All the readings for today proclaim the same concept. For God, greatness does not emerge from among the powerful, the rich, and the mighty. Rather, it is from the most insignificant, the least powerful from which greatness emerges.
From the prophet Micah (5:1-4a), we hear: “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” In Hebrews (10:5-10), we hear: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“ And in the Gospel, we hear the story of a pregnant teenage Mary going to visit and assist her very aged, and very pregnant cousin, Elizabeth. It is of this very humble, very powerless young teenager, that Elizabeth acclaims, “Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb. … Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
What is not included in the Gospel is Mary’s response to Elizabeth, which we call the Canticle of Mary. In her response, Mary acknowledges her lowliness and insignificance and marvels that God selected her to be the God-bearer. And, like Hannah many centuries before, Mary reiterates that the mighty, the rich, and the powerful will be deposed by God, and, in their place God will raise the lowly and insignificant to places of power (Luke 1:46-55).
As will be related in the liturgies of Christmas, Jesus is not born from a rich and powerful Judean family, but is born poor, in a stable filled with animals, of poor, refugee parents. When Jesus emerges to begin his public ministry, it is not from the capital of Jerusalem, but from the backwater village of Nazareth, a village that is considered by the elite of his time as a place of disrepute.
What we are reminded in today’s readings is that God accepts us in our own state of lowliness. In spite of the brokenness we may have in our lives; in spite of the sins or addictions with which we struggle daily, it is from our own brokenness, our own insignificance that God calls us forth to serve God and others. It is not important as to whether we think we are worthy or good enough to be called, but rather, what is important is that God deems us worthy to be called and to serve.
What is required of us? The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 51(8-10a, 18-19). “Behold, you desire true sincerity; and secretly you teach me wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. You will let me hear gladness and joy; For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.”
Jesus will remind us later as he begins his public life that if we desire to be great, we must first be the servant of others. The first in this life, will be the last in the eyes of God, and the last and lowly in this life God will place first.
As we prepare this week to celebrated the Incarnation of Jesus, let us cast aside the notion that we are not worthy enough to take part in the celebration of Christmas. The time has come for us to shuck away from us our preconceived notions of greatness and power. We are reminded that God sets the human order of significance and importance on its ear. In God’s schema, greatness emerges only from those who are humble and lowly. Let us prepare ourselves accordingly.
