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Normal
birth, a boy 8lb. 4oz., dark curly hair, mother and baby ok... Father not so
ok. Still
checking on room availability.
And
what to do with the shepherds and those smelly sheep Things are really getting
strange... Normal
birth not so normal. An
angel tells a 13 year-old girl that she is pregnant but that her fiancé is not
the father. Much
of the countryside has converged on An
illiterate Jewish girl launches into a song that continues to rank among one of
the great epic poems of all time. A
host of Angels compels shepherds to leave the warmth of their campfire and go
down to To
be a God-fearing person in Jesus' day meant that you had to do the weekly
Sabbath thing. That you only ate kosher foods, that you
washed before and after meals and did no work on the Sabbath including
shepherding, plus countless other things that shepherds did – watching
out for their sheep... why was God picking on them? Shepherds
were not God-fearing persons by any stretch of the imagination. We
have so domesticated these stories that they no longer shock us, or stir us
much less move us. We
don’t know who wrote these stories of nativity, celebrating the birthday of
Jesus. Who
ever he was, gave us a powerful introduction to the life of Jesus, which is
just as strange and wonderful. For
those of you from the late 60’s you might remember Gomer Pyle played by Jim Nabors
from the “The Andy Griffith Show”.
Gomer
Pyle was a good-natured country-boy who lived in the fictional town of
Whenever
he encountered something beyond his ability to understand – which was most of
the time. he would say something like: "Shazam!",
"Gaaw-aawl-ly" "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" These
birth narratives are loaded with "Shazam!", "Gaaw-aawl-ly"
"Surprise, surprise, surprise!" Starting
with the mother of John the Baptist.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise (John) and they
were going to name him
Zechariah after
his father.
But his mother said “No, he is to be called John” they said
to her, No one of your relatives has that name." Lk. 1. 60f
When they asked old Zack, he asked for a writing tablet and
wrote “his name is John” and immediately his mouth opened, his tongue was freed
and he began to speak, praising God (65). Fear and surprise came over all the
neighbors and these things were talked about throughout the entire hill
country. Just
in case you missed the first part of this story, the
reason Old Zach asked for a writing tablet was that while he was presiding over
the service in the temple twelve
months earlier, Gabriel told him that he and Elizabeth would be
expecting even though both were well up in years… Zachariah
said something like… "Gaaw-aawl-ly"
"Surprise, surprise, surprise!" The
angel told him that since he had his doubts he would just have to wait and see…
and that he would be mute until John was born. Birth
announcements and names are important… just ask any couple expecting. In
Lutheran churches all pastors must first pass an extensive psychological exam,
which for you therapy types, includes the MMPI and a one-on-one interview.
Not
a bad idea... especially if you believe God wants you to be his spokesperson.
With
a name like Hartmut… Who named you that?
Your mother?
What is your father’s name?...
Robert.
Who where you named after?
Your mother's OBGYN! "Surprise,
surprise, surprise!" Birth
announcements abound in these Christmas stories…and in each case those
receiving the news are either afraid, perplexed, or "Surprise, surprise,
surprise!" All
depending on how you translate the Greek into English. I
have already told you about Zachariah’s reaction to Gabriels appearance to tell
him that he and Elizabeth were on their way to handing out birth announcements.
Mary
too was visited by Gabriel. We
are told she was “greatly disturbed” the Gk. word used to translate disturbed
is “phobia.” FEAR NOT, Mary was told. The
Shepherds who were minding their own business herding sheep and maybe passing
the old wine skin just one more time before settling down for the night, when
told the news, “are sore afraid” … To
say that they were surprised would be putting it mildly. They too, are told… “fear not” In
Matthew’s account of the birth we are told that not only King Herod feared the
news of Jesus' birth, but “all of It
seems that there was quite a bit of phobia and surprise around on this HOLY
night. Who wouldn’t be afraid? From
time to time we see movies or hear of a new book that tells us that the second
coming is near. I
have heard that the year 2012 is another one of those apocalyptic years for
some. So
it is not surprising that the first
coming should also generate a certain amount of anxiety. There
were at least two people who knew
just how subversive the “first coming” was. One
was a powerful monarch, the other was a powerless, penniless, illiterate girl
from For
one, it was the birth of hope and for the other it was his worst nightmare.
He
has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but sent the rich away empty...
In
the birth at Bethlehem God reversed everything. Who’s
up, who’s down? Who
are the winners and who are the losers? Our
world says blessed are the beautiful, the
rich, the successful. Blessed
are the secure, those who make million dollar bonuses. Blessed
is Herod, and his court. Then
this Rabbi called Jesus, comes along and sings this strange new or maybe not so
new song.
Blessed
are the poor, blessed are the hungry, blessed are
the meek, blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Where
did he get this stuff? Could
it be that he got it from his mom? Did
he learn from her, that God has no intention of tolerating the injustice and
greed of this world on a permanent basis? Did
she teach him that it angers God when people are selfish or violent, when rich
nations watch poor nations go hungry and use up precious natural resources at
their expense because the can get way with it! But
tonight we sing “Stille Nacht Heilige
Nach, all is calm all is bright . . .
Round yon virgin mother and
child. Holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in
heavenly peace.
Normal
birth, a boy, 8lb. 4oz., dark curly hair, mother and baby o.k. father not so
ok… Still
checking on room availability at the Bethlehem Inn. And
what to do with the shepherds and those smelly sheep? Things
are really getting out of hand. Normal
birth not so normal. There
is one more surprise… It
comes some thirty years later when another Mary, not the mother of Jesus, comes
to the tomb. Where
she sees a young man, dressed in a white robe and she was alarmed,
“surprised?” But
he said, do not be surprised, you are looking for Jesus, He has been raised; he
is not here (Mk.16.) So she went out from the tomb, for terror and amazement
had seized her, for she was afraid. Amen. |
