Blogging Towards Sunday

December 23, 2007
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Jesus Shaves
Isaiah 7:10-17
Matthew 1:1-25
Matthew 28:16-20

The Biblical texts for this fourth Sunday of Advent are all about the event. I'm taking the lectionary and tweaking it a bit to flesh out some of the unique meaning of the birth of Jesus made by Matthew in his retelling of the story in his gospel. So at our congregation in worship we'll be looking at the beginning and ending of his gospel, and the place that the birth narrative plays in it.

What's interesting is that Matthew spends so little time describing or commenting on the actual birth of Jesus. The first chapter of Matthew is pretty much all there is in his telling. He spends a great deal more time on the genealogy of Jesus, the story of his conception and the naming of the baby by Joseph and Mary.

Jesus isn't just the succession or the fulfillment of his long ancestral line. He's born from normal stock, from leaders and losers, from courageous folks and cowards, from men and women. He's the everyman and the noman, particular and common, made unique by his God-given call and purpose.

Matthew focuses on the conception, the miracle of the birth, insisting upon the connection between that story and the ancient prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, the prophecy that One would be born to save and deliver his people.

Matthew goes out of his way to emphasize the names:
Jesus: "the one to save his people"
Messiah: "the annointed, or chosen, one of God"
Emmanuel: "God with us"
The names say it all. God's promise in Jesus is to save all peoples, to be present with us in the event of this unique person. If you jump to the end of Matthew, chapter 28, that same promise is reiterated in the gospel conclusion but expanded. It's no longer just God with us in Christ, it's Christ with us always, until the end of the age. The way in which God was with Jesus in his life becomes the promised way that God will be with those that seek him and follow. Disciples are pulled into the Jesus event, invited into a new way of being with God and with each other because of this baby born of Mary and Joseph, conceived in a miraculous way, named with great meaning, issue of a normal family.

Makes me think of a quote I heard in a recent interview with Golden Compass author Philip Pullman. "Events are wiser than any sort of commentary that you can make on them." Maybe that's what Matthew was more or less thinking in his composition. No need to say a lot, simply tell the story in a way that allows it to make meaning in the ears and minds of those that hear it. The birth of Jesus changed, and changes everything.

These passages and my journey with them this week led me to a lovely song I heard through the Roches, but was composed by Paranoid Larry and his Imaginary Band (in the video). "Jesus Shaves" - I love the chorus. It echoes Matthew's non-commentary.


Also reminds me of my favorite Christmas Card that we've received over the past few years: