not a hallmark christmas, part 1
During this Advent season, I have spent a lot of time reading the Traditional Prayers of Christmas from the Gospel of Luke – these are the Song of the Virgin Mary (The Magnificat), the Song of Zechariah (The Benedictus), and the Song of Simeon (The Nunc Dimittis).These prayers are a response to what God is up to in the world. Mary sings in response to the news of her pregnancy. Zechariah sings in response to the birth of his son, who became known as John the Baptist. Simeon sings in response to seeing Joseph and Mary bring a 40 day old Jesus to the Temple.
These songs are in response to pregnancy and birth. These are about infants, the most innocent form of humanity. In light of this, what began to hit me was what was sung in these prayers. The prayers are prophetic and speak of subversive movements that changed the course of history.
In the Magnificat, Mary says of God, “… God has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”
In the Benedictus, Zechariah sings in response to the birth of his son, “…He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he said through his holy prophets of long ago, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
In the Nunc Dimttis Simeon says, “…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." He then turns to Jesus’ mother and says, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel.”
This is interesting language. I began to think that we may have sanitized the Christmas Story way too much. Think about the nativity scene that you might have in your house. Mary, a young Middle Eastern woman, has just given birth to a child in a barn. Yet our nativity sets show a white (almost pink) Mary in a blue silken bath robe sitting up with a large smile on her face at a sparkling clean baby Jesus. Where is the blood, the agony of labor pain, and how did Jesus get so clean and why is he so calm?
These might sound like gross questions, but let’s be honest if we want a perfect scene regarding the birth, is it possible we may also want a perfect scene when it comes to the world into which Jesus was born? According to Matthew his birth caused a King to slaughter all kids under the age of two in Bethlehem and its surrounding towns. This is typically not a part of the story, for some reason we want a star, a cute baby, and a compliant white skinned Mary.
However, from the “manger scene”, to the slaughter of children, to the political prayers prayed by the characters involved in the story the first Christmas was anything but a perfect, prime-time, made-for-television movie. Jesus was born into a violent world. He came to a group of people who lived under the oppression of the Roman Empire. He was born into a world in which God’s people were desperate for justice and liberation.
There in that manger, where Jesus was “asleep on the hay” the hopes of generations was realized. There in that barn, God had once again heard the cry of his people amidst the brutal oppression of an evil empire. In that moment a child was born – bringing hope to the oppressed. This event caused a young virgin to praise God, an old priest to see God’s salvation, and a devout man in the Temple to prophesy about him as the fulfillment of God’s program.
At Denver Community Church, we spent time this Advent Season exploring these prayers. If you would like to listen to this teaching you can click on this link: DCC Teaching or subscribe to our podcast by clicking here: DCC Podcast
These songs are in response to pregnancy and birth. These are about infants, the most innocent form of humanity. In light of this, what began to hit me was what was sung in these prayers. The prayers are prophetic and speak of subversive movements that changed the course of history.
In the Magnificat, Mary says of God, “… God has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”
In the Benedictus, Zechariah sings in response to the birth of his son, “…He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he said through his holy prophets of long ago, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
In the Nunc Dimttis Simeon says, “…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." He then turns to Jesus’ mother and says, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel.”
This is interesting language. I began to think that we may have sanitized the Christmas Story way too much. Think about the nativity scene that you might have in your house. Mary, a young Middle Eastern woman, has just given birth to a child in a barn. Yet our nativity sets show a white (almost pink) Mary in a blue silken bath robe sitting up with a large smile on her face at a sparkling clean baby Jesus. Where is the blood, the agony of labor pain, and how did Jesus get so clean and why is he so calm?
These might sound like gross questions, but let’s be honest if we want a perfect scene regarding the birth, is it possible we may also want a perfect scene when it comes to the world into which Jesus was born? According to Matthew his birth caused a King to slaughter all kids under the age of two in Bethlehem and its surrounding towns. This is typically not a part of the story, for some reason we want a star, a cute baby, and a compliant white skinned Mary.
However, from the “manger scene”, to the slaughter of children, to the political prayers prayed by the characters involved in the story the first Christmas was anything but a perfect, prime-time, made-for-television movie. Jesus was born into a violent world. He came to a group of people who lived under the oppression of the Roman Empire. He was born into a world in which God’s people were desperate for justice and liberation.
There in that manger, where Jesus was “asleep on the hay” the hopes of generations was realized. There in that barn, God had once again heard the cry of his people amidst the brutal oppression of an evil empire. In that moment a child was born – bringing hope to the oppressed. This event caused a young virgin to praise God, an old priest to see God’s salvation, and a devout man in the Temple to prophesy about him as the fulfillment of God’s program.
At Denver Community Church, we spent time this Advent Season exploring these prayers. If you would like to listen to this teaching you can click on this link: DCC Teaching or subscribe to our podcast by clicking here: DCC Podcast