Blue Christmas – Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 1:18-25
Homeless. When the Babylonians swept through Jerusalem, destroying the city, carrying people off into exile, they must have felt homeless. Sure, they had a roof over their heads in their new home of Babylon, but it wasn’t home. They were in danger of losing their culture, their way of life–and even their God seemed to have left them. Much of the Bible was written down during this time, as a safeguard against losing the history of Israel’s faith in this new place. But we also get new things written at this time, too, like the beautiful poetry of Isaiah’s prophecy. “A road will be made there,” it says, “and it will be called the holy way. The righteous will travel on it, and not even a fool can get lost when following it.” This was an incredible vision, of a road being carved out through the desert, straight from Babylon back to Jerusalem. A vision of God leading the parade of Israelites, leading them back home. This was God’s promise to them, a hope for the days to come.
Homeless. If Joseph had gone through with his plan to send her away, Mary would have been homeless. Her parents might have taken her in–though that was by no means certain–but there was still no way for an unwed teenage mother to find work, to feed her child. No, she’d have spent her days begging for money or food. But what else could Joseph do? It would have been worse for them both if she’d have stayed, and besides, it was the right thing to do according to God’s law. So God came to him in a dream, and gave him another way. Joseph adopted Jesus as his own, and so God gave them all a new home together. A way to find hope in the hardest of times.
We feel homeless too, this Christmas season. We’re told that Christmas should be a time for happiness, for joy! But economic realities mean that this Christmas may be smaller, tighter, than any season before. Or perhaps we have loved ones who are conspicuous in their absence this year, and the empty spot at Christmas dinner means this just doesn’t feel like home anymore. Even if our Christmas has every reason to be a happy one, the stresses and strains of the holidays mean that our family homes don’t feel quite right. And so we are left feeling homeless, empty, incomplete at Christmas time.
And God’s promise to us is the same as it was to the Israelites, and to that Holy Family centuries ago. Not that everything will be back to normal again. When the Israelites returned home, they found a wasteland, and had to start building their city again from scratch. And Mary and Joseph’s lives were never the same, not with the presence of this little boy, this extraordinary boy. We will continue to love and mourn what we have lost. But God promises that we will be brought home again. Home, in the Christian community which gathers and supports us. And home, ultimately, in the love of God in Jesus Christ, who is always with us, and will never let us go.