What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. John 1:5 (MSG)

Jesus Birth – The Christmas Series – Part 6

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

For the Israelites, Jesus birth was not the nativity scene we put on our mantels at Christmas. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, it wasn’t like all the people in all the lands knew about it and breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost like Jesus birth happened in secret, hidden away in the busy and mess of a census designed to wring more taxes out of an already impoverished and overtaxed nation. It is believed that those living in the Ancient Near East in Jesus time were taxed up to 80% of their income. Perhaps even more.

So when Jesus was born, the minds of the people were elsewhere.

How will we get by?
Is anyone coming to save us from Rome?
When will the Messiah avenge our Freedom?
Will I be able to put food on the table?
How will I care for my children?
Sacrifice at Temple?
How can I avoid the Tax Collectors?
I think I’m sick; I can’t be sick…
I’m so close to losing my lands.
I’ve lost my lands…

The Israelites were experiencing great pain and oppression. I can imagine every night, ordinary families like you and I, prayed for justice, mercy and reprieve.

Like hope often does, Jesus birth happened in darkness, barely noticed. Oh, the signs were there if you knew where to look… But God dwells in peculiar places like stars in the sky, angels appearing to Shepherds, and an illegitimate child born to an un-married girl in a place not her home. The community would have known Mary was pregnant out of wedlock, and you can guarantee they didn’t all think to themselves “It’s OK, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary… She’s surely a virgin, pregnant with the child of God. Oh, what a joyous Miracle!”

No.

Mary would have been whispered about. Turned away at temple. Turned away at the table. Shunned in the marketplace. Barely accepted by her family, probably only because Joseph was still willing to marry her.

Pain and scandal crowded Christ's birth from all sides. We so easily forget this in our day and age because we have things to buy and parties to go to and trees to decorate. But on that very first Christmas day when no one knew it was Christmas day, hope was born. Over the years it grew, out of sight and mind, but strong and determined. By the time that hope fanned into flame, Jesus defied expectation and lived the message of love, redemption, and reconciliation. Of peace, not through violence and domination, but sacrifice, generosity, and grace.

But on the day that he was born, when that hope was just a flicker in a back room in a crowded city hardly noticed by anyone, the darkness got a little less ominous. Jesus joined us in our pain, and therefore ultimately, in our hope for healing.

In an interview, Frederick Buechner said:

“It seems to me that in a way, you could say that the world itself is a manger where God is continually being born into our lives, into the things that happen to us.”

Tonight we’ll gather around a table and choose to bear witness to the pain of the Israelites as it represents the deep pains that are tearing our world apart. We’ll take a moment and be silent for the people of Aleppo and Syria, for refugees and those enslaved and trafficked. We’ll bear witness to those who have been abused and hurt, for those who are under the boot of empire; for our beautiful earth being plundered and tortured; for the sick and the lonely, the frustrated and the heartbroken… and the pain that resides with our own selves.

And then we’ll light a candle knowing that the birth of Jesus shows us that it is in the midst of great pain that hope is born.

“What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.” (John 1:5 MSG).

Go to Part 7 – Merry Christmas »

Written by Liz Milani

(Join us this Christmas for our exclusive Advent Series – get a sample here)

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