New Life Invades the Ordinary!

Our class focused on the immediate impact of the birth of Jesus on the world around him.  In Luke's narrative, we were aware of the isolation of the young family, sheltered in stable, the baby placed in the feed trough.  There was no place for them to stay, no tending for the birth.  They had come an impossibly long journey in the ninth month of Mary's pregnancy, because of the demands of the Roman Empire.  Though Bethlehem was the ancestral home of Joseph's family, and he likely had kin there, no one welcomed them, perhaps because of the scandal of the pregnancy.  The poverty and fragility of their situation was something we felt deeply.    The first expressions of community and solidarity came from the shepherds working the night shift in the local fields.  These were people of low social status but integral to the unfolding story of salvation coming to earth.  The shepherds go forth as, literally, the first apostles!  Below is an artistic representation, Caravaggio's  Adoration by Shepherds (1609).

Venturing into Matthew's gospel, we began to consider the story of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12).
The magi were people of wisdom, "wise men," astrologers perhaps, even Zoroastrian priests,  hailing from what is now Iran or Iraq. They were not Jews anticipating the Messiah.  Nevertheless, their own curiosity and yearning has them undertaking a long journey of discovery.  They bring curious gifts.  Interestingly, these "foreigners" are aware to the birth of the Messiah while the "people of faith" seem unaware of what God is doing in their midst.  As we examined the familiar story, it was noted that, though they are following the star, they first go to the wrong town,  Why is that?  It is a question we will take up in our next class.  Below is a rendering from Chinese artist He Qi of the coming of the magi.


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