I've thought more about the tragic shootings in Newtown, CT, as I said I would. I think most of my thoughts have already been articulated by others by this time... thoughts about gun control; mental health; a culture of violence; a culture of alienation; etc. But also, thoughts about the attention the media gives to tragedies in upper middle class towns, versus the attention given to tragedies in inner cities, or in lower income towns... and also, thoughts about the attention the media gives to the death of innocent Americans, versus the attention give to the death of innocents in other countries.
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| Singing "Silent Night", December 24, 2012, UUCiA. |
On Christmas Eve,
as has been the tradition of the UUCiA for the past several years, we ended
our nativity scriptures with the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verse 12. But this year, it seemed impossible to leave
out “the rest of the story” (as Paul Harvey might say). What happens next, starting at Matthew 2:13? This is the story known sometimes as “The
Escape into Egypt”, sometimes – an especially poignant title this year – it is called “The Massacre of Innocents.” In
this part of the story, "an angel of the Lord appear[s] to Joseph in a dream. 'Get
up,' he sa[ys], 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there
until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'
And so, Joseph gets up. And he takes baby Jesus and Mary "during the
night and le[aves] for Egypt, where he stay[s] until the death
of Herod.
But before Herod’s death, there is a
horrific tragedy. The nativity story
goes on to say that “when Herod realize[s] that he ha[s] been outwitted by the
Magi, he [i]s furious, and he … orders [the killing of] all the boys in
Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with
the time he had learned from the Magi. Then [as the Gospel of
Matthew tells us] what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
‘A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’
The
timelessness of ancient scriptures means that each year we hear the familiar
old stories, but we hear them in a slightly different way. We see them in a new light; the light of our
days, and the days just passed. This
year, perhaps this part of the story makes us think of current events – whether
in the suburbs of Connecticut or in inner-city neighborhoods or in war-torn
countries – and think of the tragedy of young death, and the inconsolable
weeping of those left behind. We know
that innocents do indeed die, and we remain “creatively maladjusted” to such
horrors, to quote Martin Luther King, Jr.
But I hear something else in the
familiar, ancient stories this year. I
hear, more poignantly than I have in some years, the nativity story from the
Gospel of Luke telling us to “be not afraid” – “fear not”. The world has dangers, and there is much of
which we feel afraid. But we cannot
focus on fear. We cannot give in to the
culture of fear. Perhaps fear tempts us to turn our world into
a guarded fortress. But this is not the way we want to live.
In the midst of the headlines of 2012, the angels in the Gospel of Luke
arrive to remind us of the ancient wisdom: “Be not afraid!” … “Fear not!”
It’s not that there’s nothing to
fear. The angels, in addition to saying,
“Be not afraid” also give many warnings of dangers, after all.... The angels say “fear not” because there is too much to do to retreat
into fear. Be not afraid, because the
world needs you to be courageous!
As my colleague the Rev. Wendy Bell of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church (whose thoughts helped inspire my own words on Christmas Eve) put
it, the voices say to Mary, “Be not afraid because we need you to bring forth
new life and to bless the world with your capacity for creativity – EVEN IF –
or perhaps especially if – you don’t feel up to the task, if you feel it is
unreasonable or even impossible. Don’t
let your fear get in your way!”
To Joseph (as Rev. Bell put it), the voices say “Be not afraid
because we need you to stand up for this new life, to affirm it, to sanction
it, to give it legitimacy and therefore afford it some protection.”
To the shepherds (as Rev. Bell put it), the voices say “Be not
afraid because we need you to honor and celebrate this new life and to nurture
it with your gifts. Shepherds were in the business of keeping their sheep safe
and leading them to green pastures and to water, protecting them from wolves
and wild dogs. Be not afraid because we need you to nurture and protect this
new life/creativity until it can grow into its own.” I would add, the voices say: “Rise up shepherd, and
follow!”
The ancient nativity story reminds
us: We need to be creatively maladjusted to
cruelty and tyranny in the world. As Rev. Bell put it, “We
need you to bring forth new possibilities. We need you to nurture and protect
them and help them grow.”
