In the past two days the Daily Office has introduced the
prophet Haggai into our Advent readings.
The Jews have returned from captivity in Babylon, and Haggai is
instructing the people to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. What I find striking about these readings is
the shift from contemplation to action.
So far in Advent we have heard cries from our tradition to “prepare the way of the Lord” by being “quiet”
and “still.” From our Scriptures
we have heard “prepare the way of the
Lord” by questioning, reflecting and acknowledging our practices and apathy
towards social injustice and religious hypocrisy. Now with Haggai we hear “prepare the way of
the Lord” through action; the people are to re-build, because God is
restoring.
“work, for I am with you,
says the LORD of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came
out of Egypt. My spirit abides among
you; do not fear. For thus says the LORD
of hosts: Once again, in a little while,
I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land”
For me, action is the most familiar approach to
preparation. You don’t prepare for a
hurricane by “sitting and being quiet,” you move, you act. You don’t prepare for dinner with the in-laws
by lamenting your sins (that is their job), you have to act, cook, and set
the table. But in order to prepare, we
have to know what we are preparing for: you don’t set the table for a
hurricane, or board up the windows for the in-laws (usually). So what are we preparing for? Here is what we know:
In a severely religious
and patriarchal culture, a young teenage girl, who is promised to an older man
is found to be pregnant. Whether the pregnancy
is from rape, a teenage love gone wrong, or being a “whore,” is of little
consequence. The older man, knowing it is not
his, is kind and will dismiss her to shame and destitution quietly. However, he believes he has a dream from God
telling him to take the teenage girl for his wife. Does he still have doubts? I imaging he does, but he acts on faith, and
as a poor day-laborer what are his prospects?
The family and village have quite a different response. They will take notice of a sudden wedding and
a pregnant bride. They will know that
either the teenage girl was defiled by someone else…to the girl’s shame. Or, they will believe the older man just
couldn’t keep his hands off her…to the man’s shame (though less so). This all may be overlooked if this family had
clout or money, but they have neither.
He is a day laborer and from a town of low-repute. By a government edict they are forced to
travel to another town for a census.
Upon arriving to this new town they need a place to stay; low-class and
poor they try to find room at a few inns, but because of price, vacancy, or
general judgement they are refused to be allowed into any human habitation. The only solution the town comes up with is a
stable or cave; this is literally the lowest of the low.
This is the stage set for the birth of God’s Triumphant Messiah. I return to the questions: What are we
preparing for? And how do we prepare for it?
We are preparing for a Divine Scandal. We are preparing for a child born out of
scandal, to a poor and homeless family.
The father, a day laborer, isn’t even the father; and the mother is
literally nothing in this society. This
is how Jesus comes to us…so how do we prepare in action? We can contemplate the plight of the poor; we
can be quiet about the poetic beauty of the story; but how do we prepare in our
daily lives to receive Jesus and the Holy Family in the poor?
First, I don’t think these preparations should be, or can be,
contained in the season of Advent. But I
do think it is important to begin to plan how we will serve Jesus in the
marginalized. For me, I try to volunteer
at inclusive community events that welcome and feed all people. I also volunteer to staff homeless shelters,
and sometimes give rides to people who need it.
I know of others who try to find housing for homeless men and women, and
try to get them adequate medical care. I
know others who work with disabled veterans suffering from PTSD and substance
abuse. I know of others that work at
missions and make sure as many people as they are able are fed, clothed and
sheltered. And I know others still who listen
and try to provide what they can in their busy schedules; approaching all
people with little or no judgement, in a spirit of fraternal care. We are meeting Jesus…but the Church in the
season of Advent is calling us again to action…to prepare for the Holy Family.
I would like to call us to action. How can we prepare to care for the knocked-up
unwed mothers? For the day-laborers
trying to provide for themselves and their families? For those who are shut out from shelters of
dignity because of status, wealth or disability? What I am asking is how do we prepare for the
Holy Families all around us?
How do we prepare to participate in God’s Scandal?
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