An Iconoclastic Christmas
Year C, 4th Sunday of Advent • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsWe prefer to cling to the fimilarity of the past but God want to break into our lives in new but risky ways.
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Disney Films
Disney Films
Disney Films and/or one of its subsidiary tries to release a new film around the season of Christmas. Many of them have become box office sensations—The Jungle Book, The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Happiest Millionaire which was Walt Disney’s last film, Follow me, Boys, the King Arthur’s legend, the Sword in the Stone, Swiss Family Robinson, the heart breaking film of Old Yeller was released on Christmas Day, the adaptation of the Jules Verne novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and others. This year they have remade that classic film, Mary Poppins. These and many other films have brought hours of cinematic enjoyment to families to the film going public. The success of Disney Films and its theme parks has been so phenomenal that we could easily assume that when Walt Disney drew his first animated sketch he was not guaranteed success.
Animated films had never been done before Disney put pen to paper. He could have made a decent living as a illustrator had he settled for drawing cartoons on paper. But he saw the potential of projecting on a big screen his little drawings and connecting them to a story. He saw things differently than traditional film makers. He became a iconoclast—some who accomplished what the status quo said could not or should not be done. They do it by seeing things differently.
The business and scientific community has scores of success stories about men who refused to accept the traditional way of doing things. Their success is a direct result of their willingness to became iconoclasts. There names are synonomous with innovation and change—Bill Gates and Microsoft Computer, Steve Jobs and Apple and Jeff Bezo and Amazon.
Elizabeth and Mary
Elizabeth and Mary
This brings us to two unintentional iconoclastics in Scripture. They were not willing to let the conventional norms of their culture dictate for them how they viewed one another. Elizabeth was not willing to let the religious community cast a blanket of shame upon Mary.
We read in Luke that after the angel announced that Mary would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit, she made plans to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Upon her arrival the baby who would later become John the Baptist, leaped in Elizabeth’s womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth recognized the significance of the child that Mary was carrying and exclaimed:
In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
She even added:
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
The status quo of the religious community would have required Elizabeth to decline Mary’s visit. She would have turned her back on her relative. Even if she would not publicly condemn her for immorality, Elizabeth could have easily turned her back on this single parent but Elizabeth saw things differently than the status quo, she was an iconoclast.
Upon hearing the Elizabeth’s greeting Mary responds:
God wanted to turn the world upside down. He was preparing to send his Son into the world and he needed willing volunteers. Elizabeth and Mary did not ask to change the world. In a list of objections to the Christian faith a critic wrote “God did not ask Mary’s permission.” The author appeared to be accusing God of rape. That accusation entirely misses the point of the Incarnation and Annunciation. God seldom asks our opinion when he chooses someone for a particularly difficult task. By submitting to God’s will both Elizabeth and Mary demonstrated great strength. In their own way each woman became an iconoclast.
Upon hearing the Elizabeth’s greeting Mary responds:
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Mary has done nothing to deserve God’s attention. She has not achieved great power in Herod’s court. She has not achieved fame for her steadfast devotion of praying in the Temple. She is just an average 14 year old girl living in Nazareth trying to help her family survive Roman occupation. The miracle she held in her womb was a pure gift. But by accepting that gift she joins with God breaking barriers, shattering societal roles that subjected women to male domination. She shows a great deal of strength and insight into the activity of God.
Rather than complain about the burden of her calling, Mary sings with joy.
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
lk 1:
Even a superficial reading of Scripture reveals how God wants to upset the status quo. He grows weary of watching the rich get rich, the poor suffer and the powerless oppressed. Speaking through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah God says that he would
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
She goes on to describe how God intends to do this:
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
Mary understands that God is doing something new in the life of Israel. The arrogant, the proud, the rich, the politically connected will no longer yield power. God is not trapped by political protocol. He is not a respector of the privileged. He will lift up the lowly.
lk 1:50,53
In Mary’s day riches and prosperity were signs of God’s favor. There is even Scriptural basis for this.
The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.
prov
Prov 15:6
Many believe this today. It is very comforting to believe in the Prosperity Gospel. America is enjoy a time of great prosperity. We do not want to consider that our wealth comes from the substandard working conditions in other countries. That might make us feel guilty. We might not be able to enjoy our new Christmas gifts that come from China, India, or Vietnam. (Isn’t that ironic. The country with whom we fought a bitter war, now supplies us with the clothes we war.) But God wanted to upend the prosperity mentality that was prevalent in Jewish thought.
God wanted to turn the world upside down. He was preparing to send his Son into the world and he needed willing volunteers. Elizabeth and Mary did not ask to change the world. In a list of objections to the Christian faith a critic wrote “God did not ask Mary’s permission.” The author appeared to be accusing God of rape. That accusation entirely misses the point of the Incarnation and Annunciation. God seldom asks our opinion when he chooses someone for a particularly difficult task. By submitting to God’s will both Elizabeth and Mary demonstrated great strength. In their own way each woman became an iconoclast. The refuse to believe in all the things that their culture was telling them.
God wanted to turn the world upside down. He was preparing to send his Son into the world and he needed willing volunteers. Elizabeth and Mary did not ask to change the world. In a list of objections to the Christian faith a critic wrote “God did not ask Mary’s permission.” The author appeared to be accusing God of rape. That accusation entirely misses the point of the Incarnation and Annunciation. God seldom asks our opinion when he chooses someone for a particularly difficult task. By submitting to God’s will both Elizabeth and Mary demonstrated great strength. In their own way each woman became an iconoclast.
Iconoclastic Christians Today
Iconoclastic Christians Today
Even a superficial reading of Scripture reveals how God wants to upset the status quo. He grows weary of watching the rich get rich, the poor suffer and the powerless oppressed. Speaking through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah God says that he would
Our culture has done everything it can to make Christmas comfortable. The holiday has become so steeped in tradition that we have a distorted view of the events of the night that Jesus was born.
Did you know that shepherds held the lowest place in Jewish society?
Did you know that the wise men could have come about 2 years after Jesus was actually born?
Did you know that the “inn” was more like a relatives home? Maybe closer to an AirBnB? The stable would have been connected to the house almost like another room.
As we consider how to apply Elizabeth’s and Mary’s words to our lives we should reconsider the word iconoclast.
Have you ever thought about the children who were slaughtered by Herod? There could have been as many as 20.
As we consider how to apply Mary’s words to our lives we must be careful not to merely spiritualize their meaning.
not to lose the literalness of their meaning. Mary’s voice was announcing a new social and political order. Scot McKnight in Christianity Today writes that her words were “a declaration from a voice at the bottom of society. It is a voice crying from the depths that God’s Messiah was finally bringing justice for the poor.”
not to lose the literalness of their meaning. Mary’s voice was announcing a new social and political order. Scot McKnight in Christianity Today writes that her words were “a declaration from a voice at the bottom of society. It is a voice crying from the depths that God’s Messiah was finally bringing justice for the poor.”
These are the difficult facts of the birth of Jesus but we prefer the sentimental story with the angels, shepherds and wise men all converging on that isolated stable at the stroke of midnight.
If we relegate Elizabeth and Mary to a quaint story we lose the importance of their reaction to both their own pregnancy and each others. These two women were not trend setters. They may or may not have participated in the Prolife movement or the #MeToo. But they saw things that others just refused to see. They understood that God was about to do something new.
Through Mary’s voice God was announcing a new social and political order. Scot McKnight in Christianity Today writes that her words were “a declaration from a voice at the bottom of society. It is a voice crying from the depths that God’s Messiah was finally bringing justice for the poor.”
Too often we limit the coming of Jesus to his role as our personal Savior. Yes he did come to bring forgiveness of sin but he also came to turn the world upside down. The first would last and the last would be first. The rich would recognize their poverty and the poor would depend on God alone for their riches. Mary says it better than I can:
…the inner thoughts of the proud are scatter
…rulers are brought down from their thrones
…the rich are sent away empty
…the humble are lifted up
…the hungry are fed
When I reflect on Elizabeth’s and Mary’s focuses my ministry I am challenged to discover the unconventional; to see the needs that no one else sees; to look at the world differently than the status quo; to be involved with human suffering at a personal level; to serve those who have-not.
We can still enjoy the manger scenes. We can still sing the traditional Christmas carols but we should not forget that whenever anyone gets close to Jesus they become iconoclasts.