Move 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
Christmas did not happen by chance.
It did not happen on one particular day like Dec. 25th.
Oh, the birth of Christ took place on one day.
But the plans started long before.
Long before Christ was born.
Long before the angel visited Mary.
Long before the Israelites were in exile.
Long before life in the Promised Land.
Long before the Israelites were rescued from Israel and led into the Promised Land.
Long before God called Israel a special nation.
Long before Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge.
Even before God breathed the breath of life in humanity.
When the earth was a formless void.
When God looked out over the generations and saw what would happen; saw the betrayal and the sinfulness;
Way back before God even created.
The Word was with God.
And God decided that the desire to love a people.
To love us.
To love you.
That's when Christmas began.
With the gift of love that would overcome everything the future would hold.
Sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
Move 2: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”
I confess that I seldom pick up a baby. I almost never did before I had my own. There is always someone around who will pick the baby up. Not that I mind picking up babies. I enjoy holding them during baptisms. I held mine, but I don't have this urge to pick up babies. But, most babies want to be picked up.
I was reminded of a Madeleine L’Engle story. L’Engle spoke of a couple with a very precocious young daughter who was not thrilled at the prospect of having to share the house with a soon-to-arrive baby brother. Soon after they brought the baby home from the hospital, the little girl announced she needed to see the baby – alone. The parents were a bit hesitant, but the girl was insistent, so they agreed, but stood with the door cracked so they could hear what was happening without her knowledge. They listened as she pulled a chair over and climbed up into the crib with the infant, and then they heard her say, “Tell me about God; I’m forgetting.” blog, don't Eat Alone, Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 2/26/10
The baby Jesus begs for us to pick him up, to make him part of our lives.
To have a personal relationship with God.
Sing “Like a child”
Move 3: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The light of Christ has arrived.
We can play with that image lots of different ways.
We are the light.
Martin Luther: “There are some of us...who think to ourselves, ‘If I had only been there! how quick I would have been to help the baby. I would have washed his linen. How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!’ Yes, we would. We say that because we know now how great Christ is, but if we had been there at the time, we would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem...Why don’t we do it now? We have Christ in our neighbor/.”
The manger we see this morning is empty. Christ has gone into the world. We are Christ's presence in the world.
Sing “the first Nowell”
Move 3: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
"Sharon's Christmas prayer" (Sharon was a colleague of mine in seminary who wrote a Christmas poem each year until she died several years ago. We were in a prayer group together in seminary and remained in close communication through our years of ministry).
She was five,
sure of the facts,
and recited them
with slow solemnity,
convinced every word
was revelation.
She said
they were so poor
they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
to eat
and they went a long way from home
without getting lost. The lady rode
a donkey, the man walked, and the baby
was inside the lady.
They had to stay in a stable
with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
but the Three Rich Men found them
because a star lighted the roof.
Shepherds came and you could
pet the sheep but not feed them.
Then the baby was borne.
And do you know who he was?
Her quarter eyes inflated
to silver dollars.
The baby was God.
And she jumped in the air,
whirled round, dove into the sofa,
and buried her head under the cushion
which is the only proper response
to the Good News of the Incarnation.
Sing #28 “Good Christians Friends Rejoice”
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment