“‘What other Jesus?’”
she asked.
“‘Not baby Jesus,’ he
replied. ‘Big Jesus, who died on the
cross.’”
Karen Ehman realized
that in her young son’s mind there were actually two people named, Jesus. She continues by observing, “We can’t have
one part of the story without the other.
We can never forget that the hand-hewn manger one day became a rugged
cross. Nor can we peer lovingly into
that same manger without looking to the cross.”[i]
This weekend, we
continue our preparation for Christmas by reading about and reflecting on Mary, the
mother of Jesus. On Saturday evening, I
will be preaching on Mary’s “song,” from Luke 1: 46-55. Mary’s song is one of both praise and
prophecy.
The passage begins
with Mary giving thanks for being chosen as the woman who will give birth to
the Messiah. Mary says, “‘My soul magnifies
the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor
on the lowliness of his servant. Surely,
from now on all generations will call me blessed…”(verses 47-48).
Mary’s song is also
one of prophecy, as she looks ahead to Jesus’ life and ministry. Later in her song, Mary proclaims a time of “great
reversal” in society, brought about by Jesus the Messiah:
“He has brought down
the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things, and
sent the rich away empty.”(verses 52-53)
During the Christmas
season, as we focus on the baby Jesus, it is easy to ignore or dismiss the
prophetic vision contained in Mary’s Song.
Yet, if we are Christians of genuine faith, then we must allow our lives
to be transformed by the other Jesus who died on the cross. This transformation includes taking seriously
Mary’s prophetic vision and allowing it to change our outlook and our lives.
We live in a society
that has vast discrepancies in income and wealth. Earlier this week, Robinson Canó, the baseball player, signed a new contract
valued at $240 million. Yet, at the same
time, 20% of children in our society live below the poverty line. How can a truly just society tolerate such
disparities in resources and opportunities?
Jesus expects his
disciples to join with him as partners in establishing God’s Reign on Earth. An important part of being a faithful
Christian is working for social justice within our society. Yet, our churches—as our society—are deeply
divided politically. Within my church in
Meriden, we have Republicans and Democrats, progressives and conservatives, all
worshipping together, side-by-side, in the same pews. As a result, many pastors are afraid to
preach on social justice because they are afraid this topic will divide their
congregation—as a result, Mary’s prophetic vision gets overlooked and ignored.
In my message on
Saturday evening, I will suggest that, despite the risks, faithful Christians
must work for social justice, but that this doesn’t have to divide
congregations. Rather, than focusing on
what divides us, we need to begin with issues where we can agree. For instance,
regardless of our political outlook, we can all agree that human trafficking (modern
slavery) is wrong, and we can join together to stop this injustice. Similarly, regardless of our political
outlook, we can all agree that every child in our society deserves the basic
resources needed to develop their potential in life.
If you live in the Meriden-area and
do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United
Methodist Church. We have two worship
services each weekend:
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
This Saturday evening, I will be
preaching on the “great reversal” in Mary’s Song. On Sunday morning, our Adult Choir will be
performing a Christmas cantata, “Glory to the Newborn King.”
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
[i]
Karen Ehman, Homespun Memories from the
Heart (Ada, Michigan: Revell, A
Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2005).
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