Reading: Matthew
1: 1, 16 - 25
Response
The Wisdom of God:
God’s
word made new.
Proclamation of the Word 1
Poor
Joseph. Here he is betrothed to Mary, which is more formal than our engagement,
but before they actually moved in together. I imagine Joseph is looking forward
to Mary moving in with him, you see Joseph would have been much older than
Mary. Joseph gets to be an adult, and head of his own family.
And then,
in the midst of the planning there is unexpected news, Mary is going to have a
baby.
Poor
Joseph. He is very fond of Mary. What should he do?
He could
follow the letter of the law; and have her killed. He is fond of Mary, so he
decides to dismiss her quietly. This does not guarantee Mary’s safety.
And then
in a dream, he gets this message; don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife,
this is a special baby. In the dream Joseph also finds out his role in the life
of Jesus, he is to give the child a name, which was an act of adoption.[i]
Just like
his namesake in the old testament, Joseph will continue to be guided by dreams
and angels until his family is safely in Nazareth.[ii]
Sometimes
it is hard for us to see a way forward, to choose between two competing
options; when we allow ourselves to listen into God's dream we find a new way, a
way we had never considered.
Matthews
gospel begins with the genealogy, a listing of men, and a few women, leading to
the birth of Jesus. It is unfortunate that modern Bibles put it in paragraph
headings, because at times it appears to separate sections that belong together.
Matthew is
more concerned with the birth of the Messiah, than the birth of a baby.[iii]
What does
this story from Matthew have to say to us this year. This is a story of a
person and family in crisis, Joseph has an almost impossible decision to make.
How do we respond when we feel everyone looking at us, pointing their fingers
at us behind our backs. This is what was happening to Joseph.
Over the
next week there will be lots of family gatherings, some will be wonderful and
warm and generous places; some will be tense; some will be violent. It is
important that there is space for us to tell the truth about our life and our
relationships.
In the
midst of whatever pain or difficult situation you are in, the message of the
gospel is that “God meets you where you are with the gift of redemption”.[iv]
Christmas
is God meeting us where we are, not waiting for us to be good enough, or know
enough, or live in the right way, or follow the law. Christmas is God meeting
us where we are.
As we move
toward Christmas I encourage you to reflect on Matthew's version of the birth,
the birth of the Messiah, the birth “Not
… of a baby, but of our awareness of God with us” [v]
Reading: Luke 1:
46 – 55
Response
The Wisdom of God:
God’s
word made new.
Proclamation
of the Word 2
Mary song
is a radical protest song. A song much like the Hebrew slaves in Egypt would
have sung, or African-American slaves, or the protest songs of the 60 ’s.
Whenever
God's people have been oppressed they have sung God's song of resistance, and
Mary sings of the grace of God, the power of God, and how God will turn the
established order upside down so that the hungry are fed and the lowly lifted
high.
This is a
song of faith in God, a song of faith that God will act, and will bring about
change in society, so that the oppressed can go free.
At times
it is God's people who are the oppressors, at times is God's people who have
enslaved and persecuted other people, and those times the persecuted seeing God
songs against us.
When we
hear this song of Mary, where do we see ourselves?
When we
hear this song of Mary, who springs to mind – who are the proud, who were the
powerful brought down?
Who are
the hungry and the lowly?
[Miriam Therese Winter sung Magnificat]
