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Gospel
Lk 2:15-20
When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.“Why do we assume
that God became
human only once,
in the incarnation?Not so.
God becomes human
here and now just
as he did then.Why is this?
So that He might
give birth to you, too,
as His only
begotten son or daughter.”
Paraphrase of Meister Eckhart, certainly worth prayerfully looking at.One of the things the Story reminds us of is that Jesus became one of us to show us that each one of us is important. God sent him to show us how to live, because folks had forgotten that their covenant with God also included their relationship with each other. Men back then, Pharisees and Sadducees, had taken over the covenant for themselves and enforced it according to their own comfort and convenience and their desire for power, and taught the people that to get to God, they had to go through them. Jesus showed that this was not as God intended. He did this by showing that every person, whether accepted by the various societies or not, was important to God. This means that each of us as we are is important to God and necessary to each other. God is a community, Trinity, and is being God (godding) in all of us, and as reflections of God we need each other. What is going on around the world today, and is exacerbated by the coronavirus, is what happens when we choose not to acknowledge our inter-dependency and instead focus on our own comfort and convenience and our desire for power, which leads us to judge others, even God, by our standards.
Christmas Day! The pinnacle of Christianity! The day Christ is born! The day Mary and Joseph waited for and fought through. The idea of having a child is paralyzing for anyone. But the thought knowing you are giving birth to Christ? That is something else entirely, right? It certainly was terrifying (3 different tomes) for me, but hind sight is always 20/20, so they say.
I have been trying to take the approach of reading the gospels as if this was the first time I’m hearing them instead of the 48 or more times. Yes I’m giving away my age☺️. This one actually took me down a path I didn’t understand initially.
It talks of Jesus birth, how the shepherds shared their story with Mary and Joseph. It doesn’t talk about Joseph’s reaction, but I can only imagine the relief he felt. Knowing first, this baby was in fact Christ- he believed the angels when the spoke to him and stayed with Mary- but human nature, I think, would still have him questioning. In my mind this was his confirmation when the shepherds tell their story. Their is something glorious about this baby!
Well guess what, in 1996, 2000, 2004… something glorious happened as well! Those were the years I had my children! And while we are “mere” humans – I know each of my children have a path they will take that will make an impression on each person the encounter. While each of them have their own unique personality- I can see God working through them, just as God and Jesus worked as one!As time went on, Jesus knew His goal- as did Mary. Neither May have liked it but they knew it had to happen. I see this with my own children as well, while God is working through them, some of their decisions break their hearts, as a mother I feel my heart break as well. But the fact that they indeed are also Gods children gives me consolation! The fact is many mothers and fathers probably had the same feelings as Mary- the doubt, anxiousness, pride all feelings as parents. It all happens at birth at one time! But the most important one we tend to know, but don’t express- we BELIEVE in our children! We believe they can and will do great things! They are very much like Christ. I believe that my children are children of God- therefore they will do many great things!
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