Christmas Message (2008)
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2008
References: Rev. Ed Bacon, Christmas Eve 2006 and Sr. Joan Chittester
The wonderful Christmas stories are being read in many churches this night. The first two chapters of Matthew and Luke are the basis of our Christmas narrative. Each of these gospels presents a very different story. In Matthew, Joseph is the main character. Mary does not speak nor does she receive any revelation. There is no story of the birth itself, no stable, no manger, no angels or shepherds, all of these are in Luke. Tonight, however, I want to talk with you not about these details but about the meaning that lies beneath the stories. Beneath the story of the baby born in Bethlehem, beneath the story of the shepherds, the magi, the angels, the virgin mother, the no-room-in-the-inn—beneath all of these wondrous stories is this deep, deep life truth which tells us that the journey from fear and anxiety to joy and peace always goes through compassion and generosity for others. For the angels this night say that this news is to be good news for all people not just for me and mine, but for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe, in South America, in homes here in America where parents have lost their jobs recently or have been without income for a long time. The baby born in Bethlehem is not only about peace in my heart and peace in my life. The Christmas story is about peace for all people—the people in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan, (add other war zones) and in Jerusalem.
Odetta, the great folk singer that recently died, sang:
There’s fighting in the city where baby Jesus grew.
All in all the Prince of Peace we send a prayer to you.
Walking through Jerusalem I see the signs of war
Calling on the Prince of Peace to walk the streets once more.
Walking in Jerusalem just like the prince of Peace.
Praying for Jerusalem. May all the fighting cease.
O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem
Sweet little baby born in a stable
O Jerus’lem in the morning.
My friends, the message of Christmas is that you and I are given the vision of God, the one God who always in every age wants to become embodied anew—not in the daylight but in the deepest darkness of night. God wants to be born in you and me tonight—in the people who have heard the message of the angels that the one God is not just for our tribe but for everyone. We are the ones who have heard the angels say, “Fear not. Receive this love which will not only make you loving and lovely but will, if you say yes to it, work through everything you do in your life to make the whole world loving and lovely as well.” (Fr. Bacon)
There’s something very different about Christmas this year because of the economic recession. Suddenly, from one end of society to another, people are faced with an unusual vulnerability. For some, the fall down the economic ladder has been severe, for others, less dramatic. With less money available many people have had to find a new way to do Christmas, one that doesn’t depend on things. Maybe this Christmas will be one in which we learn again to focus on love rather than things. As Sister Joan Chittester says, “The parties will be smaller – and more intimate. The gifts will be more useful – and less disposable….In fact, it may actually become a “feast” again, rather than simply a shopper’s holiday.”
So let’s celebrate the feast where the central ingredient is the message that God will always seek human beings to be the bearers of the divine power, God’s power, that makes possible compassionate, inclusive, justice-seeking, peacemaking, forgiving, healing and reconciling love. The message is about a way to bring love and peace not just to me, not just to you, not just to our kind, not just to our religion, but to bring peace to all people, all nations, and the entire world. When you and I love like that, Christmas comes again not just for our families, not just for our hearts, not just for our church, not just for our religion but for the whole world.
So as we participate in this holy celebration, may your Christmas be—as Sister Joan says—“made merry by the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, of generosity and serenity and spirit, that this year will surely bring.” May joy and peace go with you tonight and continue throughout the year to come. Merry Christmas!
References: Rev. Ed Bacon, Christmas Eve 2006 and Sr. Joan Chittester
The wonderful Christmas stories are being read in many churches this night. The first two chapters of Matthew and Luke are the basis of our Christmas narrative. Each of these gospels presents a very different story. In Matthew, Joseph is the main character. Mary does not speak nor does she receive any revelation. There is no story of the birth itself, no stable, no manger, no angels or shepherds, all of these are in Luke. Tonight, however, I want to talk with you not about these details but about the meaning that lies beneath the stories. Beneath the story of the baby born in Bethlehem, beneath the story of the shepherds, the magi, the angels, the virgin mother, the no-room-in-the-inn—beneath all of these wondrous stories is this deep, deep life truth which tells us that the journey from fear and anxiety to joy and peace always goes through compassion and generosity for others. For the angels this night say that this news is to be good news for all people not just for me and mine, but for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe, in South America, in homes here in America where parents have lost their jobs recently or have been without income for a long time. The baby born in Bethlehem is not only about peace in my heart and peace in my life. The Christmas story is about peace for all people—the people in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan, (add other war zones) and in Jerusalem.
Odetta, the great folk singer that recently died, sang:
There’s fighting in the city where baby Jesus grew.
All in all the Prince of Peace we send a prayer to you.
Walking through Jerusalem I see the signs of war
Calling on the Prince of Peace to walk the streets once more.
Walking in Jerusalem just like the prince of Peace.
Praying for Jerusalem. May all the fighting cease.
O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem
Sweet little baby born in a stable
O Jerus’lem in the morning.
My friends, the message of Christmas is that you and I are given the vision of God, the one God who always in every age wants to become embodied anew—not in the daylight but in the deepest darkness of night. God wants to be born in you and me tonight—in the people who have heard the message of the angels that the one God is not just for our tribe but for everyone. We are the ones who have heard the angels say, “Fear not. Receive this love which will not only make you loving and lovely but will, if you say yes to it, work through everything you do in your life to make the whole world loving and lovely as well.” (Fr. Bacon)
There’s something very different about Christmas this year because of the economic recession. Suddenly, from one end of society to another, people are faced with an unusual vulnerability. For some, the fall down the economic ladder has been severe, for others, less dramatic. With less money available many people have had to find a new way to do Christmas, one that doesn’t depend on things. Maybe this Christmas will be one in which we learn again to focus on love rather than things. As Sister Joan Chittester says, “The parties will be smaller – and more intimate. The gifts will be more useful – and less disposable….In fact, it may actually become a “feast” again, rather than simply a shopper’s holiday.”
So let’s celebrate the feast where the central ingredient is the message that God will always seek human beings to be the bearers of the divine power, God’s power, that makes possible compassionate, inclusive, justice-seeking, peacemaking, forgiving, healing and reconciling love. The message is about a way to bring love and peace not just to me, not just to you, not just to our kind, not just to our religion, but to bring peace to all people, all nations, and the entire world. When you and I love like that, Christmas comes again not just for our families, not just for our hearts, not just for our church, not just for our religion but for the whole world.
So as we participate in this holy celebration, may your Christmas be—as Sister Joan says—“made merry by the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, of generosity and serenity and spirit, that this year will surely bring.” May joy and peace go with you tonight and continue throughout the year to come. Merry Christmas!
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 6:00 PM
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