A BURST OF PURE JOY
Luke 1:46-50 (NRSV)
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the
Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
Matthew 2:16-18 (NRSV)
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed
all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under,
according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was
fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice
was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
Somewhere in the
attic where my memories are stored, among the dust and clutter of bits and
pieces of remembered sermons, lessons, books, articles and conversations, is a
contrast between these two texts: two voices.
The first voice is Mary’s;
a poor teenager from a small town; pregnant and unwed, in a culture in which
such a situation could be grounds for the death penalty.
Mary is sent off to
live with a cousin in another town—an old woman—married to a preacher. Imagine her
expectations: suffocating supervision, curfews, daily lectures spiced with
clever, original expressions like, "...you reap what you sew." "...when you give a dance you gotta' pay
the band."
But, to her utter amazement, instead of a cold slap on the wrist she’s is greeted with
warm embraces! And there is joy over her pregnancy.
Instead of a dowdy
old grump, cousin Elizabeth is a joy! I imagine a girlish twinkle in her eyes
that contradicts the wrinkles that surround them.
The reason is
evident, for Elizabeth also is with child—even at her age. Elizabeth also has had
an angelic visitor, who confirmed the heavenly origin and destiny of both babies.
Was it just a hallucination
born of her intense Jewish longing for freedom after six centuries of hoping
and waiting—600 Passovers without the promised Messiah?
But here is
confirmation: one whom she honors and respects has received the same word:
"The Redeemer is near!" And Mary not only will see it; she actually
will give birth to the Messiah!
And so, Mary says,
"My soul magnifies the Lord!"
The second voice
comes from Ramah: "the voice of Rachel, weeping for
her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they were no more."
This voice triggers
images of Herod raving in his palace; Roman soldiers riding through the
streets, knocking down doors, running down women in back alleys; women
screaming and desperately clutching their children...
"The Slaughter of the
Innocents," it's called.
Why did the Spirit
that inspired Holy Scripture include this event in the story of the birth of
Jesus? Couldn't it have been left out? What does it add?
I believe God is one
who celebrates and rejoices! I believe the
Kingdom of God is a place of joy!
Remember Jesus’
"Kingdom Parables"? A woman lost a coin, and cleaned her home until
she found it. Then she called her neighbors and threw a party! The party
probably cost more than the coin!
A shepherd counts his
sheep at the close of the day and one is missing. He searches until he finds
the sheep, and then calls his neighbors and throws a party. Probably served
mutton! Jesus said the Kingdom is like that: a place of celebration.
But there’s that
voice from Ramah.
Virtually every
family gathering of any size
this Christmas will deal with the memory of some loved one who has died since the
last Christmas. It almost always happens, doesn't it? Or someone will remind us of the homeless
children downtown.
Maybe we're just not
meant to be happy all the time. After all, who can forget the immortal words of
the blessed sage, Erma Bombeck: "If life is just a bowl of cherries,
why am I always 'in the pits'?"
Maybe life isn't
supposed to be totally joyful! A part of the church's on-going ministry is
helping the poor; and, didn't Jesus say, "The poor will always be with
you?" And yet, that statement was in defense of an act of extravagance!
And in Luke’s text above,
here is Mary, amid poverty, injustice, constant oppression and fear of death, amid
personal circumstances that could not have been good: teenaged,
pregnant, and unwed, with "A Burst of Pure Joy!"
Why is it so
difficult for us to
let go, even momentarily, and experience joy—pure joy—just for the sake
of joy?
Maybe it’s theological reasons: our view of a vindictive God—stern and all rules and
punishment—doesn't inspire joy.
Or there may be practical reasons: the stress of planning and shopping and cooking and
cleaning up after a family gathering robs us of the joy of the event.
Or, maybe it’s the world situation: rockets falling in the Middle East, pictures of
starving children and wailing widows and mangled bodies. It's hard to be joyful.
And why
this scripture at Christmas:
Rachel crying for her children: does
it mean that we're not meant for pure joy? Ever?
I remember an image from my teacher" the drums beat, the
band plays, horses pull the carriage… Bobby runs to his room and digs out the
old toy drum. Soon he's marching up and down the living room in front of the
television, until
Mother realizes what is going on and says, "No! Can’t you see our President is dead!"
Am I never to join a parade for fear it might be somebody's funeral? Shall I never
laugh because children starve in India, or because Uncle Phil is gone?
And yet, with Roman
soldiers everywhere, Elizabeth laughs. And Mary lifts her voice in joy:
"My soul magnifies the Lord!"
How did they do it?
The joy of advent is
the foolishness of faith that says I can rejoice
because even in the darkness of Ramah, a child is born! It is the foolishness of faith that dares
proclaim that this baby—born of peasant parents
in a barn
in an oppressed nation
in a
primitive time
is the Lord of
Christmas, and that the Lord of Christmas is also the Lord of Ramah, and the
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
and he shall reign forever and ever: King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Hallelujah!
That’s how I see it
through the flawed glass that is my world view.
Together in the Walk,
Jim
I enjoyed this Jim! Thank you.
ReplyDelete