2 Christmas 2016 (Year
C)
We started in the Advent season
with readings that gave us a glimpses of prophetic hope. God was calling out to
Israel in their exile to tell them that all would be restored, all would be
made right, and God would come and dwell with them.
Of course, we also read about John
the Baptist calling people a “brood of vipers…” Likewise there are generally
some apocalyptic readings in Advent—after all, it is kind of the end of the
world. Or, perhaps (better stated) the end of a world, namely the world that Israel had known.
But, then we have Christmas, and
suddenly our readings are full of light, shepherds and angels. “Glory to God in
the highest heaven, and peace and good will toward all people…” Yet even as
lovely as the story of Jesus’ birth is—it still happens in the midst of an
oppressive empire; under the eye of a bloodthirsty king (that would be Herod);
and, the mass murder of children on Herod’s orders…This is why December 28th
is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, to commemorate this terrible event.
As to Mary and Joseph, angels told
them about all that was supposed to happen, and even explained how most of it
was supposed to go. But, even with all of that, there was no real way of them
to know what it would all mean. Besides, they certainly wouldn’t be the first
victims of happenstance that caused God’s plans to run afoul. So, I would
imagine that no matter how certain all of the epiphanies and promises that they
received seemed to be—the reality for them is that they were fugitives from a
mad king on their way across dangerous country. Unmarried and pregnant was
certainly not much help either, especially considering what a scandal it would
have been in First Century Palestine.
But that’s to say, we often find
that when we look back on events in life, we often begin to see their meaning
in retrospect. In those moments, we may even begin to see the places where
Providence made a way, and the choices that were before us all conspired to
lead us just to the place we needed to be…
Then again, I sincerely doubt that
there were quiet moments in the successive years where Mary and Joseph sat
reminiscing over a glass of Manischewitz,
laughing at their own foibles… In fact, Wise Men from the East not
withstanding—I would imagine post-traumatic stress being more relevant to their
memories than sentiment. After all, rather than everything lining-up perfectly
for an easy birth for the Savior of the World, instead Mary and Joseph were
hunted and the world was very dark and dangerous.
No, I don’t imagine that there was
a lot of nostalgia for Joseph and Mary. What I do believe, however, is that
there would always be the memory of how they were surprised by hope.
In fact, I think many of us are
surprised by hope—even if the situations in our lives aren’t always the
easiest. It seems to me, in fact, that hope,
real hope, happens to us in unexpected ways. That’s not to say that things are
instantly better, or even that that things become clearer or easier.
But, hope, as a deeply sustaining thing, can
impress upon us such a sense of vision beyond ourselves that we find that even
the toughest places in life will inevitably come to their end—perhaps even
their completion and perfection. That is the meaning when we talk of Christian
hope, after all. It is that seed of promise that waits in our hearts to
germinate, so that we might see all things (good or bad) come to their true
perfection.
It almost sounds too good to be
true, so much so that it may even seem to border on naïve. And yet, there are
those who have suffered and experienced greater adversity than many of us, but
still hold fast to hope. In particular, I’m reminded of the Dali Lama who was
forced into exile by the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and has even survived
seeing death and destruction all around him. Even still, he remains one of the
most encouraging and hopeful people in the world, perhaps in spite of any
return to his home being imminent, and certainly in spite of the difficulties
in the world.
Hope is far from naïve, and, if
anything, the hope that is born in the midst of great adversity is almost an
act of defiance. It’s defiance against the threat that all hope can be
extinguished, even if life is the cost. Hope is the defiance against the belief
that abuse, and fear are the only real powers in the world. And hope is the
defiance against the idea that God is too far from us to know what it’s like
down here—because the surprise about hope is that God chose to be born into all
of this chaos, and pain, and fear. But in the quiet surprise of that night was
that hope came into the world to change it forever by being born as a child.
I said it on Christmas Eve, and
I’ll say it again; ever birth of every child is an icon and reminder of the
birth of Jesus. And with each birth is kindled the potential for hope to
continue to shine brightly in the world. But in Jesus’ birth began the turning
tide for the hope of all of us; because in him the powerless find a champion,
and all of us find a king. In him we find the archetype for the true conqueror
as even in his humility, he has the power to break Death itself… In this way,
Jesus has proven hope.
Where all of this finds meaning for
us, as we consider all that the new year may bring, is simply this: We should
always hold fast to hope. That’s to say hope may seem a thing hard to come by
in our lives. We may feel that in even considering hope that we’re wasting our
time. But the message of Christmas, and Mary and Joseph is that we may yet be
surprised by hope at any time…we just can’t give up on hope before it’s born.
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