THE STRANGER AND THE ONE-ROOM HOME

Let us point out what Christmas Day's lection does not say.

The text does not say that Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem when Mary was about to give birth. The text does not say that Jesus was born in a cave or stable where most of us imagine he was born. The text does not say that Jesus was born among animals. More importantly, the text does not say that Bethlehem was unwelcoming of the Holy Family. It doesn't say that they were sent away by an innkeeper.

Most of what we imagine about the passage are exactly that: imagined. We need to address this right now. This means many of the things we do during our Christmas pageants and plays are not in the Lukan passage. This also means that many of the sermons we’ve heard about this passage are not even based on what the passage tells us.

Now, what does the passage actually say? And what do decades of archeological, sociological, and anthropological research about Ancient Palestine tell us?

There was a census and everyone went back to his or her hometown to register. Joseph went with a pregnant Mary to Bethlehem because he was a descendant of David. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son, wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no space for them in the guest room. (The Greek term is kataluma. The NIV translates it correctly as guest room, not inn. Kataluma is also used to refer to the upper room in the Last Supper.)

Pregnancies, births, the rituals related to both, and the dynamics of kinship that permeate all these have, more or less, remained the same for most communities throughout the centuries and across cultures, especially among those where the ideas of personal property and individual ownership are alien, anathema, or frowned upon.

Joseph and Mary go from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They travel about 150 kilometers. She is pregnant so the trip probably took a while. They get to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown. I’m pretty sure a relative or two would have welcomed them in his or her home. This act of hospitality is as true today as it was then, especially among peasants. Don’t forget, Elizabeth, Mary’s relative lived nearby in the Judean hill country. They could have stayed with her and Zechariah if there was no room in Bethlehem but they did not. Joseph’s relatives had space. But not in the guest room.

Archeology has shown us that most peasant homes in Ancient Palestine were a one room affair. There was a yard usually shared with other homes where cooking was done. The immediate space through the main door of the house had a mud-floor where animals were brought in at night to keep the home warm and the animals safe. A manger or feeding trough was part of this area. The animals were let out first thing in the morning.

Side note: When Jepthah in Judges 11 vowed to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house, he was thinking of the animals being brought out first thing in the morning. Not his daughter.

The main family section, oftentimes a bit elevated from the animal area, was where the family did most of its affairs, mostly resting and sleeping. Homes, in those days, were really shelters because most chores were done outside or on the roof. Stairs to the roof were outside the house. Many homes had space for guests in the main family section or a small guest room, sometimes, for those who can afford, on the roof (hence, the upper room).

When Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, the home of Joseph’s relative was filled, the guest room occupied, so they stayed with the family in the main room. When the time came, the animals were brought out of the house, the manger cleaned and prepared, and served as a crib for the newborn.

Why is this story more true-to-life than the centuries-old tale we have heard and performed over and over and over again?

It fits the general theme of the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel for Luke is good news to the poor. When Jesus is born he is born among the poor in Bethlehem. Poor shepherds receive the good news and they find the Messiah among people like them. Don’t forget that when the shepherds find Jesus, they tell everyone there (not just the parents) what the angels have told them. There were others celebrating the birth.

My friends, the first Christmas happened when Palestine was under Roman Occupation. Life was very, very hard. Fifteen percent of the population was unemployed. Half of the people survived on a thousand calories a day which meant they were slowly starving to death. Average life expectancy was 28.

But despite all these, many remained faithful to what Yahweh required of them: to welcome the stranger. There should always be space for the guest. A meal of fish and bread, and a place to lay one’s head. Jesus was born among those whose only hope is God, among peasants who shared a small house, among the poor who offered the best to a pregnant couple, among kin who opened their simple, one-room home to welcome the birth of the Messiah.

Today, life is very, very hard. Palestine is under Israeli Occupation. Half of the world’s population survive on 2 dollars each day (100 pesos). Millions take “altanghap” meals to survive. Tens of thousands of children, 5 years old and younger, starve to death every day. And thousands of our Moro and Lumad sisters and brothers are displaced, disenfranchised, dispossessed, and have nowhere to lay their heads. Fear, indifference, despair, and depression grip our communities. The culture of impunity that pervades the world has left a trail of unfathomable suffering and senseless killings, not to mention COVID-19 and the tragedies brought about by our wreckless exploitation of Mother Earth.

But, despite all these, among farmers and fisherfolk, among our indigenous sisters and brothers, among our poorest communities, there is always space for guests. Welcome for the stranger. A meal of fish and bread. A place to lay one’s head. A one-room home to welcome anew the birth of the Messiah.

My Friends, millions among us are dealing with joblessness, homelessness, and hopelessness. In the midst of these, how do our lives proclaim, Immanuel? How do we actualize "God is with us"? How do we welcome God who comes as a stranger?

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#GospelForThePoor
#FreePalestine
#StopTheKillingsPH
#JusticeForMyanmar

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

Last week I argued that John the Baptist was one of the two mentors of the Galilean Jesus. This week, we will discuss the other one: Mary of Nazareth.

But first things first: There's something about Miriam we often overlook. We usually say she's Moses's sister. Miriam was a prophet. There's something about Mary we often overlook. We usually say she's Jesus's mother. Mary was a prophet as well. There's something about Miriam and Mary we often overlook. We usually say their names come from the same root. That root is actually Egyptian and many scholars say it means "rebelling against a bitter system."

Mary's Magnificat is probably one of the most powerful prophetic passages in the New Testament. This young woman from Nazareth followed a God who scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; who brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly; who fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty.

This young woman from Nazareth followed a God who takes sides, a God who takes the preferential option for the poor, a God who brings down kings and kingdoms, a God who weeps with those who weep and who cries with those who cry.

This young woman from Nazareth is alive today. Yet the proud, the powerful, and the rich who pretend to venerate her fail to see her among the lowly and the hungry as they struggle against life-negating and death-dealing forces. They fail to see her at work in Sarah Jane Elago, Amanda Echanis, Reina Mae Nasino, Lady Ann Salem, and other women whose lives are dedicated to helping bring about peace based on justice and the realization of God's reign on earth.

Moreover, the proud, the powerful, and the rich who pretend to venerate her tag so many who are working for "life in all its fullness" as enemies of the state or as communists, as if communism were a crime in the country. It is not. Worse, they criminalize dissent and illegally arrest so many on trumped up charges like murder and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

So, Jesus had John the Baptist as teacher. But before there was John, there was young Mary of Nazareth: The Prophet. And she taught her son well. Very well indeed.


#Advent2021
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#StopTheKillingsPH
#IAmWithJesus
#ChooseJustice

*image "The Annunciation. Gabriel and Mary." JESUS MAFA (Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives)

JOHN'S MESSAGE

Many scholars agree that Sunday's passage comes from "Q," the earlier Jesus tradition that both Matthew and Luke had access to. It may contain historical memory from the community of John the Baptist which--many forget--included Jesus and several of Jesus's companions.

When people ask me who helped shape Jesus’s faith, I say, "John, and Mary of Nazareth." For this post we focus on John. Next week, we will talk about Mary.

The Baptist, like the prophets before him, did not pull punches. He calls everyone to repentance; to change direction and follow God's way of justice. He calls religious leaders snakes, challenges tax collectors to stop taking advantage of poor people through excessive taxation, and orders soldiers to stop harassments and violent extortion of the masses. He tells those who have two tunics to share one with those who have none. And those with food to share with those who have no food.

My favorite part of the passage is how John addresses those who think they do not need to repent or change their ways because they are God's "Chosen," that they're God's favorites. John basically tells them, "God can make God's children out of a pile of stones."

John's message remains relevant and powerful today. We need to repent. And repentance means doing, not thinking, nor praying: specifically it's doing acts of justice. Or we face God's wrath. Every one.

We all need to repent!

#Advent2021
#IAmWithJesus
#JusticeForMyanmar
#FreePalestine
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#ChooseJustice
#UDHR2021

*image "John the Baptist preaching in the desert," mafa054 from vanderbilt divinity library

PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD

Ancient Israelite tradition, particularly in Malachi, expected the prophet Elijah to return and prepare the way for the Messiah. Christianity believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and, thus, his "Elijah" is John the Baptist.

Sunday's lection tells us that the word of God came to John in the wilderness. Not in Jerusalem; not inside Herod's temple; not even in a synagogue, nor through the Saducees, Pharisees, and Scribes.

The wilderness conjures up a lot of ambivalent images for us who study scripture. God appeared to a hardheaded Moses through the burning bush in the wilderness. The Israelites wandered almost aimlessly in the wilderness for forty long years. Many of them died there, including Moses. Like John, the wilderness played a key role in Jesus' early ministry. The wilderness does not seem like a very hospitable place.

God anointed John to prepare people for a new way: not the way of Emperor Tiberius, Herod, his brother Philip, Pontius Pilate, Anna, Caiaphas, and their ilk. But God's way that "will make every valley filled, and every mountain and hill made low, and the crooked made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh see God's salvation."

And God's way requires repentance: a complete turnaround; a 180; a change in the opposite direction; deciding to stop pretending but actually living our lives loving God by serving people.

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#StopTheKillingsPH
#Advent2021

*art, "John the Baptist preaching in the desert," (JESUS MAFA 1973), available at the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.
 

FIG TREES

The Season of Advent has begun and we expect a Christmas related reading. Sunday's Lukan lection is about the Apocalypse. We also find this passage in Mark and Matthew and many scholars call it the "mini-apocalypse." They agree that the passage reflects traumatic memories from the Fall of Jerusalem around 70 CE.

A lot of people look forward to the End of Days or the Second Coming because it promises eternal rewards and punishment. Of course, there are millions of card-carrying Christians who expect that they will be rewarded, while so-called infidels-- namely, anyone who has not accepted Jesus as their Personal Savior and Lord-- will be punished.

Many others look forward to the day that God will make things right, especially for those who have been dispossessed, displaced, disenfranchised, discriminated, and dehumanized by greed, injustice, and evil.

There are also those who dread the End of Days or the Second Coming because they know they have failed to do what Jesus, in his First Coming, commanded them to do: preach Good News to the Poor, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take care of the sick, visit the prisoners, clothe the naked, welcome the strange, and end all forms of violence against women, children, and the most vulnerable. 

The day will come. Nobody knows which day or which hour, but it will happen. Thus, the lesson of the Fig Tree. We must be patient. You don't plant Figs today and expect fruits tomorrow. We must study the signs. Have the leaves changed color? Are flowers in bloom. We must be discerning. Friends, the day will surely come. Jesus said so.

So, we wait. And, every moment, try our very best to follow the life that Jesus lived.

#IAmWithJesus
#GodsReignIsForChildren
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#IDEVAW
#Advent2021

*photo by Emil Salman (Haaretz) 

KINGS AND THEIR KINGDOMS

The Romans executed Jesus as a messianic claimant, as an enemy of the state, as a rebel. Josephus and Tacitus both wrote that he was crucified by order of Pontius Pilate.

In the world where Caesar is Lord, sin is legislated. Resistance is criminalized. Dissent is demonized. The merger of political and religious power predates Pontius Pilate's and Joseph Caiaphas's conjugal dictatorship. If we read our Bibles and pray everyday, we will grow, grow, grow in this realization: sinners are, more often than not, synonymous with the poor, oppressed, and marginalized in the Gospels. Who can afford the offerings in the temple? Who has the resources to bribe authorities? Who writes the law and for whose benefit?

Nothing has changed. The political and religious elites' culture of impunity continues in crushing the poor underfoot.

Sunday's lection features a conversation between symbols of two completely opposite gospels: Rome's and God's; the Good News for the Rich and the Good News for the Poor. Both talk about kings and kingdoms, but totally opposite kings and kingdoms.

Tragically, so many among us confess, "Jesus is Lord," but in word, thought, and deed, we side with Pilate. Our lust for power, prestige, and privilege, our envy for the powerful, prestigious, and privileged paint lives that scream, "Caesar is Lord".

#IAmWithJesus
#StopTheKillingsPH
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#JusticeForMyanmar
#FreePalestine

*art, "Jesus before Pilate," (James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum), available at the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives. 

NOT ONE STONE WILL BE LEFT

Sunday's lection reminds us of Herod's Temple that, according to Jesus, was built from the offerings of widows and other very poor people.

"Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down!" And Jesus was right.

We are uncomfortable with a Jesus who speaks of doom, destruction, and death. We do not wish to see Jesus driving out those who were selling and buying in the Temple, including the moneychangers. We do not want to acknowledge that Jesus can be angry.

We are so used to the Jesus we have created in our image. We are so used to the huge cathedrals and grand buildings we have created to make us comfortable when we come together in his name. We have even come up with "Sunday best" attire, air conditioning, and exclusive seating inside these walls we have built as imposing monuments of our faith in God. Remember Jesus’s words, "Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

Friends, our comforts have made us forget that the church is not a building. It never was. It never will be. It has always been people: people who love; people who serve; people who offer their lives so that others may live, like Jesus did.

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#FreePalestine

#JusticeForMyanmar
#GodsReignIsForChildren
#LetGraceBeTotal


*photo, The Western or "Wailing Wall" in the Old City of Jerusalem (I took this picture in August 2016).