Teen Mom

In 2009 MTV released a reality TV series that followed the lives of 6 young High School girls whose lives were unexpectedly changed forever. The reason why was pretty self explanatory — the show was called “16 and Pregnant.” Any body remember that show? It was quickly followed up by another show that followed the lives of these girls and their children called “Teen Mom.”

Honestly, I was well beyond my teenage years when these shows came out, but they captivated my attention, along with the attention of the greater world because they told a story that for so long was swept under the rug, hidden, and shamed.

I remember the few young women from my high school who lived the life of these young ladies — pregnant and young. Mostly what I remember is that one day they just simply fell off the face of the earth.

I grew up just outside of Philadelphia and our school districts had special programs for young ladies who got pregnant. Which is probably very helpful and supportive in its own way, but didn’t help with the social stigma and shame that surrounds teen pregnancy. It’s like there is just an unescapable desire to sweep these people under the rug… to hide them from public eye.

If you are joining us for the first time, we’ve been in a series for the past 4 weeks, looking at a whole host of Characters from Jesus’s family tree that were considered “Bad Company.” You know, those people that you don’t really want to invite over for Christmas dinner. We’ve looked at 4 women who had questionable pasts, occupations, families of origin, or were victims of abuse. And tonight we finish out that series by talking about the final woman listed in Jesus’s family tree in Matthew 1. So this is the tail end of a long list of names but we’ll skip right to the important part for tonight:

Matthew 1:16 NRSV

and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Mary Mary. You might have heard of her. She’s kind of a big deal. Mother of Jesus. You know, the LORD.

But I think what we sometimes overlook - because of her status as the mother of Jesus the messiah - is that before she was the mother of Jesus the messiah she was just Mary. A Teenage girl who was set to marry a carpenter named Joseph and to live out her days as a devout Jewish wife and eventually mother.

Then one day all of that changed. About 9 Months before the manger birth, we find this story:

Luke 1:26–35 NRSV

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.

It sounds really good to us 2000 years later. Like wow. What an incredible and honored set of circumstances Mary has found herself in.

But do you know what we call people who talk to Angels in 2023? In need of psychiatric help right? And that sentiment is not far off from what Mary’s family, friends, and community would have thought… let alone the guy she’s supposed to marry.

Like hey Joe, um weird thing happened. Don’t freak out, but I talked to an angel and I’m pregnant but the baby is God.

Riiiiiiight.

That doesn’t go well, Here’s Joseph’s reaction:

Matthew 1:18–19 NRSV

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

I don’t know about you but I’ve always read this like “Oh Joey was a righteous guy. He’s gonna do Mary a solid here.” But the more I read it the more I get hung up on that word — dismiss. Pushed away quietly. Swept under the rug. Hide the shame.

Like take away the extremely divine circumstances, and Mary is just an unwed pregnant teenager. Wouldn’t want to be attached to all of that baggage… plus no one would believe that it wasn’t Joseph’s and there’s always that shame of having a child before your wedding.

So the natural inclination is to detach, send Mary away.

The good news is like immediately an Angel shows up and changes Joseph’s mind. But still, we are talking about a world where this wasn’t just something that was happening between a couple of engaged kids. This is a world where large families and a community were involved. This was life in a small town, so Mary eventually does decide that it’s best for her to take a little time away.

The angel tells her that her family member in another town is also pregnant. And Mary sets out.

Luke 1:39–45 NRSV

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary goes, and she finds the support and the love that she needs in the arms of another family member who doesn’t see her as 16 and pregnant. She finds refuge in the home of her aunt who recognizes that she is so much more. She is the mother of the Messiah.

Now listen, if I had you for longer than 15-20 minutes we’d get into more of the weeds here. But I don’t, and you’ve got things to do. The point of all of this is that God could have come and stepped into human history in any number of ways.

But God chose to come into this world as a baby born to an unwed pregnant teenager. God chose to have a teen mom — The people that our natural inclination is to hide from public view, to sweep under the rug, to dismiss, to send away.

And that is very good news for each and every one of us because we’ve all got some circumstances in our lives that we feel like alienate us from our families, our friends, and our communities. Maybe you aren’t 16 and pregnant, but maybe you’re dealing with something else.

But I’m here to tell you that your past and even your present don’t define who you are. You are a person who is deeply cared for and loved by God. God came to this world in the form of a baby born in a manger to a teenage girl so that he could have a relationship with you.

But you know what? Before Mary knew her baby boy — the savior of the world — Mary knew her cousin Elizabeth. Mary knew the love of a person who deeply cared for her, understood her situation, and gave her a place to find rest in the midst of the world changing storm she found herself in.

And my prayer this Christmas is that you find that safe space too. A space where you can hear the voice of God calling and reminding you that you are so very deeply loved. Know that this is one of those spaces where you can find healing and rest. If the rest of the world thinks you are “bad company” know that in God’s family and in this church you’re just the company we want. That’s the message of Christmas this year. You, my friends are good company. And I’m so glad you’re here.