The Promised Hope for Peace

Today’s gospel reading from Luke is a portion of what might be called a preamble or an overture to the Christmas story.  The entire first chapter of Luke is about four events that happened prior to the story of Jesus’ birth.  First, there is the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist.  An angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and said to him, “ your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.”

Next, the angel Gabriel came to Mary and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God."

After these appearances by the angel to Zechariah and Mary, Mary visited Elizabeth.  “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’”  Mary then sang her song of praise, the familiar Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

We then learn about the birth of John the Baptist, and hear Zechariah’s prophecy, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.”  Only after informing us of all these events does Luke’s Gospel relate the story of the birth of Jesus.

Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, in their book titled The First Christmas, discuss the birth narratives in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.  They examine their historical context and what these stories mean at the time they were written and what they mean for us today.  We conflate these two stories of Jesus’ birth in our Christmas celebration, but they are different in what they emphasize.  Matthew seems to portray Jesus as the New Moses who like Moses was rescued.  In the story from Exodus Moses led the people out of Egypt to escape Pharaoh’s pursuit.  In Matthew’s story Jesus and his parents go down to Egypt to escape king Herod's wrath.  The lives of Moses and Jesus are spared in each of these accounts. 

The Gospel of Luke has a different emphasis.  Luke sees Jesus in contrast to Caesar Augustus, who was acclaimed as son of the god Apollo.  Luke’s inclusion of the shepherds is about his concern for the poor and the marginalized.  Borg and Crossan tell us that these stories challenged the domination system of their day.  Herod was known as “king of the Jews, and Caesar was referred to as “son of God” and savior or light of the world.  The point is that these stories of Jesus’ birth serve as a parable and contain within them an overture of the whole gospel.

The time in which these stories occur is important.  There is a striking contrast between the Roman imperial kingdom and the kingdom of God.  As Borg and Crossan state both kingdoms are about peace.  The Roman kingdom focused on peace through war and victory, whrereas God’s kingdom was about peace through justice.  Their book goes on to talk about the differences in genealogy in Matthew and Luke and the theological images of light, fulfillment, and joy.

All of us love the Christmas story but our tendency is to view it as a sentimental story about the birth of Jesus as a baby.  We don’t normally probe more deeply and ask about its meaning either for the time in which it was written or for our time today.  Borg and Crossan love the story but they also want us to know about its implications and meaning as a word of warning at the time it was written and as a word of hope both then and now..

In thinking about this and reflecting on today’s Gospel we can have a renewed appreciation for the angel’s visit to Mary.  The angel Gabriel said to Mary, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.  Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Mary was startled by this news and she said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

The angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary in its historical context is a revolutionary story. An amazing event is about to happen.  It is an event that will strike awe in everyone, an event that will bring hope and joy to the whole world.  Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  Then the angel departed from her.  This week we shall celebrate the birth that brought hope, peace and joy to the world.  Amen.