Christmas Eve 2020

202 years ago tonight, was the first performance of a specially commissioned tune. The priest of a small village of Oberndorf, Austria, asked a nearby composer to write a tune for a carol he had composed a few years previously. The organ of the church had been damaged by flooding and the priest needed a tune not written for a great pipe organ. The tune was passed on to a troupe of travelling minstrels and by 1839 Silent Night was known and loved in the United States as well as all over Europe.

We leap forward almost 100 years, to Christmas Eve 1914, and to a war that was supposed to have been long over by Christmas! Somewhere in the frozen fields of France, or was it Belgium, or both, and everywhere along the Western Front, the troops on each side had settled down for the night, well aware that it was Christmas Eve, and wanting to be home or, wanting at least, to be anywhere but there, in the frosty and muddy trenches. I read somewhere that the German war office had sent Christmas trees to the troops, to boost morale! The allies, mere feet away, across what had become “no man’s land,” were also missing hearth and home. They each knew where the enemy was: that was no secret! Perhaps the lighting of the candles on the trees and the singing of Christmas Songs made them seem so much closer.

Of course, during a war, fraternization with the enemy is considered treason for which there were high penalties. But, human beings are social creatures and, sometimes just have to “get together”. Sometimes, you can’t keep from singing. The sentiment of the hymn chorus, “How can I keep from singing” comes to mind. The carol that may well have been the carol that brought them together on that long ago night was Silent Night; or at least it’s given credit for it!

I don’t think anyone captures the emotion of this night better than American folk singer, John McCutcheon, in his song, Christmas in the Trenches” sung as if written by a fictitious English soldier named Francis Tolliver, recalling the event a few years later in his life. The version I am going to play is sung by my friend and classmate, the Rev Paul Rumbolt, who has given me permission to stream this tonight.

I love the lines, “the next they sang was “Stille Nacht.” “Tis ‘Silent Night'”, says I, And in two tongues one song filled up that sky.”

A German schoolteacher, bilingual in German and English, wrote in his diary, “How marvellously wonderful, yet how strange it was. ........ Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”

Alfred Anderson, a Scot, who lived to be 109 and was the last known survivor of the Christmas Truce, on the Allied side, didn’t remember much of that night except the “eerie silence.” Others speak of impromptu soccer games but Anderson says that he and his comrades, “did not have the energy”.

The high command of both sides did not like it one little bit! It was, of course, no way to fight a war!” You can’t personalize the enemy in such a way as to see them as a “brother” - a son - “a father with children of his own”. I also read that one 25 year old German soldier scolded his comrades with these words, “Such a thing should not happen in wartime. Have you no German sense of honour left?” That 25-year old soldier’s name was Adolf Hitler.

As Boxing Day dawned it was clear that the war was far from over and the rifles and heavy guns went to work once more. The Truce probably could not have happened again, even if it was sanctioned; even a year later - let alone in 1916 qne 1917, there had been too much death, too much destruction.

Anderson knew about the high cost of war - he had lost friends, and friendships. While home on leave he tried to visit the family of a close friend who had died. The family would not speak to him because had returned and their boy had not!

There is something about Silent Night that captivates many of us - many churches simply would not have a Christmas Eve service without it. Why? Perhaps it is because amidst the noise and clamour of our troubled and busy lives it forces us to pause and be still. It points us to a seemingly normal and everyday occurrence, that of a baby’s birth - an event which calls for a pause, at the very least.

A few weeks ago, my friend Paul, the singer you will soon hear, and his wife have posted a picture of their new grandchild on Facebook with the words, “we couldn’t be happier”. They are like all grandparents should be when a baby is born. A baby changes everything - a daughter becomes a mom and dad is now, “grandpa”. It changes everything because there is wrapped up in that 7 or 8 pounds of need is pure grace. A baby can give nothing tangible to the adults in his or her life but will demand much - feeding, diaper changes, cuddles! Yet, the intangibles given by a baby are immensely important! A baby is about hope, love, peace and joy. A baby reminds us that, in the end, we are loved, not because of what we can do or give, but because of the mere fact of our being; pure grace.

The Christmas story is about grace, a world in big trouble being given the chance at fullness of life by the grace of a God willing to share human life with human beings, despite how messed up they were or had the potential to become. The Christmas story is about the great potential to be co-participants in the creative purposes of the God who spoke the world into being.

Two centuries ago, Silent Night gave voice top a congregation needing a tune to express their joy. 100 years ago it gave an evening of peace to men whose lives were being lived in danger and misery. This year may it give hope in this pandemic time, with uncertainty and loss all around us. May it give light in our present darkness and keep us until the dawn comes anew.

On THIS Silent Night - we welcome love’s pure light. Let us do our part to keep the light of love lit and burning brightly.

Since we will not be able to be close enough to light one another’s candles, as usual, I would ask that you light your taper from the Christ Candle as you leave, which will be taken to the entrance and then please take it into the night - take this light of hope into a dark world - and thereby make it even a little bit brighter.

ALL IS CALM

ALL IS BRIGHT

Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3
Psalm 148
Luke 2: 22-40

The Down-Side of Being Chosen

Yup, it’s true. Most parents would agree - that when you are raising children the days are long and the years are short! Parents say, “they grow up too fast” - even when they are glad to get them out of diapers, or through other rough patches such as the teen years! A friend of my family puts it this way, “it isn’t long between the child going out the door with a hockey bag and him coming back in with a diaper bag”. There is no other way it could be, but the bittersweet reality often catches parents and other relatives off guard!

A few days ago we celebrated the birth of Jesus and in a couple of weeks we will meet him at the River Jordan, ready for his baptism and his ministry, at about age 30! That IS fast!

But, it happens this way every year. In the church though, we don’t use this time to tell cute stories about his childhood or stories of special childhood powers. A few such “childhood of Jesus stories” exist but they did not make it into the Bible - the church had little or no interest in them. I’ve read works of fiction that speculate on these years but that’s all they are, works of fiction!

As soon as we can, in our Sunday readings, we cut to the chase, and we focus on what it is that Jesus came to do. A broad overview of Jesus’ destiny is part of the testimony given on this day by the elderly Simeon and Anna. On this day it seems as if they are in some kind of cosmic relay race and now can both hand the baton to Jesus, and slow down and finish their own races.

When Prince George of Cambridge was born everyone knew that, if nothing untoward happens, he will one day be the King of the British Commonwealth. Wasn’t he just the cutest toddler you ever saw! Born as third in line, behind Dad, William and Granddad, Charles his destiny was written before he was born! I expect that his education and formation has been grooming him for that role from a very young age. He’s only 7, but he carries a burden that falls on no other child of 7. I expect that he lives with less pressure than other crown princes have in previous generations, but the fact of his destiny remains! If there is still a monarchy, he will be its head! However, his great gramma, the Queen, does not appear to be going anywhere, anytime soon. She sees her work as her duty to her country and has raised her family with a strong sense of duty!

Harry Potter, the “boy who lived,” was raised in a muggle family, who tried their darndest to keep the wizards at bay. In the end Harry went off to Hogwarts to fulfil his destiny as a great wizard. He was the one to battle and defeat Lord Voldemort so that the wizarding world would continue to embrace the good, rather than fall into evil. It was a battle that was not without cost! It almost cost Harry his life (indeed it cost the lives of some of his friends and supporters)

Next week we will look at what Jesus himself might have thought of his ministry as he began it, but today we look at it from the prophetic perspective. What did the prophets expect?

While it is clear that the popular view was one of a warrior king who would make their nation great once again (and they had not enjoyed that kind of greatness for about 1,000 years!) there are other examples that show the more ominous and dangerous aspects of Jesus’ mission.

What grand hopes are put forth by Simeon and Anna - these mysterious folk who just happen to be in the temple on the day! Simeon had apparently received a vision that assured him he would life long enough to see the fulfilment of God’s promises. When he meets Mary and Joseph with their new baby, he knows that this baby is the one. Anna, in a similar way proclaims that this baby will be special. We know little about either one. Anna, long a widow, spends her days praying and fasting and has since her husband died. Unlike the Magi from afar they do not seem to have had any experience of mistaken identity: they knew!

Their remarks are certainly bitter-sweet. They proclaim Jesus’ greatness, to be sure, but also give Mary and Joseph fair warning that the life of their son will be marked by sadness.

Of course, we know that Jesus faced opposition from some of the religious elites who saw him as a threat to their power or at least a threat to the uneasy peace they had worked out with the Romans. We know about what we call Holy Week. We also know about Easter. On that day with their almost new baby in their arms, Mary and Joseph, did not know much more than sleepless nights and the usual concerns of trying to eke out a life in very uncertain times.

What does this say to those of us who seek to be disciples, 2,000 or so years later.

The reality that we face is that the world does not really want to hear the good news of God’s justice and peace on earth. True change of this kind will always have those who stand in the way of it. There will be danger, struggle and cost. It is not “a walk in the park”. We will not be going to the people in the power, politely asking for true justice, and being given it willingly. The Holy Spirit sometimes comes as a gentle breeze, true, but sometimes like a violent hurricane. How else do the poor receive justice - instead of band aid solutions.

The realities of injustice, pain, hurt and want beg to be addressed by people of faith, but that has a cost. As a Christmas people we can rejoice in the word made flesh, come to dwell among us, but as an Easter people we also know that there can be no resurrection without crucifixion.

As a people of faith looking forward in this time of revelation and realization we need to be aware of both sides of this coin of faith.

Let us prepare ourselves to embrace the mission after we have counted the cost and accepted the possible consequences.

Amen.

Jeremiah 31: 7-14
Psalm 147
John 1: 1-18

A friend of mine was babysitting her grandson one day only to turn around and discovered him GONE. She frantically looked around the yard and then up and down the street. There he was hoofing it along, as only a toddler could, clad only in a diaper. She ran after him, reaching him at the same time as a member of the local police department pulled up in his cruiser with lights flashing. She got a stern lecture on child safety from the officer. When he was done she said, “You probably know my son. He used to be an officer in your police force”

“What is his name?”

When the woman told him her son’s name, he said that yes he did know him. After a moment, he asked, “Is he THIS child’s father?”

“As a matter of fact, yes he is” my friend replied.

“Well Ma’am, now I understand. All I can say is that you have your hands full - good luck.” With that he got back in the car, turned off the flashing lights and drove off.

My nephew followed his mom down the lane one day. Each parent thought that he was safely with the other. A lot of people drive far too fast on that road but, as luck would have it, he was not hit by a car but rescued by a neighbour whose only option was to take the child, not yet talking clearly, from house to house to ask, “do you know whose little boy this is?” In the end all was well and he was returned home safely.

My older cousins tell me that their father used to tease me by calling me Bridgett. I would set him straight by telling him, in no uncertain terms, my full name and where I lived. They all thought it was quite funny. I don’t remember!

Whose child are you? Whose child is that - Soon we will meet a grown up Jesus and we may wonder what happened to this baby in the manger; where did Mary’s little boy go? It’s a question every family asks! With Jesus though, the questions are a little different.

Is this the same one that was heralded by angel choirs and greeted by shepherds and wise men? Is this the one who will save his people? Is this the one who will usher in God’s realm of justice and righteousness? More importantly, is this realm of God only for those steeped in the Hebrew tradition of the prophets and who can also trace their lineage back to Abraham and Sarah? Or does this realm of God embrace all of creation?

We can’t get all of our “information” or “answers” from any one source and unfortunately those we do have don’t always agree. The writers of the Gospels tell the story of Jesus in their own ways were writing Good News, not making a statement under oath or writing what we think of as “history”.

Matthew’s gospel begins with a genealogy. He goes back generations to answer the quintessential question, at least in the Maritimes, “who’s yer father?” Matthew goes back many generations, to Abraham, to show the reader who this Jesus is, in terms of his Jewish roots. He then goes on to show him as a saviour of the world by telling us about the Magi, strangers from the mysterious “east”. Mark begins his gospel with the proclamation of John the baptizer who introduced the fully grown Jesus as the “one who is to come.” Since they all had an understanding of who the messiah was, Mark does not waste any time with what he might have seen as “preliminaries?, and lets the hope stand on its own.

Luke tells the birth stories of the manger and the shepherds with which we are all familiar at this time of year as well as the story of Jesus’ relationship with John, his relative, who will become his herald. What were they? Half-fifth cousins, twice removed! (Don’t laugh, a member of one of my churches was actually related to me by that degree!)

John, our gospel writer for today, seems to be writing to a different audience; one not steeped in the tradition of the prophets. He begins with creation but uses the lens of Greek thought instead of the Hebrew Bible. There is nothing quite like going back to the beginning, but borrowing your metaphors from Greek philosophy causes us, at least, to sit up and pay attention.

To John Gospel writer, the reality and mission of Jesus could not be explained in terms of human concepts. Jesus’ significance and Jesus’ power could only be explained by looking at the creative power of God.

“In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and was God. Nothing was made without this Word”, writes John.

John Gospel writer, sought to create the perfect meld between Greek philosophy and the Hebrew tradition. His is a sophisticated audience and need a sophisticated argument.

In the 1600s, in an attempt to explain the birth of Jesus in a first nations context, Fr. Jean Brébeuf, in his carol, had baby Jesus wrapped in rabbit skin, born in a bark lodge and visited by wandering hunters. Unfortunately other aspects of European colonization went against any sincere attempts to truly translate the love of God into a First Nations context. More and more, the indigenous church is rediscovering for themselves, and teaching us, their relationship with Creator. One of the things that is helpful when dealing with highly emotional issues is that the feelings need to be put into words. We say to upset children, “use your words!” We say to an upset friend, “tell me what is bothering you”. Words are easier to understand and finding our words helps us to focus on what it is that we are really feeling!

The writer of Genesis’ first chapter describes creation, “God said ‘let there be light’ and there was light”. Of course, words were involved. We are not told that God wished the light into being, or waved a magic wand, or imagined light, or even sculpted it out of clay, as God did with human beings in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, but that divine speech was involved. Throughout the centuries, as Christians struggled to understand the reality of God, we came to the understanding that this creative force, or Word, was somehow synonymous with the Christ - to the Word made flesh. The trinity, our understanding of God as Father, Son and Spirit, or as Creator, Word and Spirit, is something that is always just beyond our grasp! Or perhaps I nodded off in that class in theological school!!!! Sorry, Professor Maybey!

So we are introduced to Jesus as the very creative power of God in human flesh. This Word, this power of God had a herald, a forerunner whose job it was to get the people ready for the ministry of this one who embodied the very Word of God. John the Baptizer was this “herald.”

The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us.

The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us.

Wow.

This leads us to the question, “As followers of that word, what is our role, or mission?” I believe that it is to participate with God in the healing of creation, in the proclamation of the life giving word.

How do we act and what do we teach so that our faith may be proclaimed and put into action? As I was reflecting on this question, I thought of the well known poem by Dorothy Nolte, and thought that s few lines, (slightly altered) would be pertinent:

“If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. 
If a child lives with shame, she learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, she learns to have faith.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he
learns to find love in the world” 

In a similar vein, the way in which we proclaim our faith, how we see Jesus and the images we emphasize, make a great deal of difference. There is biblical evidence for many different aspects of Jesus character and identity. The question is: what is our overall view and proclamation?

Then there is consistency. If we proclaim one Jesus, we should show the same Jesus to the world in our own actions. If we proclaim Jesus as love then we have to be loving toward others; it’s not rocket science.

The 21st of December marks the turning of the seasons. The light is returning. In Jesus a dark world receives hope. We need to ask ourselves how the dark world is made less dark but our presence, by our speaking of God’s love and power and, of course, being the love that we have found in Christ.

Let us continue to show the world what child this is who is crawling out of the manger and will soon be teaching and preaching about God’s love and God’s call.

Amen.

Jeremiah 31: 7-14
Psalm 147: 12
John 1: 1-18

The Sunday After

We have reached the “Sunday After”. It’s all over! Whew! Sometimes, on this Sunday I feel as if I have gotten off of one of those enormous roller coasters and I am both thrilled and a little dizzy AND thankful that I don’t have to line up again, any time soon, for another turn. We may ask, “what just happened”? Christmas was again a little different as COVID restrictions continue to change our plans. I don’t know about you, even with less to do, Christmas still demands all my energy and more!

On Advent 1 we began a 4 week exploration of God’s promises of a world made new and on December 24 we welcomed baby Jesus and visited him along with shepherds and magi from far off lands. We have breathed a sigh of relief that the death squads did not get him and that he is safe. It now safe for him to grow up and increase in wisdom and stature, as they say.

While all that angel and manger stuff of Christmas seems like, “just the other day”, it’s only been 8 days; the lectionary readings take us to John’s gospel, and a reference to John the Baptizer. In the background much time has passed and baby Jesus is all grown up and about to begin his ministry.

Grownups, probably all agree that the children in their lives, “grow too fast”. With Jesus, his growth, is phenomenal! He was a baby last week and now he’s at least 30 and waiting in the wings of John the Baptizer’s ministry, to begin his own! Where DID the tie go?

At this time of year many people write and send annual Christmas letters. At times like this we notice its passing! What seems like “just a few” years ago (actually 28) I performed a wedding ceremony for a cousin of mine. Their 2021 Christmas letter informs me that both of their children have graduated from university, one with a Masters and the other a Bachelors. My cousin is going to retire and his wife, now a colleague, has acceptedd a new call recently. In my ministry I have encountered people remarking about this all the time, but as I age, it is now happening to me. Now that more than 30 years of ministry have come and gone, the babies I baptized “just the other day” are the parents of school aged children - you know how it goes!

The babes can’t wait to grow up and the older folks wish they would slow down a bit! COVID has left us disconnected as the ceremonies usually meant to mark major milestones, have been curtailed or cancelled.

It’s much the same when it comes to stories of baby Jesus. Remember how few pictures you took when your 50 something children were small, compared to the digital world of dozens a day that are now possible and shareable by parents everywhere! These days a childhood is recorded on the parents’ devices as well as the grandparents’ and Facebook for all to see forever!

We tend to forget that not all of the gospels mention the birth and only Luke gives us the favourite stories that are the stuff of sweet and endearing children’s pageants. Many people are surprised when we clergy types point out that shepherds and magi do not even appear in the same gospel ! We tend to forget that we only have a couple of stories of Jesus between the manger and his ministry.

To make matters even more confusing for us today, John’s gospel doesn’t provide “just another perspective”, he seems to come from a different planet altogether! He does not begin with angel proclamations or announcements as Luke does or even, or a seemingly endless and thorough genealogy which we find in Matthew’s version. Matthew’s genealogy places Jesus firmly in the Hebrew tradition - and it only goes back to Abraham! John’s gospel begins AT the beginning; the same beginning as spoken of in the opening verses of the book of Genesis. According to John, in the beginning, when God created, there was the Word, and that Word became the human being, we know as Jesus. -7-

Have you ever asked someone for an explanation about something and they replied, “well, it’s a long story”. And then they proceed to tell you the WHOLE story. To place the story of Jesus in t context of creation, and begin at the “beginning”, makes that story as long as possible! In biblical terms, it simply does not get any older. However, the opening to John’s gospel is much more philosophical than either of the Genesis stories of creation.

You see, John was writing to a primarily Greek audience, and the Hebrew Jesus, a child of Abraham would have had little, or no, meaning for them. It was not their history. So John had to use images and concepts familiar to them so that they could see that Jesus had meaning for them as well.

The end result is that John presents Jesus as the Word; (with a capital W); as creative voice, as beyond time and beyond creation itself. That was something the philosophical types could get their minds around and food for thought they could sink their teeth into.

As I have said, in John’s Gospel, there is no “Christmas story”; certainly nothing you could make into a pageant! For John, the Christ, the Word, was at the very beginning and was always a vital part of God plan to offer abundant life to all of creation. When the Christ came to the verge of his ministry to proclaim God’s good news, you might say that, this plan shifted into high gear and everyone with ears to hear, could hear it and let it transform their lives. The world can become as it once was, pure and as God intended, through that Word, which spoke creation into being. The holy God has chosen to dwell with us in our darkness and bring light; the same light that was at creation.

The metaphors of light and darkness are contrasted throughout the gospel story. While we need to be aware of the racial implications of seeing dark as “bad” and “light” as good, when it comes to skin tone, the contrasting images have a lot to say to us. We know how hard it is to find something in the dark and how images of coming to an understanding are often expressed in terms of seeing the light. The winter solstice, the longest night of the year was the Monday before Christmas, and then there were more minutes of daylight each and every day and this will continue until the summer solstice and so it goes, year after year, century after century.

Even as we look at the life of faith as a journey from one Advent to another, we still tend to think of our lives as a journey in one direction. I think a spiral is a better way to explain it. January 1 is a common time for new year’s resolutions, but how long do they last? When we celebrate that the light of life has come into the world at Christmas, how long does that feeling last? How long does the resolve last, to reflect the light and let is transform us.

One of the first things children learn about the night sky is that the moon has no light of its own, but reflects the sun’s light. Not even the writer of Genesis knew this! Likewise our lives cannot emit light all on our own, we are to reflect the light that comes from God through Christ. And in that vein, our light can come and grow stronger and can wane and grow weaker. We don’t have to be perfect all at once. One of the most comforting aspects of a Canadian winter is the fact that the minutes and then hours of sunlight are steadily increasing, bit by bit by bit.

As we continue on with our worship throughout the year we can see and hear more clearly how we can embody and reflect this light.

We who dwell in darkness (I wrote this on the longest night) have seen a great light and we have the opportunity to see it, to participate in it and to proclaim it.

Thanks be to God for this Good News of light and life.

Amen.