One of the relaxing things I enjoy most is watching movies. On my days off, I am always on the lookout for a good film. Each Friday, I look forward to reading film critic Joe Morganstern’s reviews and recommendations for various movies foreign and domestic. As a result, I have seen many, many movies. But out of all the films I have seen, one of my favorites remains one that I first saw long ago and have enjoyed many times since. This movie is near and dear to many, probably to a number of you as well and it is titled, “The Sound of Music” with Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. It’s hard not to love this film’s winning combination of fun music, lovable characters, family values, and engaging plot-lines. At one point in this lovely movie, Julie Andrew’s character, Maria, sings about some of her favorite things. I won’t ruin the song forever by singing it for you, but one of them is "brown paper packages tied up with string."
I couldn’t help but think of this image as the season of Advent begins to wind down and we look forward to celebrating Christmas in a few short days. My hunch is that most of the gifts that will be exchanged and found under trees will be wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper, full of shiny gold and silver patterns and holiday images. Some will have bows and ribbons and all will be beautiful to look at and impossible to resist opening. Very few will be brown paper packages tied up with string. And if we had a choice of which gift we would choose, based on appearances alone, most of us would prefer the one wrapped with beautiful paper and flowing ribbons. But is that a good thing?
In today’s readings, there is a certain preference for the one whom the world passes over. Take the first reading for example. In it, the prophet Micah encourages the little town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem was nothing in the eyes of the world. More than that, it was even insignificant in the eyes of the twelve tribes of Judah. It was a one-horse, or perhaps more accurately, a one-camel town. It was the hoosier-ville of biblical times, insignificant, unimportant, irrelevant. Not a place that you would brag about being from. But not for long! Micah shares some shocking news! God will make this little unimportant town, a place passed over by the world, the home of the messiah; here he will begin the salvation of the whole world. It will no longer be insignificant; now it will be known forever and always as a place honored and blessed by God.
This underdog theme continues in the Gospel. Here we have two women who are experiencing unusual pregnancies. The first is that of Elizabeth. She has been barren her whole life and her marriage to Zechariah has produced no offspring. In biblical times, this was seen as a curse and even a punishment by God for some evil committed. She is no Heidi Klum! In the eyes of the world, her best days are behind her and her purpose is fading. She is not shiny, new, or flashy. But what does God do? He chooses Elizabeth to be mother of the last and greatest prophet to walk this earth. He entrusts to her the life of John the Baptist, who will prepare the way of the messiah. Yet another case of God choosing what the world has passed by and written off.
But this is not all, nor is Elizabeth’s pregnancy the most unheard of. She is visited by her cousin, Mary. Most bible scholars believe the mother of God was a young teenage girl around 15 or 16 when she had Jesus. This was common in a time when people’s life expectancy was a mere 30-40 years. In any case, Mary was a nobody. She was not a glamorous Kate Middleton whose every moment of pregnancy was covered by reporters and the masses. She was a poor girl who wouldn’t have been known by anyone but her friends and family. She was not a member of the royal family or the daughter of rich and powerful parents. This no-name maiden received the shocking news that she would become the Mother of God. And she would do this while still maintaining her virginity. Not exactly the way the world expected the savior to enter the world. And certainly not the person most would have chosen for this honor.
As we enter this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we recognize that many of the gifts God presents to our world are, in the words of the “Sound of Music”, brown paper packages tied up with string. They are not covered in bright flashy wrapping; they are not the first thing that catches our eye. So many times, the things endorsed by our culture as great or strong or important to success are little more than fancy coverings. When it comes to sharing his goodness with us, God is not interested in trying to compete with the flashy things of this world. He does not try to win our love with gimmicks or empty promises.
What we learn from the readings today is that God often uses those things and people that the world dismisses as unimportant, irrelevant, and no longer useful. In Bethlehem, Elizabeth, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we see three of God’s gifts in brown paper wrappings. Those divine sort of gifts are all around us but we often miss them, getting distracted by worldly presents that catch our eye and divert our attention. The lesson for us to keep in mind this Sunday is straightforward: do not discount what the world disregards. Do not discount the weak, the old, the unpopular, the unknown, or the simple. God may be working through them to bring his love and salvation into your life. Follow this advice and prepare to experience the wonders of God at work in the world this Christmas season.
