John 1: 1-14 (Common English Bible)
Luke 1: 46-55 (Good News Translation)
The “Word” in this first reading is not the Bible as many Christians mistakenly think. The Word is the words of Christ as recorded in the gospels. The word of Christ already existed throughout the Cosmos before earth and the other planets were created nearly five billion years ago. It is difficult for many people to understand. But God was always like Christ. So it is very wrong to think God became more friendly during the many centuries. What happened was that men used God to justify their violence and wars toward each other. Can we even imagine that Psalm chapter 137, verse nine, is inspired by God? I hope not! But God is spirit, but God’s heart was a part of Jesus. The gospel of John was written to show that Jesus is the mind of God fully revealed to all people.
The Christ first appeared the moment the Mystery we call “God” burst forth in what science calls the “Big Bang.” For more than 14 billion years this Cosmic Christ has been appearing to reveal the source of all reality, which is God. Christ is the cosmic event that reveals constantly that the heart of this mystery is Love. It is love that is the source of our very being. Jesus embodied this love in a way no human could do. Jesus taught his followers that we all have the ability to embody this love to one another.
I am convinced that through Christ we can discover an aspect of that divine love that is capable of nourishing and sustaining us in this world. The Christ exists among us right now. Christ is present through the air we breathe and the nature we revere. The Apostle Paul said to the Greek philosophers in Athens, that, “Christ is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in Christ we were created, all things in heaven and on earth, everything invisible and visible, thrones, dominions, all things hold together through Christ.”
Our quest for the Cosmic Christ will offer the new wine to drink, because the old wineskins will burst open. The new wine will surpass the older ones. The new wine will have the intoxicating power to open minds, because for too long the old wine has become sour. One cannot put the Cosmic Christ into a small box.
In the gospel of Luke we read about Miriam, or as she is better known, “Mary.” In my opinion Mary was the most important woman who ever lived. Her song is called the Magnificat, and you might be surprised, it has been banned, even in some so-called Christian nations. We often think of Mary as a passive and docile wife and mother. But if you really read Mary’s song, she could be called a revolutionary. The Government of Guatemala (a Christian nation), in the 1980s recognized the subversive nature of Mary’s song. They didn’t like the part of the rich being dethroned and the poor being lifted up. So the government banned the song in public places.
German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer recognized the subversive nature of Mary’s song. He said the song of Mary as the first and the best hymn during Advent to sing. This is not the gentle, tender and dreamy eyed Mary we see in paintings, but a young woman who was very much an activist against oppression.
Mary expresses excitement and thankfulness for the upcoming birth of her child she will name Jesus (God With Us). She realizes his birth means a Light and Hope for the liberation of the oppressed.
As blessed as Mary is, she does not try to exalt herself among her Jewish community. I believe Mary would be uncomfortable to be called the “Mother Of God” as one Christian denomination calls her. Rather, it is through her son Jesus, Mary sees hope for her community.
Jesus, no doubt when he was very young, remembers the song “The Magnificat” from his mother. Political influence is about who has a voice, who can speak and who will listen. And here at the beginning of Luke’s gospel, the voice we hear is Mary’s.
Mary predicted a whole new social arrangement which involved the abolition of the old systems of power. The revolution springs from the Advent of God’s mercy from generation to generation. Mary’s song shatters the institutions of injustice that oppress people. Mercy and love will melt the iron grip of the oppressors. Music has its own power. Dictators hate the arts and music. On 9/11/1973 the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile, was overthrown in a violent coup by fascists. One of the first things the new fascist government did was to have many musicians executed. Why? Because music has power and impact among all ages and races. Sometimes the message is better sung, than from the spoken word.
My hope is that during this journey through Advent, our quest for the Coming Cosmic Christ, that it will empower us to drink the new wine and take Christ out of the smallbox that for too long Christ has been put into. Let us be intoxicated with love and openness as we welcome the Universal Christ into our hearts and minds.
AMEN
