Love

By Rev. Jeff Lackie On Dec 23 2018

      It happens all the time.  The question comes; “what would you like for Christmas?”, and being uncomfortable with our child-like desire for delight, we earnestly reply “oh, I already have everything I need…”  Lea and I play out this little charade more and more often – much to her frustration.  (And yes, this is a game played most often by parents)  When the girls were younger, my answer was meant to suggest that the Christmas focus should be on their lists.  These days, it’s partly a false humility play, combined with a genuine unwillingness to find something I specifically requested when I unwrap a gift.  I prefer to be delighted by a surprise!

       I mean, who doesn’t like a surprise – especially at Christmas.  The joy of discovering that your friends, your family, your spouse know you well enough to choose something that makes you laugh, cry and hyperventilate, while saying things like “This is PERFECT! I LOVE IT!”  Truth be told, that’s the feeling we want on birthdays, anniversaries, and most especially (it seems) on Christmas morning. 

       Now, before you start doubting your gift choices (although, there is still a very small window of opportunity) I can assure you that what you have chosen for the people you love is perfect.  It might be an odd colour, or there’s a chance they have one already, but that won’t matter when the wrapping paper is strewn around the living room and you are all elbow deep in turkey and turnip.  That we pay for our moments of bliss and delight with weeks of anxious planning, says more about us than about the season...but it is the season we blame.

       For this has become for us a season of gifts, but in its origins, this is a season of surprises.  The stories we tell from Scripture are stories of the unexpected coming of an unfathomable God. The stories that become Christmas stories for us begin with a venerable couple; upright and devout - seriously devoted to God’s service - who are shocked into seclusion (and silence) [Luke 1: 23-25] by a gift from God; An angelic visitation and an unexpected child.  At this late stage, it is difficult to say whether the gift is a blessing or if, perhaps, God is taunting them.  Then, six months into this sacred surprise, Elizabeth relieves a visitor of her own. 

       Mary has also been overwhelmed by news.  And while Elizabeth may have wondered why it took so long to become a mother, Mary’s concern is quite the opposite.  Neither of these pregnancies conforms to the expectations of human timing; neither of these women was expecting motherhood at this point in their lives, and they take comfort in one another’s condition. 

       It is curious that in this meeting of relatives - a meeting where the elder might be expected to offer words of comfort and assurance to the younger - something entirely different happens.  Elizabeth acts as though Mary has done her a favour by coming to wait expectantly with her; and Mary offers a hymn of defiant praise that reminds us that while we may not always ‘get what you want’, we will (in God’s time) get what we need.

       Mary’s song - “My soul magnifies the Lord…” - is a challenging bit of poetry.    It is filled with remarkable statements about the way the world will be shaped by God’s promises.  It is sung by someone who has no business singing -  a young woman, whose culturally tenuous position is not helped by her ‘surprise’ pregnancy, who has taken refuge with a country cousin.  She sings with no real hope that anyone will listen, but that’s what you do when someone you love gives you something you didn’t ask for.  You sing; whether anyone is listening or not.  You answer one expression of love with another.  And make no mistake - this pregnancy; this moment in time; this revelation of God is a gesture of love.

       God’s love offers hope to those without political power.  God’s love promises food to those who hunger - rest for those who labor.  As Mary sings, Jesus’ words resonate in my head: “Come all you who are weary and heavy laden…”  The words Mary chose may have served in later years as Jesus cradle song.  They certainly gave shape and purpose to Jesus ministry, for he grew to adulthood in a household that honoured the promises of God - raised by parents who knew they were loved by God, because for Mary (& Joseph), God’s love is a fact of life.  It is not always obvious, but there are signs for those who choose to look, and for those with eyes to see.  Mary’s song is both a history lesson and a promise of things to come.  The “magnificat” as well as being an expression of love and praise,  is A POWERFUL STATEMENT OF FAITH, and we would be wise to listen.

       Christmas for us has become the vehicle that delivers this message of God’s unequalled love for all creation - a message that gets easily lost in the noise leading up to the 25th of December.  Since our preparations began, there have been political intrigues, natural disasters and personal tragedies - it is hard to hear the song of peace through all that noise. 

It is hard to remember the promise that Mary claims when the lights go dark and the tree is dragged to the curb, but the promise is not as fleeting as our celebrations.  Jesus birth story helps explain the lasting impact of Jesus life - his words and actions are consistent with his mother’s prophetic song.  Jesus grew to be a friend of the lowly and oppressed - he keeps company with the lowly and challenges the powerful - and his embodiment of these ancient promises will cost him his life.

       And that is what Christmas is all about - this is the festival of faith that reminds us that the love revealed at Easter can be seen and felt and experienced in every stage of life.  In the new life of an infant; in the world-weary face of a worried parent; in the middle of an ordinary night, this birth story reminds us of God’s extraordinary promise of renewal and redemption.  It is an ongoing project, to be sure - and one that needs our constant attention - not because we control the outcome, but because the grace that God offers in Jesus will continue to take the shape of our deepest need.