Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the
Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to
Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the
Holy Spirit. 19
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to
public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this
took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him
Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph
awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as
his wife, 25
but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he
named him Jesus.
Here
are all the ingredients of a scandal: a pregnant, unmarried, young girl in a
rural village; a righteous, upstanding man of the community who discovers that
his fiancé is pregnant – and he knows that he is not the father; add to this angels, a spiritual impregnation, and sexual abstinence and this is the stuff of the
tabloid press.
Jesus
was not born into genteel, refined living. He arrived in the middle of the village
scandal, and spent the rest of his life bringing God’s love into scandals.
Christmas reminds Jesus-followers that ours is a faith that is rooted in poor, messy,
complicated, real-life situations. Let us commit ourselves this Christmas to bring
something of Jesus’ love to someone who is currently embroiled in a messy life
situation.
Second Sunday in Advent
4. God is with us
The Scripture passage for
the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer
for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 32.
This reflection is from my own
devotional exercises for the day.
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