Liturgy of Week 2
An Invitation into this Space:
The story of Christmas is full of
what seems like impossibilities.
A 13 year old virgin girl is found
to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
In this patriarchal and religious society,
she isn’t put to death for being unmarried
and found with child.
An elderly woman gives birth to a child.
This child “praise breaks” in her womb
in the presence of God.
A 9 month pregnant woman travels 558 miles to a city
for a census and doesn’t go into labor or injure the child on the journey.
An unlimited God enters a limited form just to be personal with us.
Christmas is God’s advertisement that the impossible is possible.
In his coming, he showed us that miracles didn’t stop with our ancestors.
They are a present reality.
Meditate on the Words of this Scripture:
“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—
we heard it with our own ears,
saw it with our own eyes,
verified it with our own hands.
The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes;
we saw it happen! ”
1 John 1:1 (MSG)
A Reflection:
Have you ever touched the impossible before?
Have you ever touched the impossible before?
My dad buys these wooden puzzles sometimes. You know, the brain teasers with the wooden interlocking shapes you have to try and take apart? So many times I get stumped trying to solve them. I claim that it’s physically impossible for solid shapes to bend together like that!
All throughout the New Testament, Jesus’ friends talk about how their experience of him was just like this. John says,
“with our ears….”
“with our eyes….”
“with our hands….”
…we experienced something that for centuries was only an idea preachers spoke about, teachers argued about, and people held out faith for!
All the blood, sweat, tears, and prayers of people everywhere were answered in his arrival! Touch the impossible this Advent. Listen to the words the Angel spoke to Mary.
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
A Benediction:
What are we to say about these things that happened in our midsts?
How are we ever to make the claim that God isn’t at work?
What I love about the way Jesus was born is that his forming in Mary’s womb already breaks our religious boxes. I remember when I was 13, my Church youth group started a purity class. The concerns were a bit uneven. The biggest fear expressed was teenage pregnancy. I often wondered what they would have told Mary.
Christmas shatters our Hallmark expectations.
Maybe not a room in the inn, how about the crowded animal quarters.
Maybe not family and friends visiting and supporting, how about shepherds.
Maybe not a birthing class, how about your 70 year old aunt Elizabeth who is also pregnant?
Christmas is a great reminder that God may have other things planned.
