"GOD AT THE MARGINS"

“GOD AT THE MARGINS”

            The Christmas stories in the Bible give Mary the primary human agency, as I noted last week.  As we round into Christmas week, we should also note that the primary agency in the story is God, and that agency is a portrait of God at the margins of life. There is a bit of that marginality in the story of Moses, born to a person held as a slave, abandoned to the waters but raised as a royal son.   Here in the Christmas story we see that God has gone all the way – God is clearly at the margins.

            Those of us who are Christian believe that in the life, death, and resurrection of this baby born in Bethlehem, we see the incarnation of God, the human/divine interaction that is unique and revelatory.  In this context, why in the world would God reveal Herself in this way?  Why not make the revelation a superstar, a superheroine, a rich entrepreneur, a powerful military general, a robust politician?  Our current morass of an immoral President, deemed by his followers to be sent by God, shows us one reason why God chose a different way. 

            God chose to come among us at the margins.   Born as a baby, in need of others to take care of the baby, demonstrating dependency as a primary attribute of human life.  Even more so, God’s revelation comes from a woman pregnant before marriage – subject to the death penalty.  The baby is not born in the house of the Roman Emperor – instead he is oppressed by the Roman Empire, as witnessed by the forced migration from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  The baby is born not in a home but on the streets, with just a slight twang of compassion in the innkeeper’s heart causing him to give the family shelter in the barn.  This homeless family does finally find a house – yay for those who provided a home for the homeless! 

            The respite only lasts a brief time, however, as the police and government soldiers bring their “blood and soil” mentality and marching boots to execute the baby.  The family flees across the border into Egypt, another homeless family (yet again) now made illegal immigrants by the violent policies of their home government.  The Egyptian tradition indicates that there was no Grump Trump to turn them away, and so they found relative safety in Egypt, again depending on the kindness of strangers.

            As we listen to the carols, celebrate with the lights and decorations, gather with family and friends, and generally feel a brief sweetness and longing for more, let us remember the stark reality of the Biblical stories of Christmas.  Let us remember it not as a downer but as the heart of the message of Christmas:  God has come among us to show us a new and true way of life.  In order to receive that message of good news, we will need to start at the margins, where God started in this story.  We may not live at the margins, but if we want to find God, we must go to the margins.  It is one of the clear notes and themes of the Christmas story for life in the Western world:  this baby born to Mary and Joseph is black.  And in this good news is the powerful and redemptive vision of Christmas.