit hovers over her head as she reads the words of the prophet Isaiah predicting that a virgin will conceive and birth a son. Mary is impregnated when she hears the Word of God -- a creative event. The paintings of this era often depicted the Annunciation with either a beam of light descending from heaven and alighting on Mary’s ear, or by showing her one ear always aglow.
Application: Christmas is a time to listen to the Word, and then to begin a pilgrimage of sharing the Word.
*****
Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 2:1-20
Seeing what you believe is not always the same as believing what you see -- and it took 50 years for a powerful example of that revelation to come to light. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched into space Sputnik, the first satellite. People across the globe stared into the night sky to watch the blinking man-made object arc overhead. They were awed by science, as they tried to glimpse the celestial marvel streak across the heavens. But in 2007 it was revealed by scientists who worked on a team with the spacecraft’s designer, Sergei Korolyov, that what people were actually viewing was not the 184-lb. sphere itself (which was invisible to the naked eye), but rather the second stage of the rocket that sent the satellite heavenward. The satellite itself did no more than emit a repetitive beep -- but it was enough to change the course of history; the race for space had begun.
Application: Mary was certain of the vision before her, and as such the course of history has been changed. Let us be sure that, like Mary, we have the ability to discern the true meaning of the Christmas message.
*****
Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20
The phrase that Jesus used most often was “Follow me.” This was a clear call to discipleship. The second phrase most often used by Jesus was “Fear not.” Whenever an individual encountered Jesus, they were often afraid because of the glory which shone around him.
Application: Mary’s initial trepidation would be the same as ours when we are in the presence of angels that reflect the glory of God. But after we hear the words “fear not” we will be able to hear the special calling that is ours, the words of “follow me.”
*****
Luke 2:1-20
As we celebrate Christmas this week, we can share with family, friends, and coworkers The Greatest Story Ever Told, a 1965 film directed by George Stevens that added a new phrase to our Christian lexicon. The movie follows the life of Jesus, and provides a most compelling narrative. Silence is not an option, as we triumphantly sing with the Christmas angels: “Glory to God in the highest heaven.”
Application: Let us rejoice with Mary that the Good News has come to us.
*****
Luke 2:1-20
Bob Hope’s first feature film appearance was in The Big Broadcast of 1938, starring W.C. Fields. Hope’s character, radio announcer Buzz Fielding, is divorced and finds himself on a cruise ship with his ex. As they reminisce, Fielding and his ex-wife (played by Shirley Ross) realize they still have more love for one another than they had previously thought. Hope and Ross sang a duet remembering that love -- and the song, “Thanks for the Memory,” went on to become Hope’s signature piece.
Application: Our signature song for this Christmas day could be a favorite carol, an often repeated scripture verse, or most importantly a heartfelt Christmas memory.
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From team member Mary Austin:
Help for the Marys of our Time
Pregnancy and childbirth can be hard on women with little family or social support -- much like the plight of Mary, the world’s best-known unwed mother. As the New York Times reported a few years ago, the use of doulas has been growing in an unexpected group of mothers. “Part mentor, part coach, all-around hand-holder and advocate, doulas are an increasingly popular childbirth accessory, with the leading organization counting 5,000 registered professionals in 2004, up from 750 a decade before. But while doulas, who often charge $1,000 per birth, are typically an indulgence of upper-middle-class mothers-to-be,” there is now a movement to bring the support of a doula to low-income teenagers.
Loretha Weisinger was once a young mother herself, having her first baby at the age of 16. She now works with teenagers in Chicago, and other “doula devotees try to replicate her work on the West Side of Chicago in cities around the country. Already, there are similar programs in Phoenix, Indianapolis, Denver, Atlanta, and Albuquerque, with nascent plans to start up in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Washington, and even a small town in Alaska.”
As the Times article describes her work, “A mother of 4 and grandmother of 13 who had previous jobs as a bus attendant and at a box factory, Ms. Weisinger was about to start work as a cook in a downtown restaurant in 1996 when Marrillac, where she had long volunteered, invited her to train as a doula. She almost quit after the first birth, an extreme episiotomy, but soon saw it as a calling. ‘The main thing that I think I’m doing is giving them their voice,’ said Ms. Weisinger, who earns about $20,000 a year. ‘It’s a way of helping them to help their children. My thing is, if you don’t speak up for yourself, it’s hard for you to teach your children to speak up.’ ”
*****
What Babies Know
Whether born in a stable or a hospital, scientists now believe that babies know much more than we realize. Scientists have recently learned the following:
* At a few days old, infants can pick out their native tongue from a foreign one.
* At 4 or 5 months infants can lip-read, matching faces on silent videos to “ee” and “ah” sounds.
* Infants can recognize the consonants and vowels of all languages on earth, and they can hear the difference between foreign language sounds that elude most adults.
* Infants in their first six months can tell the difference between two monkey faces that an older person would say are identical, and they can match calls that monkeys make with pictures of their faces.
* Infants are rhythm experts, capable of differentiating between the beats of their culture and another.
*****
The Moral Character of Babies
Babies also have a sense of morality and justice, which develops before adults expect it. As researcher Paul Bloom writes: “A growing body of evidence, though, suggests that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life.... Some sense of good and evil seems to be bred in the bone.” He adds: “Not long ago, a team of researchers watched a 1-year-old boy take justice into his own hands. The boy had just seen a puppet show in which one puppet played with a ball while interacting with two other puppets. The center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the right, who would pass it back. And the center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the left... who would run away with it. Then the two puppets on the ends were brought down from the stage and set before the toddler. Each was placed next to a pile of treats. At this point, the toddler was asked to take a treat away from one puppet. Like most children in this situation, the boy took it from the pile of the ‘naughty’ one. But this punishment wasn’t enough -- he then leaned over and smacked the puppet in the head.”
The wisdom of God was alive in Jesus, but it may also live in all of us from the beginning of our lives too.
*****
Stable? Hospital?
The familiar Christmas story portrays Jesus being born in a stable, an image often imagined by artists over the years. Middle East expert Kenneth Bailey suggests that it may have been a cave. In our time in the United States, very few babies are born in either place.
BabyCenter.com reports that “[i]n 2008 most moms in the United States (99 percent) gave birth in hospitals with the help of a physician (91.3 percent).... Of the 1 percent of births that took place outside the hospital in 2008, 66 percent were in homes and 28 percent were in birth centers. These numbers have remained largely the same since 1989.”
Further, babies seem to like certain days of the week better. “The most popular day for babies to make their entrance is Tuesday, followed by Monday. Sunday is the slowest day, with 35.1 fewer births than average. Scheduled c-sections and induced labors have a big influence on the fact that far fewer babies are born on the weekend, but spontaneous (non-scheduled) deliveries occur less often on the weekend too.... In 2010 more newborns arrived in September than in any other month. The second, third, and fourth most popular birthday months were August, June, and July, in that order.”
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The Five Fears
Psychologist Dr. Karl Albrecht believes that there are only really five fears -- all other forms of fear derive from this short list. As he writes, “Fear, like all other emotions, is basically information. It offers us knowledge and understanding -- if we choose to accept it.” He argues that the five basic fears are:
1) Extinction -- the fear of annihilation, of ceasing to exist;
2) Mutilation -- the fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our body’s boundaries invaded;
3) Loss of autonomy -- the fear of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or otherwise controlled;
4) Separation -- the fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness;
5) Ego-death -- the fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens the loss of integrity of the Self; the fear of the shattering or disintegration of one’s constructed sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness.
Albrecht observes that “[s]ome other emotions we know by various popular names are just aliases for these primary fears. If you track them down to their most basic levels, the basic fears show through. Jealousy, for example, is an expression of the fear of separation, or devaluation: ‘She’ll value him more than she values me.’ At its extreme, it can express the fear of ego-death: ‘I’ll be a worthless person.’ Envy works the same way.
If we can follow the angel’s advice to “fear not,” we will have mastered many of life’s stresses.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
People: You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Leader: Stir up your might, and come to save us!
People: Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Leader: Restore us, O Lord God of hosts.
People: Let your face shine, that we may be saved.
OR
Leader: Let our souls proclaim the goodness of God!
People: Our spirits rejoice in our God who comes to save us.
Leader: God looks favorably upon his lowly servants.
People: We are blessed by God’s mighty deeds.
Leader: The Christ is coming to be born in us!
People: May the will of God be done in us this day!
Advent Candle Lighting
(Advent 4)
Leader: Come and worship the God who gives birth to all creation!
People: We come in awe to offer our praises.
Leader: Come and learn what God has in mind for us.
People: We come to learn about and to do God’s will.
Leader: Come and know the power of the Spirit of the Christ.
People: We open ourselves to God’s power of love.
Advent Candle Lighting
(Christmas Day/Eve)
Leader: Come and worship the God who comes among us.
People: We come in wonder that God becomes one of us.
Leader: Come and discover the presence of our God.
People: We come to learn how to be God incarnate.
Leader: Come and be empowered to bear the Spirit of the Christ.
People: We open our lives to God’s Spirit that we may be Christ Bearers for our God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
(Advent 4)
“My Soul Gives Glory to My God”
found in:
UMH: 198
CH: 130
ELA: 882
“Tell Out, My Soul”
found in:
UMH: 200
H82: 437, 438
W&P: 41
“To a Maid Engaged to Joseph”
found in:
UMH: 215
PH: 19
(Christmas Day/Eve)
“Angels from the Realms of Glory”
found in:
UMH: 220
H82: 93
PH: 22
AAHH: 207
NNBH: 85
NCH: 126
CH: 149
LBW: 50
ELA: 275
W&P: 189
AMEC: 119
“While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”
found in:
UMH: 236
H82: 94, 95
PH: 58, 59
NNBH: 92
CH: 154
W&P: 228
AMEC: 110
“Love Came Down at Christmas”
found in:
UMH: 242
H82: 84
NCH: 165
W&P: 210
“Once in Royal David’s City”
found in:
UMH: 250
H82: 102
PH: 49
NCH: 145
CH: 165
ELA: 269
W&P: 183
STLT: 228
“O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright”
found in:
UMH: 247
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELA: 308
W&P: 230
“Sing Unto the Lord a New Song”
found in:
CCB: 16
Renew: 99
“Our God Reigns”
found in:
CCB: 33
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes through the willingness of a pregnant, unwed teen: Grant us the grace to be less judgmental and more accepting of others, expecting good from all regardless of their station in life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are the one who embraced the faithfulness of a young, unwed mother and chose her to bear the Christ. Help us to offer ourselves in faithfulness, that we also may be those who bring the Christ into the lives of others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our quickness to judge others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want people to accept us and excuse our failures, but we are not as quick to be gracious to others -- especially those who are not like us. We do not take the time or effort to get to know folks before we make judgments about them and their motives. Forgive us, and fill us with your Spirit of forgiveness and grace that we may truly be children of our God. Amen.
Leader: God is forgiving and gracious. Receive God’s Spirit and be like your Creator.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for your gracious Spirit of forgiveness. We give you praise, for you are the one who knows us and loves us.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want people to accept us and excuse our failures, but we are not as quick to be gracious to others -- especially those who are not like us. We do not take the time or effort to get to know folks before we make judgments about them and their motives. Forgive us, and fill us with your Spirit of forgiveness and grace that we may truly be children of our God.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which we have received your grace. We thank you for the assurance of acceptance through your Spirit, and for the ways in which your people have helped us affirm that acceptance. We thank you for the opportunities you send us to be your gracious presence to others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need, and especially for those who do not yet know of your love and grace. As you draw near to them, help us to embody your Spirit of grace and love to them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Sometimes we see people who look different than we do -- they may be dressed differently or talk in a different language or act in ways we don’t understand. It is easy to think of them as weird or strange, but we always need to remember that we are all God’s children -- and until we become friends and get to know them, we probably won’t know why they seem different from us.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
A Special Honor
Luke 1:26-38
Object: a blue ribbon and/or a certificate of honor
We are almost at the end of Advent and very near to Christmas. Is everything ready at your house to welcome Jesus? (let the children answer) Advent is all about getting ready to welcome Jesus into our lives.
Today I have a wonderful story to share with you. This is the story about the angel Gabriel and how he met with a woman named Mary. How many of you have heard about Gabriel? (let them answer) Good, because Gabriel was a favorite messenger of God. How many of you have heard of a woman named Mary? (let them answer) Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a very famous person.
The story in the Bible tells us how Gabriel came and spoke to Mary. Not many of us have an angel come and speak to us, do we? Has anyone ever had an angel come and visit him/her? (let them answer) Gabriel found Mary and told her that she had been favored by God to be the mother of his son. Of all the women in the world, God chose Mary. That is a very special honor, isn’t it?
I remember one time in my life when I received this certificate. I was chosen out of all the people who belonged to the same organization to receive this framed certificate. I was very proud but also very humble, because I knew that there were many other people who could have been chosen.
This is a blue ribbon. At the county fair, when you have the best horse, cow, lamb, or goat, or the best-made dress or even the best-tasting pickles, they give you a blue ribbon. That means you are really special, the best of all the people who raise animals or grow vegetables or make dresses. You are special.
But imagine what it would be like to be chosen by God to be the mother of his child. It was so special that God sent an angel by the name of Gabriel to make the announcement. Mary felt very humble. She believed in God and knew this was for real. And she knew that this was more than just a great honor. It was something for which God chose her and only her.
Maybe the next time you see something like this hanging on your parents’ wall or in someone’s office you will think of Gabriel and Mary. Or if you ever get a blue ribbon, think about how God chose Mary by sending the angel Gabriel to tell her that she was going to be the mother of God.
The Immediate Word, December 21, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
