"AND JOSEPH FLEW IN ANGER"

 “AND JOSEPH FLEW IN ANGER”

When Mary says “yes,” to Gabriel the angel, says “yes” to allowing herself to be the vessel for the birth of Jesus, she puts herself at great risk.  Engaged to Joseph and soon to be pregnant by someone else, she would be subject to humiliation, exile, and even the death penalty.  Her path was made much easier by her fiancé Joseph, who decided to stay with her and claim the child as his own.  He was not without his struggles, however.   Whereas Luke’s gospel gives us Mary’s version of the events,  Matthew’s gospel gives us Joseph’s approach.  He seems to be a decent guy, so when he finds out that Mary is pregnant by someone else, he decides not to take her to the elders for punishment.  He decides to divorce her quietly.

Matthew tells us that an angel also comes to Joseph in a dream to tell him to claim the baby in Mary’s womb as his own, to hear that this baby will bring a sense of God’s presence with humanity in a new way.  Joseph decides to stay with Mary and to claim the child as his own.  He decides to stay with her and to give her and the baby male protection, bringing them just a bit closer to the center of the power of patriarchy.  This story has been sentimentalized in a thousand different ways, so we must be very careful with it.  On Mary’s end, author Margaret Atwood captured the danger and terror of the story in her chilling novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,’ drawing on the earlier English translations of Mary’s response to Gabriel when she says “Yes”:   “I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

Joseph’s simmering anger at being forced and cajoled into accepting Mary and the baby did not make it into the New Testament, but it has been portrayed in other stories and songs.  “The Pseudo Gospel of Matthew” was written about 650 CE and obviously did not make it into the canonical Bible, but it became part of the readings of the church for a long while.  It is the basis for a Christmas song “The Cherry Tree Carol,” whose lyrics were first known around 1500 CE.  The song portrays Joseph and a pregnant Mary on a trip (some lyrics have Bethlehem as a destination, another the flight to Egypt, others just a stroll in a garden).  

In the song, the couple passes a grove of cherry trees, and Mary asks Joseph to get some cherries for her, since she is pregnant and cannot reach them.  Joseph feels the anger and resentment swell up in him, and he responds to Mary:  “Let the father of your baby gather cherries for you.”  As that anger simmers, the baby Jesus speaks out from Mary’s womb to command the world to change:  “Then up spoke baby Jesus from out of Mary’s womb: ‘Bow down you tallest cherry that my mother might have some.”  The cherry trees bow down, and Mary is delighted and lets Joseph further know his place:  “Oh, look now, Joseph, I have cherries at command.”  

In a song whose verses are constantly being altered and adjusted, there is a sense of the power and the complexity of what seems to be a sweet and sentimental story:  the vulnerability of Mary as a teenage pregnant before marriage, the lingering anger and resentment of Joseph, and yet the power of God moving even in these complicated story lines.  There are many versions of “Cherry Tree Carol,” but one of the loveliest is Peter, Paul, and Mary’s cover of it . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ClJpQDRRA   The song traveled through Appalachia to modern times, and Jean Ritchie’s version of it is powerful  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7FeXU7PlWc

Whichever version you prefer (or another one, which I’d be glad to learn from you), please hear the great news of this last week of Advent:  “For unto us a child is born, and they shall be called Bringer of Peace, Wonderful Counselor.”  In the midst of all the craziness and terror and anxiety of our present age, may each of us and all of us know the power and grace of this message and this event, complicated as it is. Complex as our lives are, may we find its peace and love.  

"THREE WISE WOMEN: MARY, IDA WELLS, STACEY ABRAMS"

 “ THREE WISE WOMEN: MARY, IDA WELLS, STACEY ABRAMS”

      Battered by the Roman Empire, crushed by a heavy system of corruption and taxation, dominated by a patriarchy that sought to make her a baby-factory only – in this highly charged and oppressive air, a young teen-age engaged to be married, hears a stunning voice that asks her to see a different vision and to proclaim that vision to others.  Not only is he asked to proclaim that vision – she is also asked to embody it by becoming pregnant with the Human One.  To say “yes” is to risk the death penalty, since she will be pregnant by someone other than her husband.  Fortunately for all of us, Mary said “Yes,” and a new vision of hope and possibility was conceived and born into a world of despair and crushing domination.

    In our time of Advent and Christmas two millennia later, we are experiencing some of that same hopelessness and despair.  Many of us were heartened last week when Stacey Abrams officially announced her run for governor of Georgia in 2022. Though she is not the savior, she is an unusually gifted politician, and we sorely need her leadership and vision in Georgia and in the nation.  With the Herod-like Trumpster still looming over us, Stacey’s vision is a powerful opportunity to help us all move past the petty, narcissistic politics which seem to dominate us so much in these days.  If you can support her in any way in these next 11 months, please do so.

    Stacey preached at Oakhurst several times, and she also spoke at my retirement, so I have a special affection for her.  She also agreed to write the Foreword to the book on Ida Wells that Catherine Meeks and I wrote.  Stacey joins Mary as one of the three wise women whom I’m highlighting this week.  The third is Ida B. Wells, and I’ll gratefully borrow from Stacey’s words of part of the Foreword to highlight Ida Wells:

“Because of the witness and work of Ida Wells and those she girded for the fight, we as a nation have made critical progress.  Yet, we find ourselves at a crucial turning point in our history, when the forces that sought to silence her and to re-establish oppression seem to gain strength each day.  From the tragedy of family separations to the glib invocation of nativism, those charged with maintaining our progress have instead reignited the most infernal instincts of past.  In these moments, Passionate for Justice serves as a welcome and timely reminder of  power of witness in our nation’s history. I am grateful to Nibs Stroupe and Catherine Meeks for bringing forth this testimony to the life and ministry of Ida Wells. In this work, they reflect upon the power of Wells’ life, as well as the dynamic of race and gender that sought to limit her and continues to constrict access into the present age. 

I have been awed by Rev. Stroupe during his long and effective ministry at multicultural Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, where he met scripture with action. Together, with the scholarship and insight of Dr. Meeks, they have produced this critical work to help revive the heroism of Ida Wells, not only restoring our understanding of her unflinching example but reminding each of us to find our place in the perennial fight for justice. Through their exposition, we rediscover a model for diminishing those forces of repression and oppression in our individual and communal lives. In her honor, we are called to acknowledge the depth of those oppressive powers in our time, and to be like Wells – to seek a new way of liberty and justice for all.  

Ida Wells confronted the evils of her time with a determination to compel America to live up to its highest ideals. Her example continues to guide the work of millions, including my own, as we in our own ways work to reaffirm the humanity of all and the potential for more. I applaud Nibs and Catherine for their efforts, a robust inquiry that produced such a transformative statement about the meaning of Wells’ life for the twenty-first century. They honor the life of Ida B. Wells, a life carved out of the hard scrabble ground of slavery, white supremacy and oppression of women, especially black women. In Passionate for Justice, we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity and life-giving community.  Ida Wells would have had it no other way.”

"WE ARE CHRISTMAS"

 “WE ARE CHRISTMAS”

When Caroline and I were pastors at Oakhurst, we were privileged to be part of church group who attended the annual Spelman-Morehouse Christmas Concert on the first weekend in December.  It would be held twice in King Chapel on Morehouse campus and once in Sisters Chapel at Spelman.  It was always crowded, and it was always a moving experience.  The power of the voices, the arrangements, and the sheer joy of being in Black space to welcome the season – these drew us many times to this annual concert.  Covid forced last year’s concert to go online rather than in person, and that is the case this year too.  

    Their 95th Annual Christmas Concert will be shown on their websites beginning on December 15.  If you have not experienced this magnificent concert, please treat yourself this year.  There is nothing like being in person, being incarnate for this concert, but you can still feel the power online.  Check out the Spelman or Morehouse websites for more information.

I have many favorite songs from these concerts, but this year, a song stands out:  “We Are Christmas.” It is co-written written by the Spelman Glee Club Director, Kevin Johnson, and by student Sarah Stephens Benibo. Here is the link to Ms. Stephens Benibo as a soloist on the song with  the Spelman Choir (with handbells that year in 2006).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj33F8ZBQCM

    Since her graduation, she has come back to sing this at the annual concert.   The idea for the song comes from Sweet Honey in the Rock’s song “We Are,” and it is based on Mary’s experience in the Christmas story, as well as her vision (“The Magnificat.”). At first the music lulls us into thinking that we have another “Sweet little Jesus boy” song, but the lyrics lead us into something quite different – it is up to us to bring this story to life in our day and in our time.  Let it speak to you, and plan to watch some more of their work.  Then let us find ways in our lives to make the vision of Christmas come alive.