Christmas
2014
Father Adam Trambley
December 24, 2014,
St. John’s Sharon
Walmart aired an ad this year
aimed at the heart
Of our anxious
age.
The theme was “A Little More Joy,”
And it
perfectly hit the heartstrings both
of grandparents who grew up
without enough of the creature
comforts
they now enjoy,
and
which they want to pass on,
and of
Gen-X helicopter parents who are
seeing society slip and
stand scared that their sons and
daughters
might be missing something they need
for
a
long, happy and successful life.
If losing a night of sleep to bake another dozen cookies,
Or scouring
store shelves
in search of a special lego set,
or just a
little more tinsel, or lights, or anything else
could bring a little more joy or a lot more love for
Christmas,
heaven knows that we would do it,
and we often do.
It would be easy now to let Linus come in
And talk
about the true meaning of Christmas
While
walloping on Walmart
And other
contributors to our culture
Of
crass consumerism,
But that’s not what we are here for tonight,
And, in fact, most of what happens
For the
holidays
Even outside of the more religious
observances,
Stems for a
longing to share
In the
blessings of the babe in Bethlehem,
Blessing
deeply desired,
Even
when inadequately understood.
Now I’m not substituting Sam Walton for Saint Nicolaus
Or
advocating excess –
And even Walmart is mostly tongue-in-cheek
When
suggesting buying nine wise men
For the
nativity
if your mantle particularly roomy
or that the doll-making uncle
should have brought two nutcrackers
to avoid a family
fight
(and drastically shorten a ballet)—
But I do want to say this:
God’s coming into the world
In his Son Jesus Christ
Confirms everything good in creation,
And those good things in life
Are what we celebrate particularly
During Christmas.
If we had any doubts about God seeing
All he had made and
saying it was very good,
Then Jesus birth amid baby animals
With gifts of gold and incense,
And later his growing up to turn
Water into wine at parties
And being called a glutton and a drunkard,
Should tell us that
Somehow lights and tinsel and
Santa and snowflake cookies
Are appropriate for appreciating
The great gift of God’s Emmanuel
Coming among us.
Jesus, just like us, had five senses,
And was born into a culture with festive traditions,
And was loved by his family and friends,
And he didn’t stand on ceremony
Or refuse to enjoy anything that was good.
So, we also can celebrate the great
Reconciling act of the incarnation
when earth and heaven are joined,
With the measures of joy brought
By the sights of sparkling lights,
Of
greens and reds,
Of
silver and gold,
Of
brown paper packages
Tied
up with string,
Of colorful
costumes
for Christmas
plays and parties
and the graceful,
energetic lines
danced by
ballerinas;
By the
sounds of choirs and carolers,
And maybe even angels, singing
Songs both sacred and secular,
Of
bells ringing,
Either
for the Salvation Army or
on
someone’s sleigh,
Of
children laughing
Or
occasionally squabbling
Of
stories shared from family
Christmases
long, long ago.
By the
smells of frankincense at midnight mass
Or
of Uncle Val’s cigars on the back porch,
Of
fireplaces burning
Of
cookies baking
Of
the traditional family Christmas
Dinner
wafting from the kitchen.
By the
taste of egg nog and wassail
Of
snickerdoodles and clothespin cookies
Of
chex mix and cheeseballs
Of
fruitcakes and spices
Of
meats and vegetables and
Special
once-a-year Christmas treats
By the feel
of snow falling on our nose and eyelashes
Of
splintery firewood and silky sweaters
Of
warm fuzzy jammies
Of
grandpa’s calloused hands and
the
baby’s smooth cheeks
Of
family cuddles while watching
Charlie
Brown Christmas,
Of, the with the
appropriate person,
Lingering,
passionate kisses
When,
baby, it’s cold outside.
We share these celebrations with
And all
God’s children,
men and women of
goodwill
Throughout the world.
Because the baby Jesus, God’s Son,
became flesh to dwell among us,
And beauty
and delights do bring
a little more joy,
when we are
grateful to our God who made them,
and
let them unite us
to
Jesus who enjoyed them.
But Christ also comes at Christmas
In those
times and places
When joy
and beauty are hard to come by.
When people are cold and hungry
Lonely or
afraid,
The same Jesus who welcomed shepherds and magi
To his
manger,
Also reaches out in welcome
Through foodbanks and community
kitchens
Through
helping hands
And
caring hearts
Through those who take time
To open their lives and their
schedules
In a busy season
To offer warmth and love and
companionship
And maybe even a place
At
the Christmas dinner table
To someone
who needs a meal or a family.
Christ also comes at Christmas
To those
who have families
That may
not be quite the families they would want.
To families
that are estranged,
Families
that have hurt each other
Families
that have not loved in so long
That
they have forgotten how.
When Jesus was in the womb, we remember,
His parents
went to Bethlehem,
Where his father’s
family lived
And no one
had a room for him.
Second
cousins filled up guest rooms.
No one
really wanted somebody giving birth
On a sleeping bag
Under the dining
room table.
So Jesus
was in the cave with the animals,
Who
may have been better company.
Jesus knows the pain of family separation,
And he
knows the struggle and vulnerability
It takes to
overcome it.
His grace is in every stumbling step forward,
In every
reach for reconciliation,
In every
tentative Christmas invitation.
And his loving presence abides with us
When we
require something stronger
Than
ourselves
To bind us
back together.
Christ also comes at Christmas
Into a
world racked by division,
By
violence,
By
racism,
By
war.
Jesus was born in occupied Roman Palestine,
A place at
least as troubled as our time today.
As we yearn for a world of justice and peace;
As we stare into the darkness of the night,
Hungering
and thirsting for righteousness,
Christ the bright morning star,
The
wonderful counselor,
The mighty
God
The Prince
of Peace
The King of
Glory
Comes to us
Opening up
a future kingdom
Of
righteousness and justice
Showing us
the cruciform path to its gates
And suffering beside us
Until
it is finally ushered in.
Christ also comes to us
As our
celebrations are subdued
By the
absence of loved ones
who have already
gone into the near presence of God.
We had a funeral here yesterday,
And one of
the guest dancers
At the early
service
Lost her great-grandmother today.
When we stare into that silent night
Of sadness
and despair
It is
Christ the morning star
Who
shines into our hearts.
Christ Jesus who walked for days
To comfort
the sisters of his friend Lazarus.
Christ Jesus who reached out to mourning parents.
Christ Jesus who suffered death himself
And came
out the other side to new life
Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever,
Who made
the world,
Who
lies in the manager,
and
who broke out of the tomb.
Jesus Christ who is with us tonight as a newborn babe,
And with
our loved ones forever
as their
Resurrected Lord,
Christ comes
so that this night we might hear
the echoes
Of the eternal angelic host
In the harmonies of O Holy Night.
So that this night we might see the
reflection
Of the Eternal light of the world
In the candles and colorful bulbs
Illuminating the darkness around us.
So that this night we might get a
taste
Of the heavenly banquet
That those we
love and see no longer
Are already
enjoying
As we taste our favorite fudge
And come to the altar for our Christmas
communion.
Christ comes to every one of us at Christmas
In whatever
way we need him to,
If we are
open to and wait for his coming.
Jesus is present with us in our celebrations,
But he is
also with us
When the
season is more blue than white.
So on this Holy Night,
take the time to look for him,
With
gratitude for the good things
And with
great longing in the struggles.
For Christ is coming,
And not just with a little more,
But with
the overwhelming abundance of joy
For each
and every one of us.
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