Let us ponder the joy! + Christmas / Navidad 2014

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(http://toddstocker.wordpress.com/2013/12/25/pondering/)
M. Campbell-Langdell+
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaías 62:6–12; Salmo 97; Tito 3:4–7; Lucas 2: (1–7), 8–20)

They shall be called, "The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD";
y a Jerusalén, «La ciudad deseada»,
«La ciudad no abandonada».
Jerusalem and Israel are not forsaken. After the period of exile, there may be much work to do, but God promises Israel return and redemption. En el pasaje de hoy del profeta Isaías, Israel ha sufrido exilio y hay mucho que hacer para reconstruir su cuidad de Jerusalén, pero Dios promete que no estarán abandonados.[1]
Israel is not forsaken, and neither are Joseph and Mary, that poor couple who couldn’t even find a room at the inn. Y Jose y María, la pobre pareja que ni pudo encontrar una posada. Ellos no están abandonados, pero Dios los busca en forma de unos pastores. Mary and Joseph are not abandoned but are sought out, for their Christ-child, by shepherds, and then magi. 
The angelic host can’t keep themselves from bursting out of the heavens to proclaim their joy. Los ángeles están tan emocionados que los cielos no los pueden contener.
In fact, the angel that speaks to the shepherds here is the third angel who visits someone in the gospel of Luke. Solamente estamos en el segundo capítulo de San Lucas y ya hemos tenido dos otras visitaciones de ángeles. El primero es la visita del ángel Gabriel a Zacarías. First is the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah of John the Baptist’s birth. Y después la virgen María escucha del mismo ángel Gabriel que ella va a ser ambos la mujer joven más feliz en el mundo y la joven menos feliz en su pueblo. Then we have the annunciation to Mary from the same angel Gabriel that she will bear a child, the son of God. The two previous visitations have been in private settings, and have required a private response. En estas ocasiones, las visitas y las respuestas han sido privadas. María muestra fe y Zacarías muestra incredulidad—ella canta y él está mudo por un tiempo. Mary’s response is filled with faith, but Zechariah’s is a bit incredulous (and really who can blame him?) Mary’s mouth opens in song and Zechariah’s is closed for a time.
Now, the angel comes to the shepherds. Ahora, el ángel, sin nombre, un ángel más representativo de todos los ángeles—viene a los pastores. These are strangers to Mary and Joseph. No suponemos que conocen los pastores antes a María y a Jose. What a sign of God’s brilliant inefficiency, to bring a message to shepherds on a hillside on the outskirts of town, and to expect those loners (because shepherding was a solitary gig) to bring that message all the way into the smelly, dirty town, to some strangers they’d never met? Que ineficiente, ¿no? ¿Que los ángeles vienen a los pastores en las colinas cercas de Belén y esperan que ellos traigan el mensaje a Jose y a María al centro de la cuidad?  
But they do go and share the good news. They, like the angels, are busting at the seams with it. They forget their usual reserve. Dios sabe lo que Dios hace y los pastores sí comparten las buenas nuevas con gozo. Imagínense, ¡estos son los vaqueros de aquel tiempo, y entran a la cuidad bailando con el gozo del Señor!
They do come into town these cowboys, and they do share the Good News.
Y de una manera extraña, esta proclamación de los pastores, algo un poco más público, parece confirmar la verdad asombrosa. Oddly, this statement from strangers; this more public event although still in the privacy of the manger, seems to confirm the shocking truth. God has indeed pitched His tent among us. Dios ha cumplido su promesa de que habló el profeta Isaías. Dios ha venido a vivir entre nosotros. Dios verdaderamente es Emmanuel. God truly is Emmanuel, God with us.
O Come, O Come… the anthem of these long years, has been answered. Dios nos ha escuchado el Vendrá, vendrá … Emmanuel.
Now, Mary has heard this all before. Esta no es una nueva noticia para la virgen María. Pero de una manera está confirmada la verdad increíble. The stunning truth is confirmed, and we almost can’t take it in. Todo el mundo está en un estado de pura admiración. Everyone is in shock and awe. Astonished.
Y hace perfecto sentido. It is all very fitting. Because the shepherds remind us of whom, but David, that shepherd king, the progeny of whom would be the anointed one. El Mesías vendrá de la raíz de David, y los pastores representan a David.[2] Si no escuchábamos que Jose era de la familia de David, y que Jesús nació en el pueblo de David, aquí hay otra prueba de su papel de Mesías. Who could this be, but the Son of Man, the awaited Messiah? Not only born in the city of David, with an adoptive father of the house of David, but greeted by the icons of the Shepherd-king—OK God, we got it! Está muy claro que este niño, nacido a Jose y María, es el Mesías.
Well, to be fair, God needs to be clear. Es verdad que Dios tiene que estar claro en este punto. Porque esto es grande, pero no solo grande, pero casi imposible de comprender. It’s almost impossible to comprehend. Too big!
So Mary does the most sensible thing. She ponders it all. La respuesta de María es perfecta. Ella guarda todo esto en su corazón.
After the public statement, the response is personal, as it always is. Después de un anuncio un poco más público, la respuesta es personal. Y siempre es así.
She ponders it all in her heart. María guarda todo esto en su corazón.
Perhaps this is what we need to do, too. We need to ponder these mysteries; this miracle, in our hearts. Es probable que esto sea lo que tenemos que hacer, también. Tenemos que guardar todo esto en nuestros corazones. Then we will let God soak into our being in a new way. Podemos dejar a Dios penetrar a nuestro ser de una manera nueva e inesperada. Let us treasure all these things.
Let us allow God-with-us to dwell in our hearts and penetrate every fiber of our being. Deja que la luz de Cristo entra su corazón y permea cada fibra de su ser.
Maybe then, like Mary, we may live into the pure wonder of God. Podremos vivir el gozo puro de Dios. Y esto nos hará fuertes, justo como María, para el trabajo que habrá en el futuro. So that we can remain steadfast because, just like Mary, just like the Israelites in Isaiah, there is work to do. Habrá tiempos difíciles en el futuro.
But in the meantime, let us remain here, rejoicing, treasuring, lost in wonder. Por el momento, nos quedamos aquí, perdidos por el momento completamente en el gozo y el asombro que es nuestro Señor. Let us ponder the joy! Amen.


[1] Katherine C. Calore, “Exegetical Perspective: Isaiah 62:6-12,” FOTW Year B, Vol. 1.
[2] Kimberly Bracken Long, “Homiletical Perspective: Luke 2:1-14 (15-20),” FOTW Year B, Vol. 1.

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