“A Woman Thing”

Luke 1:39-45

I have a friend who enjoys discussing Christianity in the postmodern world. He loves taking up cutting edge issues, and exploring how our faith applies in a world that’s a lot different than it was just a few years ago, let alone back when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

And he loves the faith. He sees it as the only path that has the possibility of bringing peace and justice to the world. He sees Christianity as a faith that has power to set people free. It is a faith that he feels makes sense to thinking people. And he believes with all his heart that Jesus is the Savior of the world!

But then comes the Virgin Birth - and a few other things in the Bible that seem to defy both science and reason – and he disconnects. Almost goes into convulsions! Why do Christians have to believe such silly things, he wants to know?

He tells me about the problem he has when he attends his Presbyterian church. When they recite the Apostles’ Creed during the service he finds himself in the awkward position of having to just mumble when he gets to certain parts he doesn’t agree with. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived of the mumble mumble, and born of the mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble…”

And he wonders if anyone notices. And he’s very apologetic about it. He says, “I WISH I could believe all that stuff, but I just can’t!”

What are we going to do with people like this friend of mine? I’ve been wondering lately about how I might help him come more deeply into the Christmas story by taking up his concern about the Virgin Birth. And I think I’d start by telling him that he’s not the only one who mumbles through the Apostles’ Creed. Why, there are many folks inside and outside the Church who – like him – wish they could believe it all, but just can’t quite get there.

And then I’d tell him what I believe.

You see, I believe that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Like my friend, I used to mumble a lot about all this too, but I don’t need to mumble anymore. I believe in the Virgin Birth.

Because, you see, this wonderful description of the birth of Jesus is not so much an issue about science or reason, but about the essence of our faith, which is God’s grace. And the context of the story of this remarkable birth is the life of a woman. You see, the Virgin Birth is not what you think it is at first glance. It is, at its heart, a woman thing!

My friend correctly tells me that Hebrew scholars say that the prophecy of Isaiah 7 where it’s predicted that, “A virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son…” need not be translated with the word “virgin.” The Hebrew word actually translates “young woman.” And he’s right. You see, my friend is not uninformed. He knows more about the Bible than most people do.

But I think I’d stop him here by saying, “You’re right about Isaiah 7. The correct translation is ‘young woman’. But let me challenge you with this. That might be important if the Virgin Birth is just a linguistic thing. But it’s not! It’s…a woman thing!”

But that doesn’t settle it for my friend. He is aware of the many Bible historians who point out that, in the ancient world, political leaders like the Caesars often claimed a virgin birth to bolster their authority. Surely, they say, the disciples of Jesus did much the same thing – trying to prop up Jesus’ divinity by claiming that he was born of a virgin. Well, I tell my friend, that’s true that people sometimes did that in the ancient world. But do you know what? In the earliest writings of the Christian community there is no record of anyone using the Virgin Birth as a proof of Jesus’ divinity. Paul didn’t use it that way. Peter didn’t use it that way. John didn’t use it that way. You’d think that if such a theory were true, you’d see some evidence of it in the teaching of the apostles. But you don’t.

And besides, I’d tell my friend, “This is not just an historical thing. It’s…a woman thing!”

Well, he’d say, “What about the theologians who use the Virgin Birth to claim that Jesus was sinless and therefore qualified to offer himself as a sacrifice for others?” Well, actually, that idea came along a little later. The Bible does claim that Jesus was without sin, but not because of his birth. It’s because of his life! I mean, here is the most beautiful, loving, good-hearted, God-revealing man who ever lived! Who can look at his life and find fault? Can you? I can’t! But even so, I’d want to say to my friend, “This is not just a theological thing. It’s…a woman thing!”

And then he’d get to his main point. “DO YOU REALLY THINK IT IS SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE FOR A VIRGIN TO GET PREGNANT AND HAVE A BABY?”

Well, there were some girls in my high school…

No, of course not! - although, to be honest with you, science is edging us ever closer to such a thought. When little Louise Joy Brown was born in England on July 25^th, 1978 she became the world’s first test-tube baby. She was actually conceived outside her mother’s womb! Miracle of miracles! And just recently, I read an article about how some scientists in Japan have created human sperm out of stem cells! Maybe one day, we’ll be able to get ourselves pregnant! Won’t that be a hoot! And maybe science WILL discover such a possibility as a Virgin Birth. But for right now, you’re correct, my friend. Virgin Births are scientifically impossible.

And then I’d smile at him and say, “But this is not just a science thing. It’s…a woman thing!”

You know, they say, “Men are from Mars, and women are from….Venus.”

There are vast differences between men and women. I’m reminded during the holiday season that, were it not for Sandy, our house would not have any decorations, I’d forget to buy the tree, and Christmas might easily come and go without me even knowing it! I don’t know if that’s a woman and man thing or just a Marty and Sandy thing, but I know there are differences between us. That’s been true since the beginning of time.

One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God. “Lord, I have a problem!”

“What’s the problem, Eve?” asks God.

“Lord,” she says, “I know you created me and have provided for me and surrounded me with this beautiful garden and all these wonderful animals, but I’m just not happy.”

“Why is that?” asks the Lord.

“Well, I’m lonely.”

God thinks for a moment, and then says, “Well, Eve, in that case, I have a perfect solution. I shall create a man for you.!”

“What’s a “man”, Lord?”

“Well, this “man” will be strong, loyal, good-looking and passionate. He will protect you, and hunt for you, and care for you.”

“Sounds GREAT!” says Eve.

God continues, “Man will keep you from being lonely, but there IS one catch.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, man has many good qualities, but he’s also very proud and egotistical. In order to prevent him from pouting through all eternity, we’re gonna have to let him believe he was made first and that he is the boss!”

Eve thinks about it and replies, “Well, I suppose I can do that. I’ll let him think he was made first, and that he’s the boss.”

God says, “Great. And Eve…?”

“Yes, Lord?”

“Let’s keep this just between us girls!”

And the rest, you know, is history!

Now I must apologize to any of you whose sensitivities I have offended with that story. My intention is not to call into question God’s gender. No, my intention is to help my friend understand an important woman thing.

Fact of the matter is that, from the time of the Garden of Eden on, men have dominated this world. Women have not had the same standing as men. The ancient world of the Bible was a very hostile environment for women. Women were considered to be the property of their fathers, and then of their husbands. Women had no place in the Temple, except an outside courtyard where they could gather. They had no voice, no rights, nothing along the line of what women have today. A man could divorce his wife by saying three times, “I divorce you! I divorce you! I divorce you!” Anything that caused his displeasure was just cause. And then she was on her own. Unable to return to her father’s house, she often was forced into prostitution just to survive. If she was caught with a man, it was she who was to be stoned to death, not the man.

Women were nameless nobodies. In fact, there is a prayer that orthodox Jewish men prayed every Sabbath that goes, “Lord I thank thee that I was not made a woman!”

And now, I want to say to my friend, perhaps you can understand how simply amazing the birth of Jesus is! Because, out of all the people in the world God could have chosen to be the agent of salvation, God chose a…what? A woman!

And there wasn’t even a man in sight!

Why, could it be possible that a woman could have value apart from the men in her life? Could it be possible that a woman who was not even allowed to get anywhere near the holy of holies in the Temple could be brought more directly into the presence of God than any man has ever been? Could it be that a woman who even today would not be allowed to preach the Word in many churches could become the one to bear the Living Word to all humanity?

Oh, that’s what you get in the Virgin Birth!

And if all that’s true, then we can discover in this miracle some amazing things about God and God’s way:

First, that God’s way is the way of cherishing the lowly. Robert McAfee Brown paraphrased part of the song that Mary sang – the Magnificat - like this: “God who is mighty has done great things for me--for me, Mary what's-her-name from the wrong side of the tracks, the one with no education, no executive position in the corporate structure of a multinational corporation, the one who is the object of a lot of sly talk and gossip (the father is the Holy Ghost, indeed! A likely story)...” Brown then concludes, “If this is the way God operates, all bets are off. Our assessments of who is important must be put on hold.”

You see, the Virgin Birth teaches that the most important people in our world and in our lives are not those on top, but those on the bottom; not the ones everybody looks up to, but those everybody looks down on; not the ones with their lives all together, but the ones whose lives are broken. These are the people God loves to call and work with. You can read about them on every page of the Bible. You can see them in your family, in our community, and in the world. And maybe, just maybe, we would witness miracles too, if we could learn God’s way of loving, and valuing, and caring for the lowly the same way God valued Mary.

Then a second thing we might learn about God’s way: God’s way often challenges the church, and the accepted institutions and traditions. And there’s a reason for that. God is not tied to the sinful good-old-boy networks of this world, and does not need them to advance His cause. God does not need Catholicism, Protestantism, or any other of the other isms that are just fancy names for religious good-old-boy networks. God does not need the old First Church downtown, or the sprawling Megachurch in the suburbs. If you’ve ever noticed, the accepted institutions and traditions are often geared toward protecting themselves from the lowly and despised. So God often works outside. Not in Jerusalem among the priests, but in Nazareth with the Mary’s of this world. So you and I can’t be afraid to challenge the church and its traditions when they stand in the way of lifting the lowly. And we’ve got to remember that our most important work is not inside, but outside the church!

And thirdly, we can learn from the Virgin birth that, if God can love and value and accomplish great things through insignificant people like Mary, then God can love and value and accomplish great things through people like us!

You see, it’s not about our strength. It’s not about our ability. It’s not about our stature.

It’s all about God – and what God can do with and through people who are willing to believe.

So, I tell my friend, that’s why I believe in the Virgin Birth. I’ve come to a place in life where I can put up with a certain amount of uneasiness around the science, the history, and the theology of the story in order to believe that God can in fact claim the most disqualified people of all, and in their midst, bring Christ to life for the world!

In the process, I’m learning a new way to live – by cherishing the lowly, by challenging repressive institutions and traditions, and by accepting God’s invitation to let Christ be born in me and live through me to others.

“Conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…!”

I believe these things! I truly do!

I hope you’ll believe them too.