Christmas Eve Reflection and Monologues

a service by Carrie Eikler
with Hannah Kalend, Sarah Kalend, and Jensen Scott

Throughout Advent we have talked about preparing for the Christ child by exploring the many faces of God that come alive in Jesus: the hidden face of God, the comforting face of God, the restoring face of God, and the indwelling face of God. Tonight, as we prepare to see the face of God in the Christmas story, the human face of God, we cannot take ourselves out of the equation. The young girl Mary was given a message that she should bear all of this into the world. And we might wonder, as she prepared to bring the Christ child into the world,
what are all the faces Mary wore?

Mary is not a flat character in the Christmas story. She is not simply a willing recipient of God’s command. At times she does simply accept, but at times she is terrified…and at times she claims that what could be a horrible situation, she will use to show how God loves those just like her, those who society would reject.

These are not different than the many responses we may have when called to bear Christ in the world. We may acquiesce, we may be terrified, we may be joyful! Likely, throughout our walk of discipleship, we will feel all of these: joy, embarrassment, ambivalence, fear, confusion. We can find solace with Mary, that while we might not carry the Christ within us as a baby, we join her in someway, bringing Christ into the world.

I invite you to hear the stories of Mary, the range of her emotions. This night in your life of discipleship, how do you relate to the different faces of Mary? What pain and fear, or joy and thanksgiving accompany you, as you bear Christ into the world? Our God invites you to join Mary, and bring these to the manger tonight.


(*Monologues written by Peter Slofstra, Reformed Worship, September 2001)

Matthew 1:18-25

FEARFULLY PREGNANT
Right now I am very alone.

At first I felt a little skeptical, like Sarah when the angel told Abraham she would have a baby. Wondered what on earth was going on. [Chuckles]
A girl of thirteen should answer back to an angel? I have to admit I was a bit proud of having been chosen by God for such a special task . . . for all of, maybe, five minutes.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it happen to me just as you say.”

Then I told my mother, “I have seen an angel! He had a message for me.”
Mother was more concerned with preparing dinner for the men. “Mary,” she said, “bring me some oil. Bring the flour.” She was too busy then to hear about an angel’s message.

She did stop to listen when I told her about the baby.

“Mother, it is not going to be Joseph’s baby.” [Realizes what she is saying, breaks off]

And that’s when I began to realize that while I might be blessed among women, it was a very mixed blessing.My mother lives in disgrace. My father wants to know who the father is. “I’ll beat him within an inch of his life,” he screams.

Luke 1:26-37
GREATLY TROUBLED
Joseph came to talk to me today. Now I am very much alone.

He looked so sad, not angry as I thought he might be. Sad. For himself. For me. For the baby. We were betrothed.

He was struggling. Wanting not to believe the voices in the marketplace. Wanting to believe me. Oh, how I need him to believe me!

But he said that he could only believe his own eyes.

I feel utterly abandoned. Even by God. I cannot understand why God has supposedly chosen me for the highest honor ever bestowed on a woman but has allowed my family and friends to totally reject me. If it were not for the evidence growing daily inside me, I would doubt the whole thing. The baby and I are in grave danger.

My father sold some of our animals recently, and the rumor is spreading that the money was used to buy Joseph’s silence.

When I mentioned that my cousin Elizabeth is also having a baby, my father thought it would be wise—and safer—for me to visit her. I can assist her during her own preparations—after all, she is not exactly young.

The angel himself told me that Elizabeth was pregnant! I hope she will believe me.

Luke 1:38-45
DEEPLY TRUSTING
She looked at me and said, “Mary! What a blessing to see you, my dear!”
How ready I was to hear those words.

I had traveled with a caravan down to Judea. My father supplied me with a donkey. You can imagine Elizabeth’s surprise when I arrived.

[Reflects] She called me a blessing. What a change from what the people back home were saying!

“And you, also, Elizabeth. Adonai sar shalom. Blessing be yours, and God’s peace within your walls.”

Elizabeth couldn’t wait to tell me her news. A woman at her age, barren for years, now pregnant in her sixth month.

She was surprised to hear that I already knew. Who would have thought that an angel would have spread such wonderful gossip!

I was surprised to hear that Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, had met Gabriel too.

I told her, “Gabriel came to tell me that I am also to be a mother. Elizabeth, I am to bear the Messiah.”

Then Elizabeth winced. I quickly came close to support her. She said she’d just felt the strongest kick ever.

And then something amazing happened. Elizabeth became filled with the Spirit of God. She said, “Mary, my dear, you are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How fortunate I am to have the mother of my Lord come to me. The babe that kicks within me is leaping for joy to hear your voice.”

First, the angel called me blessed, and now Elizabeth. Even her unborn baby knew!

Looking at the beautiful smile on her face, I remembered Gabriel’s words, “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Luke 1:46-56
VERY JOYFUL
I’m bursting with God-news;I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.God took one good look at me, and look what happened—I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.

His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It’s exactly what he promised,

beginning with Abraham and right up to now!