The Not-So Virgin Birth
I got a text this morning from a friend asking me to pray for her. Christmas is coming, and she’s so lonely she aches. Meanwhile, my wife and I are frazzled and stressed because this year has been a doozy and of course, instead of relaxing, we’re running around buying gifts. Why do we idealize Christmas-time? Why do we accept sanitized versions of it? Is this time of year ever truly peaceful?
It’s certainly never been sanitary. After an arduous journey, the ancient roads clogged with Jews returning to their homelands in response Caesar’s order for a census, Mary gave birth and placed him in a feeding trough. Even our modern-day nativity sets are barn-yard scenes, not sterile hospital rooms.
Jesus’ Mother was, famously, a Virgin. But that didn’t exactly earn her a good reputation when she started “showing.” Joseph planned to divorce her over it. And Jesus’ grandparents and great-grandparents were anything but. We tend to skip his genealogy when we read the Christmas story, but don’t. Read Matthew 1. It’s a list of Jesus’ ancestors. In it, you’ll discover Boaz’s mom, Rahab, who was a prostitute. Yes, that’s right. Jesus’ great-great-who-knows-how-many-greats-grandmother had sex with men for money.
There is also, “Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife” (Matthew 1:6)? Bathsheba had been Uriah’s wife, until David took her from him, and then killed Uriah. That’s King David, one of the greats of the faith. Like the rest of us, he certainly had a dark side.
Jesus was perfect in every way and never sinned, but God produced him from a lineage of shady characters in a messy, broken world. When Christ is born in us, God does the same thing with our broken, messy lives.
Maybe we’re looking for the wrong kind of peace. In the midst of the loneliness, or the conversations with border-line insane relatives, or the end-of-the-year crunch at work, could the Prince of Peace be there? His Spirit, not yet walking tall and owning the place, but fragile, wrapped in clothes, lying in the mess. What would it mean to notice, feed, and nurture His Spirit?
I’m not talking about later when you get the time, or as soon as you finish your checklist. I mean right now. Could you stop for a moment and look for him? The eyes in your head won’t do– you have to use the eyes in your heart.
As I’m writing, I’m at our office, and my staff is quietly working. I just stopped for a moment to look. It only took a moment, and I saw it: I really love these people. Taking that moment to look didn’t check one thing off of my To Do List, and yet, somehow the list doesn’t seem so long. Maybe it’s not such a big deal if we’re short a gift or two this year, and instead spent some time with my lonely friend.
What about you? Where do you see the Prince of Peace?
