Christmas Eve Sermon Notes 2012

Ann Weems wrote: "we wait in December darkness." .Many of us have ambivalent feelings at Christmas. Try as we might, we keep looking for more in the season than anything is capable of giving. What helped the Grinch who stole Christmas was the realization that Christmas was not wrapped up in the tinsel, but that the tinsel was a shining symbol of people able to celebrate the season of love and giving. John goes beyond Bethlehem in his account of the Incarnation and echoes Genesis and goes back to the beginning of , well, everything. He says that the wisdom, the plan, the vision of God for creation is present in this Jesus born on some long ago far away day we designate as Christmas John uses the great Christmas image of darkness that fits us perfectly as the days are just starting to grow longer now in the bleak winter. Bill Adams told a story years ago about a Christmas pageant where the shepherds processed, elegantly clad in flannel bathrobes and towel headdress. One moved to Joseph and said, well Joe when do you pass out the cigars. People tried to stifle their laughter but that only made it worse. The angel above the scene fell off her chair and took all of the sets with her. The only thing of the pageant that survived was the light bulb placed in the manger to represent the light of the world.
 
God chooses to make a dwelling, a place to stay, to rest, inside a human being named Jesus, one of us. God works from the inside out. God dwelt among us, not far off, but within our condition. Ann Weems also wrote: 'in each human heart lies a Bethlehem." In being born in Bethlehem, Christ allows Bethlehem, as the hymn says, to be born in us this day. I love how it imagines us as mangers:. when meek souls shall receive him still-the dear child enters in. …abide in us, O Lord Emmanuel. It imagines that while Jesus had no room in the inn, we provide plenty of room for Jesus within us and among us in the manger we call church.
Soldiers in harm's way miss the home fires of simple family gatherings and traditions and conjure up the memories frame by frame in their minds. They think of the two year old who gets an expensive present and then plays with the box.
 
Andy Rooney said that one of the most glorious messes ever made is on the living room floor on Christmas...don't clean it up too quickly. Yes, the holidays can be messy, a lot like a stable, perhaps. We all live within a manger of grace, of God's good gifts to us. All of us are shepherds who witness to the miracle once more. We are called to tend the Christmas spirit, that moves from Grinch to human being, from Scrooge to Uncle Scrooge. Cynthia Rigby  said "in particular moments finite creatures realize their participation in the artistry of God." Lots of folks perform artistry at the table, with decorations, with wrappings of presents. Of greater skill would be those who open our tight fists to generosity, to extend an open hand in greeting, to embrace the prodigal returned home.

We speak easily of Christ in our hearts. The incarnation is not about feelings alone but the very matrix of life. Auden wrote remember in a stable, for once in our lives, everyone became a You and no one an it. The people in the manger scenes glow because they reflect the best of human beings and then let their light shine. We arrive here, swathed in the early evening darkness. Rest and reflect in the arc of the readings of god’s engagement with this good earth. Leave bathed in the light of these words, these melodies. God bless the singing and playing of Silent Night by candlelight. No matter how cold the evening, it warms the heart and gives us some light along the way.   May all of us honor the Christ within, the God with us, in this season.