Advent Week 4: Christmas Day

Dec 25, 20235 min read

I grew up with a rather santized view of the nativity scene which was so unrealistic. The holy is not always clean and neat I wonder what it was really like for Mary and Joseph the night when she gave birth to Jesus. Were they scared? What was the birth process like for Mary? How did they prepare for the birth? Kat Armos reminds us that "a broken, refugee, brown, female, naked, hormonal, marginalized body is how divinity entered this world and where divinity still makes itself known today"...

I am reminded of a birth I attended many years ago in a Q'eqchi' indigenous village in Guatemala around Christmas time. I rode on the back of a pickup truck on a bumpy, muddy road and walked to my friend's house where I would be staying. There was no other transportation in or out of the community until the next day. We were a day's drive on a dirt road to reach any medical care.

When I arrived at the home of my friends, I was told that Maria was in labor with her first child and they were very happy I would be present to help deliver the baby. Though I am a nurse, I was not expecting to deliver a baby that night, so I didn't take any equipment with me. The family was busy preparing the house for the birth. The grandfather put plastic around the pole walls to prevent cold air from coming into the house and harming the mother (an indigenous belief). Pedro, the father of the baby was instructed to get wooden poles to make a low bed close to the fire. He then hung a lasso from the ceiling to support the mother while she squatted to have the baby. Clean plastic was put on the floor under the lasso where the baby would be born. The grandmother killed a chicken and began preparing a chicken soup for nourishment once the baby was born and the grandfather went to buy a new razon blade to cut the umbilical cord. Clean rags were prepared to receive the baby. We prayed together numerous times throughout the labor for the safety and health of the mother and baby. When all the tasks were completed, we waited for the birth.

Labor was hard and long, and I worried about the risks of this delivery. Childbirth is a big risk in the Q'eqchi' communities and mothers and babies often die. When it was time for the baby to be born, Pedro stood behind Maria supporting her while she held on to the lasso. It was hard for me to see by candlelight, but we managed to deliver a beautiful baby girl. She was wrapped in clean rags and began breastfeeding with a little coaxing. According to their custom, no clothes are bought until after the birth in case the baby does not live. We all prayed and thanked God for the safe delivery and healthy mother and baby.

After the birth, we sat around the fire eating chicken soup and talking while the mother and baby laid close to the fire. Pedro reflected, "I wonder how it was for Mary and Joseph when Jesus was born? We have it so much better than they did. We are so fortunate. Mary and Joseph were far from home with no one to help them. We have a midwife, and our parents and grandparents are here to help and support us. They instructed us what to do. Jesus was born among the animals in a smelly and dirty stable. We have a nice clean and warm house and good food prepared for us."

I went to bed in awe and wonder of this holy moment I experienced with my Q'eqchi' friends. In the early morning I was startled by a knock on the door with the news about the neighbor woman who died in childbirth. The father of the baby asked Maria to breastfeed his newborn. Being present with this vulnerable indigenous family with no possibility of medical care forever changed me and my perspectives about the risks and fears Mary and Joseph must have experienced. Armas says it well, "Encompassed within the birth of Jesus is the deeply difficult and deeply beautiful, the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the material. Like our lives, it was fleshly and carnal--and it was also holy".

Expectation

the bliss of a bit of shelter,

some straw to lie down on

after that interminable journey;

somewhere to rest between pains.

I thought we’d never make it

at one stage – the checkpoint

as we entered Bethlehem.

Thank God for a compassionate soldier,

and the kindly innkeeper –

she obviously understood

what I was going through.

Here in the quiet,

away from the crowds,

surrounded by the warmth of animals

and the solicitous strength of Joseph,

I can get on with things.

I never imagined when I agreed

to Gabriel’s request from God

that it was going to be like this.

I didn’t expect a palace

but hoped for a home and maybe

my mother and the local midwife

to help out,

or even Cousin Elisabeth –

she’s been through it recently.

The trouble is, when you say ‘Yes’ to God,

you never know what to expect!

~Carol Dixon

Song: Mary's Lullaby (Black-Haired Boy)

Lyrics:

Oh black-haired boy, your eyes are dark

As midnight lit by shining stars

And bright as love that filled my heart

When first I looked at you

Your skin is brown as pilgrim roads

Lead straight to fragrant olive woods

As brown as mine, and I'm in awe

Each time I look at you

You made the ox and lamb, my love

And shaped the wings of turtledoves

You wrote the hidden secrets of

The world I'll show to you

Within my body you took form

And wailed aloud when you were born

The moment that my heart was torn

With love I'll show to you

You wove these wonders through the earth

You made them all and gave them worth

And now you join them in your birth

And I'll give them to you

I'll show you skies filled up with stars

Teach you words for light and dark

All the wondrous things there are

I'll give them all to you

Reflection:

Perhaps you have given birth, how was the experience for you? How did you prepare for the birth? How would it feel to be alone with your spouse at the birth of your first child with no one to help and no medical care available?
God chose to come into this world among the marginalized. When have you seen the Divine enter into the world today through the marginalized? What does this teach us about God?
Saying "yes" to God, you never know what to expect! Have you ever said 'yes' to God? What was the experience like for you?

Sources: