|
 Not to throw wet hay
on the Yule log, but let us consider the marginalization that
accompanied the Nativity. Mary and Joseph had a big "questionable" in
their past, something for which the church people distanced themselves.
In all of history, their explanation of the fatherhood of Jesus was
unique. Much like today, most didn't accept it and consider Jesus'
an out-of-wedlock conception. When the angel came with the glad
tidings, we don't have it recorded that Mary wondered how she was going
to explain this to others. We don't know if she considered how she
would be treated by the legalistic in the synagog.
That one special night might have seemed extremely "calm and bright"
years later. Mary and Joseph needed a lot of grace, love, and
forgiveness to face the people after making their decision to have the
child. I'm sure at the laundry, the carpenter shop, and the Temple
people were buzzing about the "life of sin" that Mary and Joseph must
have secretly led. Although we don't know this for sure, perhaps Mary
had experienced many "women at the well" experiences accompanied by
the young Jesus. Jesus must have suffered ridicule on the playground.
>From my experience, following God always repulses the people who are
simply "religious".
No matter what our profession, where we live, what religious group we
frequent, or what the era, if we want to follow God, if we want to
bring new spiritual lives into the world, there will come times to
buck the system, ruffle religious feathers, and just follow the Lord
in faith and love.
>From the start, Jesus could empathize with our trials. (1 Peter 2:21)
Jesus was surely called an illegitimate child numerous times in the
playground-->
|
 "Silent
night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright."
Silent night...Aurelia and I are celebrating our first Christmas as
husband and wife.
Holy night... It is the time of the year when I take time to consider
Joseph and Mary's first Christmas.
Theirs was marked by a birth. Before you get any ideas, that is where
the similarities end. (-; However, there are many similarities that draw
me near to the cradle 2000+ years later. |
The holy couple is
marginalized
|
Not
to throw wet hay on the Yule log, but let us consider the
marginalization that accompanied the Nativity. Mary and Joseph had a big
"questionable" in their past, something for which the church people
distanced themselves. In all of history, their explanation of the
fatherhood of Jesus was unique. Much like today, most didn't accept it
and consider Jesus' an out-of-wedlock conception. When the angel came
with the glad tidings, we don't have it recorded that Mary wondered how
she was going to explain this to others. We don't know if she considered
how she would be treated by the legalistic in the synagog.
That one special night might have seemed extremely "calm and bright"
years later. Mary and Joseph needed a lot of grace, love, and
forgiveness to face the people after making their decision to have the
child. I'm sure at the laundry, the carpenter shop, and the Temple
people were buzzing about the "life of sin" that Mary and Joseph must
have secretly led. Although we don't know this for sure, perhaps Mary
had experienced many "women at the well" experiences accompanied by the
young Jesus. Jesus must have suffered ridicule on the playground. From
my experience, following God always repulses the people who are simply
"religious".
No matter what our profession, where we live, what religious group we
frequent, or what the era, if we want to follow God, if we want to bring
new spiritual lives into the world, there will come times to buck the
system, ruffle religious feathers, and just follow the Lord in faith
and love.
From the start, Jesus could empathize with our trials. (1 Peter 2:21)
Jesus was surely called an illegitimate child numerous times in the
playground |
God's People are marginalized
|
|
 As one, like you,
who desires to follow the Lord above all, my life would easily be
characterized by going against the current and lovingly comparing the
status quo with what I understand from Scripture. I never seemed to
take heed of one of my dad's favorite phrases, "Just go with the flow."
This doesn't provide a lot of "silent nights" for me but many sleepless
ones. However, disciples of Christ can see Him truly work around them.
We look over the battles of the day toward the Day of reward for the
good and the faithful servants. (Luke 19:17)
In Italy, we are working with God's People. They are almost as taboo
as Jesus' out-of-wedlock conception. The reason why one missionary
calls them a cult is that they were founded by a female missionary,
they believe that we still receive spiritual gifts from the Holy
Spirit, they practice the laying on of hands, and focus on brotherly
love and forgiveness. Although Aurelia had to adapt to their freer form
of worship, for our part it was fantastic to return to the practices of
the early church, and they welcomed us warmly.
The phrase they most commonly use is, "In the presence of God and in
the name of Jesus Christ," they reference the Bible and believe its
principles, so we seemed like a perfect match. The question that burned
in my mind was, would they accept the Christ of the Bible, not the
Jesus created in their image? Others had tried to start Bible studies.
Would God use me as the tool? |
Behold,
I bring you good tidings of a great joy..." for the marginalized
children
|
|
People surely advised Mary to secretly have the child
and then leave Him to die of starvation in the wilderness--nameless,
cold, and crying out for love. A woman of lesser faith would have used
that form of abortion. This would have made the angels' proclamation
to the shepherds quite different, "Behold I bring you sad tidings of a
great tragedy, for on this day, in the trash heap of the City of David
lies the body of Christ who was to be your Savior." In Romania,
Erika's work with pediatric AIDS patients puts her in contact with
children who are society's outcasts. When I speak to churches about
our work among the AIDS children, occasionally the response is, "why
should we help when they are going to die anyway?" The Romanian
government often thought no differently, letting funding for medication
lapse and children die. We stepped in with
our widow's mites and filled in the gap.
We believe strongly that these children, born with this fate, deserve a
life where they can laugh, learn, and feel loved. Seeing them laugh,
sing, count, and quote verses gives a gift that you can't find at Neman
Marcus.
In Romania, where Aurelia and I work half the year in
the hospital, many of the children are ashamed of the stigma that
tuberculosis gives them. TB is a disease predominantly of the
impoverished. Many children were left there and don't know anything but
the hospital. Most are behind in their education, like was 8 year-old
Oana who didn't know the alphabet, 6 year-old Rodica who couldn't tell
black from white, and 7 year-old Mariana who couldn't speak. Although
the are ashamed to mention that they live at the hospital, we have gone
to help them and others "grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with
God and man." (Luke 2:52)
|
| "A
brave man and a good wine both last a short time." -- Italian Proverb |
|
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus bravely stood for love in a legalistic society.
If they hadn't, the Messiah's cry would never
have pierced the still night air, and we would be still-born in our
sins. We (you and we) are trying to take that same stand, for we have
all experienced marginalization (2 Timothy 3:12) and can relate to
others who are the same. Just as Mary and Joseph played a part in
bringing the Word to life, ironically after 9 months, we were invited
to bring the Word of God to His People as was prophesied by Marco and
Cristina, two people marginalized for having spiritual gifts that are
"out of season".
The birth of Christ was a day in human history that will have no equal.
(Without Christmas there would be no Easter.) But perhaps God ensured
that we wouldn't know the exact day because He wants to convey that each
day it is replicated in a small way in obscure places of the world,
among unsuspecting people, with whom He finds favor.
|
|
Merry Christmas, Buon
Natale, and Craciun Fericit.
|
Grace
and love,
Laurent and Aurelia |
|
