Will you be following your star this Christmas?

Pre- Reading:

First Reading - Isaiah 40:3-5 - Prepare the Way

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Gospel - Matthew 1:18-25 - The Birth of Christ

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah?took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.?Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.?But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.?She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”?All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:?“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,?and they shall name him Emmanuel,”?which means, “God is with us.”?When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,?but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;?and he named him Jesus.

Reflection:

Casual observers of the Gospels will know there are two versions of the birth of Jesus - only Matthew and Luke detail it and we just heard part of Matthew’s version.? They are quite different in tone and detail and well worth your attention this Advent season.? Matthew’s version written before Luke's is a fairly dark story and one largely for a Jewish audience emphasising Jesus’ royal lineage back to the House of King David. There are of course moments of joy, but essentially Matthew warns of looming darkness - the threat to Jesus’ life from Herod’s decree to murder all new born males followed by the flight to Egypt as refugees. It’s also interesting too that the only ones that speak in the early infancy narratives are the shepherds or angels to reassure Joseph in light of Mary’s predicament of being unmarried and pregnant.

If we look back at the First reading, the coming of the Messiah should not have surprised any Jew who was up with their study of scripture.? The birth of Jesus was after all the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus was to be born of a virgin and that his earthly father Joseph was a descendant of David. That is pretty much re-visited in the Gospel reading in Verses 23 - 25. As I said, Jewish scholars should not have been surprised by the birth of Jesus, the story of those two truths had been doing the rounds for some 600 - 700 years.

For the moment though, let’s come back to Matthew’s account of the birth as we have just heard in the Gospel reading. There is so much in this short excerpt to take away and ponder.

For one, it provides for us an insight into the ancient Jewish customs of the Holy Family’s world. Joseph is described as a ‘righteous man’; though unwilling to expose Mary to public disgrace, nonetheless he planned to dismiss her quietly. “Dismiss her quietly” - that’s a pretty terse turn of phrase isn’t it? A couple of millennia on, we hopefully have learned to treat unmarried mothers with more respect than that.

Later, it is written that when Joseph awoke he did as commanded by the visiting angel - he took Mary as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had born him a son. You see in that short excerpt another confirmation of the traditions and customs of the ancient Jewish world using not so subtle and somewhat jarring patriarchal language.

There are a few ironies in this story too. Despite the fact that the notion of hospitality is so strong in the ancient world and particularly among the followers of the Jewish tradition, nonetheless Joseph found no room at the inn. He and his very pregnant wife were turned away from all of the upper room guest houses and compelled to sleep downstairs among market stalls and animals and the threats of violence from Herod’s henchmen. There is also a stark contrast between Matthew’s version with the three wise men, more likely part time amateur astrologers chasing the Bethlehem Star and Luke’s version of poor shepherds sleeping rough.?

Once again it is the contrast between darkness and light that intrigues me the most with these two versions of Jesus’ birth. While both stories present the newborn Jesus as Saviour they come to it from very different perspectives, one emphasising gloom, one joy.?

There are a few other contrasts too. Matthew’s Gospel highlights Joseph - the loving and protective father and husband.? Luke’s Gospel is all about Mary. Matthew’s story is dominated by the crucifixion. Luke’s story is all about the resurrection. In this story of Matthew from which we have just read, the theme of violence is there from the day of Jesus’ birth through to the day of his death. Luke on the other hand, being the true theologian allows the resurrection to dominate, not only in his Gospel but in its sequel, the Book of Acts which he also wrote. Luke’s is a brighter message of hope and joy.?

While darkness and threat exist, throughout Luke’s account there is the softer, gentler emphasis on Mary’s story and the joy her son Jesus brought to the poor and marginalised. Think of the way it starts too - the visitation by the Angel Gabriel, firstly to Elizabeth, then to Mary; Mary’s 4 - 5 day journey to visit her cousin; the joy of the Magnificat hymn; the description of the unborn child leaping in her womb. It is no small wonder that many biblical scholars refer to Luke’s Gospel as the most beautiful book ever written.

So what do these contrasts mean for us?? There is darkness and light in everyone’s story.? In yours. In mine. Even in Jesus’. The challenge and opportunity for us all is to accept both. To hear the call of the angels just as Mary did and do what is in your heart. To dismiss hurt and pain and show love and compassion instead, just as Joseph did. To not only discover the true star, but to continue to look for it even when it seems to disappear, just like the Maji did.? For them it was a beacon of light guiding them to the newborn King. For us it is like a guide to our soul - in our relationships with each other, our friends, our families, our work colleagues.?

Throughout our life there are times when our star also disappears, usually because of our lack of faith or trust.? The three wise men didn’t turn and head home defeated. They persevered and followed the star in the East to find and worship the newborn Christ child.?

So my question to you in bringing this reflection to a close is what is your Star in the East this Christmas that you will be following? Is it to live a fully Christian life; to take seriously the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor as Pope Francis consistently and continuously asks of us. Is it to put aside your estrangement or pain and embrace forgiveness and compassion as Joseph did? Or will it be to put more thought into the gift giving than the receiving this year. Although we probably on one hand should blame the three wise men for being the Westfield poster boys of gift giving, we also have much to thank them for. Without their search for the Star, without their perseverance, our world may not have come to exist. And without Joseph’s incredible act of faith and acceptance of both light and darkness, the story of Jesus may not have eventuated. And without Mary’s acceptance of the will of God, perhaps our life today would have far less meaning.