Christmas Eve Homily - 8
Series:Christmas Homilies
Vermon Pierre
Luke 1:79
Childbirth to me is very very strange event. Things tearing, stretching, pulling. Goo and blood and other strange slippery fluids coming out everywhere.
Very strange. And also somewhat unpredictable. Bit of uncertainty behind any childbirth, even today with all our medical advances and technology. We can’t predict exactly when pregnant woman will begin contractions. Can’t predict exactly what will happen during childbirth.
But we have come long way compared to 1st century. Childbirth back in 1st century wasn’t just uncertain, it was also very risky. Infant mortality rate extremely high, especially among peasants.
But no childbirth as uncertain or as dangerous as birth of Jesus. Certainly, all physical dangers and uncertainty about childbirth were at play for Mary and Joseph. They were not wealthy couple, and did have benefit of a midwife or servants like a wealthy family would have had. They had to travel to Bethlehem from their hometown of Nazareth, which meant having birth occur in unfamiliar place.
But even with all that uncertainty and risk, the real danger of birth of Christ wasn’t in physical aspects of the birth. It was in spiritual and metaphysical aspects of his birth.
What I’m talking about is the danger of the divine coming into the world and existing as a human being. The strangeness and uncertainty that had to come over anyone when hear that the eternal God Most High is going to be born into the world.
We miss this today because we’ve largely domesticated God. We casually use name of God – “Oh God, I forgot to get sugar in my coffee” “My God, they’re canceling my favorite show!” We all think that of course we have relationship with God, that we have at least some connection to God, that God naturally wants to listen to our prayers.
Well, get into ancient Jewish mindset for bit. They better understood full implications of fact that there was bein ...
Series:Christmas Homilies
Vermon Pierre
Luke 1:79
Childbirth to me is very very strange event. Things tearing, stretching, pulling. Goo and blood and other strange slippery fluids coming out everywhere.
Very strange. And also somewhat unpredictable. Bit of uncertainty behind any childbirth, even today with all our medical advances and technology. We can’t predict exactly when pregnant woman will begin contractions. Can’t predict exactly what will happen during childbirth.
But we have come long way compared to 1st century. Childbirth back in 1st century wasn’t just uncertain, it was also very risky. Infant mortality rate extremely high, especially among peasants.
But no childbirth as uncertain or as dangerous as birth of Jesus. Certainly, all physical dangers and uncertainty about childbirth were at play for Mary and Joseph. They were not wealthy couple, and did have benefit of a midwife or servants like a wealthy family would have had. They had to travel to Bethlehem from their hometown of Nazareth, which meant having birth occur in unfamiliar place.
But even with all that uncertainty and risk, the real danger of birth of Christ wasn’t in physical aspects of the birth. It was in spiritual and metaphysical aspects of his birth.
What I’m talking about is the danger of the divine coming into the world and existing as a human being. The strangeness and uncertainty that had to come over anyone when hear that the eternal God Most High is going to be born into the world.
We miss this today because we’ve largely domesticated God. We casually use name of God – “Oh God, I forgot to get sugar in my coffee” “My God, they’re canceling my favorite show!” We all think that of course we have relationship with God, that we have at least some connection to God, that God naturally wants to listen to our prayers.
Well, get into ancient Jewish mindset for bit. They better understood full implications of fact that there was bein ...
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