After the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to bear a son who would be savior of the world, Frederick Buechner once wrote,

"The angel, the whole creation, even God himself, all hold their breath as they wait upon the answer of a girl."

The Gospel, meaning “Good News,” brings us into the story of Jesus, from his birth to his resurrection; in other words, our salvation story. Even though the telling of that story provides us with rich variations, we always end up where Jesus wanted us to be: confident of his divine presence with us in our world.

The nativity story begins with Mary being troubled by an angel who announced that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her, and she would bear a child, the savior of the world. (Lk 1:35) We celebrate that kept promise on Christmas Day every year.

The story ends near the end of Jesus’s life, as he prepares to return to his Father. But wait! Here is the promise we should hold onto: Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth….” (Jn 14:16-17a) This promise is enough to trouble us so much so, that we often forget what is too powerful to behold, much like Mary’s mysterium tremendum et fascinans. As theologian Frederick Buechner wrote, the angel Gabriel’s wings trembled, waiting for Mary’s answer.

God “has routed the proud and all their schemes; he has brought down monarchs from their thrones, and raised on high the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (Lk. 1:51, REB). So sang Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her song of praise, the Magnificat, as she awaited his birth.

When Ben Wildflower’s “Magnificat” print, shown here, was released in 2016, it caused quite a stir. Some folks found it hard to believe that the words came straight from scripture. So … how many centuries have we been listening to this dangerous song and not really paying attention?

You can read on the internet that several repressive regimes have actually banned the recitation or public display of the Magnificat’s words, finding them too threatening. Like many things you read on the internet, this may not actually be true. But if we pay attention to these challenging words, such a ban is certainly plausible.

While Christmas, indeed, brings “tidings of comfort and joy,” Mary’s words remind us that the incarnation of Jesus Christ is challenging and disruptive. It does nothing less than threaten the status quo and turn the world upside down.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said long ago, Mary’s Magnificat “is the most passionate, most vehement, one might almost say, most revolutionary” Christmas carol ever written. It tells of a God who challenges our expectations and offends our sentimental pieties. As Bonhoeffer put it (altered for inclusive language), “Where people say, ‘lost,’ God says ‘found;’ where people say, ‘condemned,’ God says ‘redeemed;’ where people say ‘no,’ God says ‘yes.’ Where people look with indifference or superiority, God looks with burning love, such as nowhere else is to be found. Where people say, ‘contemptible!’ God cries, ‘blessed.’”

Yes, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. But even more, I wish us all a transformative Christmas, one that threatens our status quo and reshapes how we see the world.

Please share Reflection freely by forwarding any issue (forward in its entirety), but remember to respect copyright laws by not altering, copying, or reproducing Reflection, text or photos, whole or in part, without written permission.

Copyright (c) 2021 Soul Windows Ministries