Christmas Reflection 2022
I read Psalm 62 this morning and then turned to Luke 1 and 2.
As I have written before, nothing nauseates me quite like the phrase "the magic of Christmas." We can talk about the miracle of the incarnation and how it took place, but there is no such thing as magic and especially not when it applies to the Nativity.
And Luke lets us know that. Supernatural events took place, but they took place for very real, earthy people living in near poverty (for their times and geography), people who had to live with the consequences, had to pay taxes (no miracles there), had to hike about 40 miles because the Roman governor got a bright idea. They took place for a girl who would face gossip all her life for her "surprise," pre-marital pregnancy and who couldn't have her mother with her when she delivered her first baby (there was a midwife--men did not deliver babies, people, so get that out of your head). They took place for a confused man unsure how to respond to all this baby-birthing of a son he knew was not his, for outcast shepherds, and for people in Bethlehem and nearby Jerusalem who didn't have a clue.
Even in Mary's song of praise, Luke 1, very close to Hannah's in I Samuel 2, she is aware of the social, political, and economic conditions of her existence, that they are real, even if temporary (not mutually exclusive):
“My soul [i]magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
And Psalm 62 is therefore relevant, very, today:
Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my [a]defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.[b]
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my [c]expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be [d]moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Surely men of low degree are [e]a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor.
10 Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.
11 God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.......
My Franky Planner quote today is: "I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take Christmas a little at a time, all through the year." (David Grayson)
I would add we try to pack in our worship and devotion and generosity.
Power belongs to God, He has shown great strength with His arm, and He who is mighty has done great things for me. For us. Every day. Every minute.
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