We often forget the strangeness of this story that comes to
us Because we've cleaned it up and made it so nice and familiar This sweet little baby this silent night all cuddled up and swaddling clothes But it
wasn't like that was it? It was so much more real and raw and messy. A refugee family seeking shelter among
animals A message of social upheaval and
the destruction of the political system that kept things in order. The chosen messengers,
poor and dirty and odd.
A most highly favored lady, but no lady by the queen's standards. This story is all about how things are changing, how God is
flipping the script on the way things have always been, and we are told, do not
be afraid, and maybe, if you got it in
ya, you could sing.
The message of Christmas is completely counter
cultural. Look at how our world has been
wrapped in fear. Segregation, isolation,
the hoarding of resources, contempt for our neighbor, contempt for our planet, the
insidious presence of cynicism that claims everything is terrible. I have
nothing to be grateful for, nothing to be happy about, and that constant
reminder of failed expectations, which allows fear to become the status quo.
But Christmas, Christmas stands in opposite, in opposition
to fear, to bring us a story of how when Mary and the shepherds heard the good
news, heard that God was coming to dwell among us, heard that Jesus was coming
to change the world, their response was to sing.
So singing, we are taught, is the first step in letting joy.
Replace our fears in our lives, our real lives.
When the house is a mess and your kid is whining about how crispy or not
their chicken nugget is, put on some
Lizzo.
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