Songs of Christmas (Luke 1-3)

I don’t know about you, but for me, this year the Christmas season has been different.  Every year we hear the stories of Jesus’ birth, but this year, details and even themes have emerged that, in the past, I hadn’t noticed or hadn’t paid much attention to.  This is due in no small part to the events that have captured the news headlines this month.

Today we have the story of the presentation of the baby Jesus.  Ancient Jewish tradition called for the presentation in the temple, along with a sacrifice of either a sheep, or – if the parents were poor and could not afford a sheep – a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Mary and Joseph were poor.  Most everyone else was, too, thanks to the oppressive reign of Herod and the Roman Empire.  So they came to the temple with their turtledoves or pigeons, to offer a gift in gratitude to God. 

By the way, it is not easy to travel with a pair of turtledoves or pigeons.  Fortunately for Mary and Joseph, there were merchants in the temple courtyard who would gladly sell you what you needed for your offering. 

Unfortunately, the prices on those items were marked up.  The sellers jacked up the prices for their own profit, which they then shared with the temple authorities.  This price gouging deprived poor pilgrims like Mary and Joseph of what little money they had, but what could Mary and Joseph do?  It was just another way that those in control oppressed all those who were poor and humble.

Later, as an adult, Jesus would arrive in that very same courtyard, and in outrage, overturn the tables of the sellers.

Upon entering the temple, Mary and Joseph encountered a holy man named Simeon.  The scripture says that Simeon was holy and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel.

Right here is something I hadn’t paid much attention to before:  the fact that Simeon was looking forward to the consolation of Israel.  The dictionary defines consolation as “the alleviation of suffering, grief, or disappointment by comforting.” 

So, Simeon was looking forward to seeing someone comfort Israel and alleviate Israel’s suffering and grief.

I think our nation has become a little more sensitive to suffering and grief this Christmas season.  For many, suffering and grief is always there.  Society’s celebration of Christmas tries to hide suffering and grief, and yet Christmas itself often emphasizes suffering and grief by reminding people of loved ones who are no longer with them; or, of loved ones who won’t be home for Christmas; or, since it is the last week of the year, Christmas can fill some people with regrets as they look back on a year they wish had turned out a little differently.

But of course, this year we have added to that the fresh memories of the terrible shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.  Just two days before the Sunday of Joy, twenty little children were massacred, along with eight adults counting the shooter. 

And like Simeon, we as a nation have been looking for consolation this Christmas.

The first century was a time of violence.  It was a time of oppression.  It was a time of struggle and suffering for the vast majority of people.  This was their way of life.

It was into this world that Jesus was born, to show a new way.

Shane Claiborne is an amazing young pastor, speaker and author from Philadelphia.  On Christmas Eve, the website for Sojourners magazine published an article he wrote.  I’d like to share part of that article with you:

“The Bible speaks of a terrible massacre as Jesus was born, an unspeakable act of violence as King Herod slaughters children throughout the land hoping to kill Jesus (which the church remembers annually as the massacre of the Holy Innocents). 

“Perhaps the original Christmas was marked more with agony and grief like that in Connecticut than with the glitz and glamour of the shopping malls and Christmas parades. For just as Mary and Joseph celebrated their newborn baby, there were plenty of other moms and dads in utter agony because their kids had just been killed.  

“Emmanuel means “God with us.” Jesus’s coming to earth is all about a God who leaves the comfort of heaven to join the suffering on earth. The fact that Christians throughout the world regularly identify with a victim of violence — and a nonviolent, grace-filled, forgiving victim — is perhaps one of the most fundamentally life-altering and world-changing assumptions of the Christian faith. Or it should be.”

The encounter with Simeon in the temple is important.  You know it’s important, because Luke – like many scripture writers – inserts a song.  Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying,

Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

At last, Israel’s consolation has come.  But the consolation is not just for Israel; it is for all peoples, Jews and Gentiles. 

This is, in fact, a major theme of Luke’s gospel.  Suffering in the world is widespread.  It’s not limited to one tribe or one nation.  And therefore the consolation and salvation of God is likewise not limited to one tribe or one nation.  It is for all peoples.

There are other songs in Luke’s version of the story of Jesus’s birth.  There is the song of Zechariah, traditionally known as the “Benedictus.”  There is Mary’s song, the “Magnificat.”  And there is the song that appears when Zechariah’s son, John the Baptist, begins his ministry.

In each of these songs, we see the themes that will mark Luke’s entire gospel story.  They are Luke’s overture, laying out the themes that will appear and reappear later.  Many of our scripture readings in the coming year will be from Luke’s gospel, and so if we take a good look at these songs, we’ll be prepared for what Luke has to tell us in the months ahead.

And much of what these songs are about is consolation for those who suffer, for the poor, the hungry, the lowly.

And if we look even closer, we’ll discover that this is what Luke means by salvation.  Salvation is, by Luke’s definition, the alleviation of suffering, the comforting of those whose lives are filled with sorrow and grief.

Now, maybe you thought that the Christian definition of salvation was receiving life after death.  Scripture does speak of life after death, but most of the time, when the word salvation is used, it refers to the alleviation of suffering.  It is the healing of God’s people.  It is taking lives that are broken, and making them whole again.

Listen for these themes in the songs of Christmas…

Mary’s song:

“My soul gives glory to 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; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  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.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Right there, in Mary’s song, is Luke’s definition of salvation.

Zechariahs’ song [note how the words salvation, savior and saved are used]:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.  He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.  Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days… By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Of course, the angels had a song, too.  “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying [singing], “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace among those whom he favors.”

We live in a world of violence, suffering and grief.  But we also live in a world which has received God’s consolation, a world which has been shown healing, wholeness and salvation.  There is hope for the hopeless and comfort for the afflicted. 

And this hope and comfort come from God, through us, as we walk the path of kindness.