Advent

December 20, 2020

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

We have in this scripture an interesting juxtaposition. One woman who bore the shame of being unable to conceive throughout the fertile time of her life suddenly becomes pregnant, and a young woman, unmarried, becomes pregnant too soon. Although she was engaged to the future groom, he knew the baby was not his. These women were caught in the sting of their culture’s norms.

Much of my work as a social worker dealt with helping people overcome the culture we live in. It is a two-part challenge, first, advocating for a person to be accepted for their talents and abilities. And second, helping individuals not internalize and become the cultural stereotypes that have been projected on them for most of their lives.  I do not know how many grade-school age girls I observed who made straight A’s in school suddenly start falling behind after reaching puberty and eventually having a baby out of wedlock when they are 14 or 15 years old. They have been acculturated to believe that their worth is tied to being subservient to a male. The church must take a lot of responsibility for that not only being passed through the church but into the larger culture.

Our first priority in life is serving God. Second in importance, if we choose to be parents is to be the best we can be. There are no more important roles in life than being parents, both fathers and mothers, at the right time and under appropriate circumstances. The African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child is also right. We all are called to nurture and encourage children, assure that they have adequate food, clothing, and shelter; quality health care; and education. Approximately 40 percent of our population does not have access to basic needs. That is missing the mark. Our society accepts this vicious cycle of poverty. Most of these people work but do not earn enough to provide for their families.

Jesus had to deal with this same problem. He taught us to feed the hungry, care for the sick.  He did not lead us to reinforce stereotypical behavior. We take for granted being served by a waitress who is being paid in Oklahoma $2.13 per hour with the expectation that the remaining salary is made up through tips to achieve the minimum wage at $7.25.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for burying our heads in the sand to the way we are allowing our neighbors to live in poverty.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.