A Christmas Gift: Reclaiming the Nativity
A Rewrite of Luke 2 and Matthew 2 from Lisa Adams and 40 Orchards
listen to Lisa Adams reading the story
And in the same region, there were shepherds abiding and living in the fields,
keeping watch over their flock during the night.
But they were not only men.
No, women have always been tenders of sheep.
Daughters who knew the hills and paths by heart,
Mothers who tended to the fire through the coldest hours.
Widows who knew the language of sheep as intimately as the language of people,
and Sisters who carried water and held lambs.
On that night, women and men and those who lived and worked together in this field
were awake under the open sky.
When the messenger of the Living Presence appeared and broke open the darkness.
The angel spoke words that each of them could hear:
“Do not be afraid. Behold, look, see - I bring you the good news, good news that carries great and spacious joy for all people.”
The army of angels - the celestial luminaries -
offered God praise, giving Them the highest glory –
the kind of glory that comes from God’s consistent and ongoing concern for Their creation–
and to the land, the inhabited earth, the angels offered peace,
a hope for restoration to wholeness in relationships with each other and with God.
Quickly delegating their duties, the household of shepherds began their journey.
Young shepherds running quickly, older shepherds setting a steady pace,
Everyone was following the angels' echoes, the messengers' voices.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the house of bread, they found what they were seeking.
The shepherds saw the newborn wrapped in cloth.
Feeling compelled to kneel beside this newly formed family,
The young shepherds offered soft wool to lay beneath the child.
All of the shepherds breathed in awe.
Later, far to the east,
Wise ones were studying the sky.
Some were men, yes,
But not all wisdom belongs to men.
Some women charted the stars.
And kept the learning alive in their communities.
One of the magi lifted her gaze and noticed the rising of a strange and brilliant light.
She told the other Magi, and they all agreed, “This star is special. This star is calling us to a new kind of king.”
They all traveled together - scholars and seekers,
carrying their scrolls and questions on the long journey through a rough desert.
They read the sky as though it were sacred – a map and a revelation.
When they reached the child, no longer a baby -
They offered gifts.
She offered myrrh - a gift for healing, and for anointing,
He offered frankincense – a fragrant incense used in holy moments and as medicine for the body.
They brought gold – a source of beauty and resistance, a blessing and a reminder.
All of the magi offered their presence.
Herod had demanded that they return to him with news of this young king.
But dreams have a way of warning those who pay attention to them – and these magi knew how to pay attention to dreams.
And so it was that Jesus and his parents were witnessed by a community of people –
a diverse and beautiful sampling of ordinary people doing ordinary work on ordinary days.
And now, the invitation is for all of us -
To watch the night with courage.
To follow the light with trust.
To welcome the traveler with open hands.
To bear witness to the Love that comes close
And to get to the liberation work that is ours to do.
Amen.
