Advent Week 4

Psalm: Luke 1:47-55 or Psalm 80:1-7 
Old Testament: Micah 5:2-5a 
Gospel: Luke 1:39-45, 46-55 
Epistle: Hebrews 10:5-10

Today is the last Sunday before Christmas and so obviously the last Sunday of Advent. Christmas preparations are in full swing and many of us will be getting on the road or on a plane to travel somewhere. It is appropriate then as many of us prepare to travel that our reading this week concerns Mary as she travels to visit her relative, Elizabeth. In fact, the birth of Jesus revolves around 2 different trips: the first to Elizabeth and the second one is of course the trip to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. We have an idealized picture of Mary's pregnancy and Jesus birth, but Mary had to go on two journeys during her pregnancy and these were not like trips we take today. We have an image of Mary on a donkey as she traveled to Bethlehem but it's possible she had to walk the 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem at 8 months pregnant! So as you travel this week imagine Mary and Joseph as they journeyed to Bethlehem. When you experience flight delays, screaming children, or traffic remember that Jesus also entered into our world of chaos and travel.

A lot has been said this year about Jesus' refugee/immigrant status in light of the Syrian refugee crisis. The fact is that Jesus' family had to do a lot of traveling during his early years and most of it was out of their control. I am sure Mary and Joseph did not plan on fleeing to Egypt to save their child from being murdered. Jesus and his family were caught up in greater geo-political climate of their day and this is part of the scandal of God becoming a human. This aspect of Jesus' life, as a refugee, needs to be discussed and reflected on. We need to remove ourselves from the idealized nativity scenes we set up in our houses, (Nothing wrong with those, but we need to recognize what they are) and recognize that Jesus came into a messed up world and had to quickly flee for his life to a foreign country. Perhaps be recognizing that we can have more compassion on the refugees in our midst and see an opportunity to meet Christ in them.

But there are of elements to Jesus' birth, the events immediately preceding it, and his toddler years. Whatever you focus on for each Sunday of Advent or for each year as you move through life, the one element that can't be ignored is that God became a man; not just a man, but a vulnerable baby born to poor parents in a small town in a huge empire. The mystery of the incarnation needs to be explored and reflected on every year. The incarnation is not something that we can ever understand fully, but it is something we need to explore and reflect on. No doubt in some way the idea of the incarnation has been discussed in all of our churches in the past 4 weeks. If you have sang or discussed Immanuel --God with us-- then you have probably discusses the incarnation.

Well, I don't really have any point to this post and I have rambled on for too long. This week is short, but a lot is happening with travels and family time over this week. So as you travel and see family this week, remember that God is Immanuel! Jesus was born into a family that was forced to travel and flee an evil ruler. Jesus knows what we are going through in our hardships and he wants to walk along side us. Let that give us hope this Advent season.

Grace and Peace.