A New World Birthed
Matthew 1:20
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
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I remember lying in bed as a child with the anticipation of what my sister and I would discover on Christmas morning. As a kid waiting was the hardest thing to do, the temptation to peek outside or feel the stocking that hung on our bedroom doors was always a struggle. However, it's a struggle that pales in comparison to what the multitudes in the Christmas story experienced. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and many more found their lives turned upside down once the Spirit of God set the birth of a new world into motion. A world forever changed by Emmanuel, God with us.
The Spirit of God continues to bring about newness. It was God's spirit that hovered over the formless creation in Genesis and created the new world and new heaven. It was God's spirit that blew back the waters of the seas to let God's people go free from Egypt. And it was God's spirit that descended on the disciples at Pentecost, granting them a new vision of life together. All of this was God's doing, and God's spirit continues to do a new thing in our midst (in a world where we are tired, weary, and at times hopeless). It is a gift given freely to all in need, regardless of who they are.
Perhaps I'm wrongly assuming that everyone would know this melody, but are you familiar with the song "Last Christmas?" Recorded by the British pop duo Wham! in 1984, there's an iconic refrain that sticks out:
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special.
But what if instead of giving it to someone special, we gave our hearts to someone who wasn't special? What if we gave our hearts the same way the Spirit of God broke through the "norms" of our world to those who weren't special but really needed that love? What if we gave our hearts to the homeless, hungry, and families fleeing from danger? What if we gave our hearts to those we were angry at or resented not because it would absolve them but because it frees us from the bondage of such oppression? What would happen if we gave our hearts to the unexceptional (which is what Jesus did)?
The Christmas story is one that is ever so relevant to us today. There are still King Herods and Pontius Pilates who try to maintain power through immoral acts. There are still people on the outside, the margins, like the shepherds, the poor, and the oppressed. And there are still those like Mary. People who possess a great truth but find that people judge them with eyes of hesitancy and distrust. The Christmas story is one that resonates with all of us. It especially reaches those of us who are waiting in the darkness. Those of us who are waiting for a great light to bring salvation and healing. This year we celebrate the great gift of light that entered into the world in the form of the Christ child.
Friends, this Christmas Eve, let the Christmas story (the birth of God with us) sit with you as we head into the new year. Let God's Holy Spirit stir and plant a new vision of hope and love deep within your soul. For the gift of Christmas that the Spirit of God offers contradicts everything we sense and know about the world (the way "things have always been done"). Be ready to hear something new and different this Christmas. Let your life be turned upside down by the Holy Spirit, who shepherds our journey with the infant Jesus (Emmanuel, "God with us") for the moments when we feel no one is by our side.
All this reminds me of a portion of a poem written by Maya Angelou titled "Amazing Peace:"
It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.We, Angels and Mortal's, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.