A Christmas Paradox
Luke 1:39-55
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
__________
Paradox is not a word you would expect to hear on a Sunday that closes out our Advent journey. Yet paradox or paradoxes is precisely what we find in our reading for today as Mary celebrates with Elizabeth. We aren't always good with holding contradictory ideas together as human beings, especially when our minds are weary and tired. In these complexities, however, where we find the gift of Advent love. And indeed, this love that we unwrap is one of the most complicated feelings our heart can carry. If we can learn to hold two seemingly opposing forces in our hearts, then we'll discover that new realities become possible and that instead of "either-or," the pathway of "both-and" opens before us.
If we paid attention, we would realize Mary herself is a paradox. In a world where men played the role of savior, hero, and conqueror, Mary, an unwed woman of low status, is the voice for God's triumphant plan to turn the world on its head. Sometimes I think that people in the ancient world were better at holding contradicting ideas together in their hearts and minds, but it's become something of a lost art in our world today. We're told you must buy into one Camp A or Camp B, there's no in-between, you're either Republican or Democrat, you’re either be happy or sad, not both, there's no middle space. And so, at the end of the day, we're left with fragmented notions that appear to have strayed very far from what God first told us through the brave voice of Mary.
Is it no wonder that love is so hard to feel on this Fourth Sunday of Advent of Love? How can our hearts feel love when they've been captured by the notion that this is the only way the world works and that there is no room for alternatives, no room for paradoxes, there are only two options for us to choose? The practice of holding complex emotions, thoughts, and beliefs is a spiritual practice that we must reclaim. Our hearts will open up to the numerous pathways that God has set before us in cultivating this practice that leads to the love of God. In her book, "Reflections for a Weary World," Kathy Escobar writes:
“We can remember that God is paradoxical, we are paradoxical, life is paradoxical - all kinds of contradictory things can exist in the same place at the same time, none discounting the other, none needing to squeeze out the other, none needing to be prayed out. Instead, our prayers can be focused on gaining strength, courage, wisdom, and hope to hold it all.” (Escobar, 70-71)
In the midst of contradictory ideas, we find a spark of hope in the song of Mary, who places before us the gift of God incarnate. As we read these words of Mary, we are reminded of how God is continually transforming the world around us and our hearts as well. It will not always make sense, that's a given, but it will provide us with opportunities to lean hard into a faith that is founded on the love of God, which can hold all things together. For as the apostle Paul reminds us, "That nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God." (Romans 8:38) Nothing can separate us from the "already" and "not yet" grace of God that is sanctifying the earth beneath our feet.
Perhaps it's this paradoxical mystery of "already" and "not yet" that we need to wrap our heads around to take our first steps forward in this spiritual practice. Yet, there are thousands already who partake of this mystery. Surprisingly, those Hallmark/ Netflix movies are good for something. Their formulaic nature allows us to embrace the dynamic aspects of things that have happened, yet not entirely. If we can find enjoyment in the deluge of holiday movies that enables us to enjoy paradox, then maybe there's a chance for us to exercise our hearts to learn to hold together the already and not yet, the joyful and the sorrowful, the peaceful and the chaotic, and the mundane and the divine.
As we draw to the end of another season of Advent, I pray that we approach the Canticle of Mary with a new sense of wonderment and awe. That this year, when our bodies are tired, when our souls are achy, and our hearts are longing, we can hear the voice of a newborn baby crying out a song of hope that ties together all our mixed feelings. The world is turning, and with it, we find that we will grapple with realities and feelings that are difficult to comprehend. May the Christ child who scatters the proud, lifts up the lowly, gives the poor good things to eat, and turns away the powerful show us this Advent and Christmas season the miracle of paradox, the opening ourselves to a world that exists beyond the constraining binary that has held us, prisoner, for so long.