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Immanuel Baptist "On the Journey" Articles |
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| December 23, 2004 Christmas: Scandalous Faith for the Real World I am not always certain what to make of Mary. Was she innocent, courageous, or naïve? Could she have had any inkling of what she was getting herself into at such a young age? How had she found favor with God? Was it in the simplicity of her life or her humility or her religious passion? None of these questions really matter, for Mary quietly responds to Gabriel, “Here I am a servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Mary’s response raises all kinds of questions. What kind of response is this: “Let it be with me as you have spoken?” Are these words of submission or collaboration? Has God seized control of Mary’s life, or has she accepted God’s invitation to be his partner in the divine work of salvation? How does she embrace such a scandalous reality—she will become pregnant though she has known no man—to be the mysterious and gracious work of God? Perhaps none of these questions can be answered—not even by Mary. This is the reason she runs from Nazareth to visit her relative Elizabeth. The homegrown reality becomes too much for her. Despite Gabriel’s assurance that her child is to be holy, in Nazareth, she is just another unwed mother. The devoutly religious know what the law says should be done to her, and anyone who doesn’t go along with them cares nothing about right and wrong. It may be that the community’s condemnation is even greater for she has apparently broken the trust of the man to whom she is engaged. Perhaps she runs because she cannot accept the damage she is doing to Joseph’s reputation for he is a good man. Mary should put us all on notice that the reward of being obedient to God is usually a messy reality where we are often misunderstood. In fact, we are vulnerable to all kinds of charges. This is where we face our greatest temptation—to run away from God’s calling. Could it be possible that once Mary made it to Elizabeth’s house she just wanted to keep running? Was it God’s great providence that inspired her to run to a woman who was pregnant in her old age—another divinely inspired scandal? Could it be that the reality of life in Nazareth had made her doubt the reality of Gabriel’s visit? After all Mary is very human. Mary keeps reminding me that faith begins somewhere internally. In that encounter with Gabriel, Mary’s says, “Yes,” somewhere in her soul before she ever ponders the consequences of her response. When her belly begins to swell, her obedient response is not some theological question up for debate, but a very real situation of life. I think that many of us wish that our desire to be obedient to God could remain an internal thing—a mental condition. Most people of faith would prefer to debate any of these questions I have raised about Mary than be an unwed mother in Nazareth in the first century for 30 minutes. Christmas reminds me that I must live my faith, which begins as an internal response, in the real world. This is what Mary and Joseph and Jesus had to do. Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem because Caesar has ordered a census. They go alone, I think, because no one on either side of the family will have anything to do with them. After all, every descendant of David had an appointment in Bethlehem for registration at the local office of the Roman government. Mary must give birth in a stable because Joseph can find no place for them. They become refugees in Egypt because there is a crazy old king slaughtering babies. In the end, the very people he came to save beg the Roman authority to put him to death. His death must be hastily completed so as not to defile the Passover celebration. He is laid in a borrowed tomb, for Jesus never rises about his peasant roots. And, finally, he is crucified for religious and political expediency. All of this is the real world. I think Christmas says to us, “Be prepared for the scandalous. Be prepared for the unexpected. Be prepared for the messy reality spawned by obedience to God.” Christmas keeps our faith grounded in reality. A child is born who is the Savior of the world. He gets no free pass through the harsh realities of human life and neither do we. Yet, if there is any joy to be found at Christmas, it is the joy of obeying God as we collaborate with him in his great redemptive work. Are we ready for scandal? Can we resist the temptation to run away? Will we learn to live by faith rather than analyze it? Will we trust our internal response to God’s invitation when things get rough? It can be done for the whole cast of Christmas characters show us the way—Zechariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and magi, Simeon and Anna, and, yes, the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths named Jesus who will save his people from their aina. This Christmas let us vow to immerse ourselves in this scandalous work of God. Peace.jamie |
Website last updated: Monday, December 20, 2004 Website Related Questions/Comments: Chris Cash-ccash@vci.net |
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Immanuel Baptist Church - 3465 Buckner Lane - Paducah, KY, 42001 - 270.443.5306 - www.immanuel-paducah.org |