Empires and Wombs
Christmas
“In the days of empires and puppet regimes, God speaks… through wombs,” Drew Jackson God Speaks Through Wombs
Mary was swollen all over as the donkey plodded along. There was little comfort to be found on a 4 day journey in her third trimester, sleeping each night on the ground.
But there were no alternatives. She was a poor woman living in occupied territory. When Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken, there were no exemptions. When he said go, you went, no matter what plans you had. When Rome said pay up for your property, you had to pay. When Rome said give your allegiance to us, give us your sons for war, what they meant was, we own you. Everything you have, everything you produce, your very life is mine.
And so they went down to Bethlehem, just a few more migrants displaced by political threat, wandering through the desert. Being the more ‘slow-moving’ of the travelers, there was nowhere left to stay when they finally arrived in Bethlehem. They walked the streets of David’s town looking for a place, any place to lay their heads.
As the darkness closed in, someone offered a stable out back. And so amongst the sleeping cattle, Mary laid down in the hay, finally at rest. But all the jostling on that donkey had brought along her labor. She could tell the time was near: the baby would soon be born. She turned the words of the angel over again in her mind: “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, his kingdom will never end.” She breathed out. She wouldn’t always belong to Rome, bound by a far-off emperor's decrees. God was coming close, bringing a new order, a new King who would bring down rulers from their thrones and lift up the humble. Perhaps tonight that little King would come. The time of prophecies, fulfilled.
It was night, the sky grown black with darkness. Night was the time of fear, of danger. That’s why the shepherds were awake. Hungry animals lurked in the dark, drawn near by the smell of the sleeping sheep. In the quiet countryside, the night grew long, the shepherds kept watch.
Night is the time of danger. But it is also the time when a mother’s hormones ripen for birth, when contractions push forth new life. It is a time of pain, but also of hope and anticipation. And so into the darkness of that fearful night, the light broke forth. God issued his own decree: “I bring you good news of great joy for all people” said the angel to the shepherds. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
The watching shepherds were terrified. Their mouths wide open with awe as the whole host of heaven appeared in splendor before their eyes. That host of angels which surrounds God’s heavenly throne had come down to their very farm. The shepherds looked on as the chasm between heaven and earth was shut and the the angels broke out in song: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.”
Heaven and earth were coming together in the birth of this child. A new era was beginning. A time of peace. A time of reconciling joy. A time when the highest heavens came down and lowly shepherds were lifted up into the glory of God. And so the shepherds hurried off to Bethlehem, wandering the streets, listening for that newborn cry. But what a sign the angel had given: A King in a feed trough? How strange!
When they finally peaked their heads into the proper stable, they excitedly told Mary and Joseph of the heavenly angels who had split open the darkness with light and song; a stark contrast to the ordinary sight of that baby lying there, legs scrunched up in the hay, vulnerable and helpless; dependent on the care of others like every other newborn child. But when the shepherds looked upon his jerky arms and heard his raspy cry, they believed he was the Messiah, the Lord. That He would bring peace to all darkness and joy to all people. And so they went out from that place, glorifying God that heaven had come to earth in this little boy, telling everyone that the darkness was not just filled with danger, but with hope, with new birth.
No one can bring us to our knees like a tiny newborn. Swords and guns cannot melt hard hearts or bring out the tenderness deep within us like a slowly blinking, drooly baby. Our God does not need swords or spears to turn the world upside down. Our God speaks through wombs, into the dark. He moves not through emperors and soldiers, but through infants and shepherds, for His law is love and his gospel is peace (says the carol). Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother and in this child’s name, all oppression shall cease!
It was no accident that the sign the angel gave was a manger of all things. For it is there in that dirty feed trough, smelling of breastmilk that we see the kind of Kingdom that baby was bringing. In the manger we see a baby who was the very Son of God, descended to the lowest place. We see Shepherds, the lowest and least powerful of all, lifted up as the first to be brought in on God’s joyful decree; empowered to go out and proclaim the Good News of God’s coming. We will see wise Men who will soon leave their thrones in search of this stable, bringing gifts and bowing down before Him. / The Manger is the place that brings us together, that brings all of us to our knees. The place of prophecies, fulfilled.
All along we thought we had to move up to meet God, but here Christ is in the manger, calling us to come low; drawing us near to one another in tenderness, forgiveness, and love. Jesus, God from God, light from light, has descended first so we can joyfully follow, forsaking our power and prestige to come to the manger. For God has sent his son down to earth not with the power to oppress, but to reconcile. And in Him the chasm between heaven and earth is closing, the chasm between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak is coming to an end. Fall on your knees! O hear the angel chorus! For His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Caesar Augustus issued a decree, claiming his sovereignty over the world, claiming the people as his own. But to poor shepherds and to us, the angels proclaim a different decree: Unto us a Son is given - the time of empire is coming to an end. Augustus may think he is in control, but even now, another census is taking place. God is gathering His people at the manger. A new era is beginning. A time of peace and tenderness. A time of reconciling joy. A time when the highest heavens come down and the poor are lifted up into the glory of God. Keep watch, for the darkness is not just filled with danger anymore, but with hope, with new birth. For Christ is the Lord! O Praise His name forever! His power and glory evermore proclaim!
Wonderful! So well said!