Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
O Holy Night its finally here the
night weve prepared for, decorated for, waited for and dressed up for. The
night when we hear again the familiar words, sing the familiar songs rest
in
the security of the familiar message: REJOICE! Look the baby is in the
manger
the shepherds, the angels and the Star these are the traditions that tell
us its Christmas again: and they surround us on this Holy Night in this
Holy
Season.
Its
a time when beloved traditions abound. For most of us, there are a few
things
that it just wouldnt be Christmas without things that sometimes defy
logic or elude explanation. For me, the icon of that reality has become The
Santa Candle.
Its a
story
Ive told before but one which bears retelling. A few years ago, as I was
engaged in the task of decking the halls with the familiar stuff of Russell
Family Christmases I came across the Santa Candle a jolly, rotund wax
figure
that had presided for many years from the top of the bookcase in the living
room. Every year, someone would ask, Can we light the Santa Candle? And every year I would explain that if
we
lit the candle, Santas hat would melt into Santas face and there would
soon
not be much of Santa left for next year. Well, you guessed it: the year
before,
someone had been unable to resist and Santa was indeed a shadow of his
former self. After a moment of irritation at having my well reasoned
instructions
so blatantly disregarded, I tossed the half-melted candle into the trash
bag
without much more than a second thought.
And
thats where Jamie who prefers to be Jim my then-17-year-old son -- found
him. You threw away the SANTA CANDLE? he asked in horror. And dusting him
off
began to clear a space. Look at him I protested. Hes half melted away!
But
paying no attention to his mother, my 62 son carefully placed the Santa
Candle on the shelf. He ALWAYS goes
on
the bookcase! he said. And so, there he sat. And sits today for last
Thursday, as we once again went through the annual putting out of the
Christmas stuff ritual, Santa once again emerged from the tissue and
cardboard
and went back up in his traditional spot.
There
was in that beat-up, half melted Santa Candle something that spoke to Jamie
of
what is valuable, dear, worth preserving in a Christmas tradition ...
assuring
me that the seeds his father and I have tried to sow throughout his
childhood
have taken root in this almost adult seeds that say family matters,
traditions matter, CHRISTMAS matters. And even if we cant see the final
flower
theyll take as he finds his own path, they give him the foundation to find
his
own traditions as he grows and matures and changes.
For
there are indeed few things more certain in life than change. Our
reconfigured
family is an outward and visible sign of that, made up as we are of parents
and children; ex-spouses and partners; girlfriends and grandmas. Every time
we
gather I am amazed at the miracle of how traditional this non-traditional
family has become for us how blessed we are to have weathered all the
changes
that have come our way over the years how God has enabled us to stay
family
through all of it and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. My family may not
make
James Dobsons list of ones to focus on any more than my melted Santa Candle
would make it to Martha Stewarts sideboard but it is mine and God is
there
and we are blessed.
In
this year of September 11th my heart is very aware this night of
how
precious those blessings are as I think of those who are facing the
challenges
of changes much greater and harder to reconcile than a melted Santa Candle.
Those who will spend a first Christmas without a loved one; those who cant
be
home for the holidays who are away from all that is familiar: all that
makes it Christmas.
For
the shadow side of our beloved Christmas traditions is that we risk making
them
more important than the message they represent. The danger of the Christmas
story is that it IS so familiar that we can lose the amazing impact of its
glorious message in the frenzy that surrounds the Christmas event. The
culture
is crazed, the media relentless the pressure to get it right is everywhere
from the Martha Stewart specials to the department store ads. My heart
ached for
the woman who confided, I feel like Ive flunked Christmas overwhelmed by
how much there was left to do and how little time there was left to do it.
Its
ironic, isnt it, that the very season that offers the message of Peace on
Earth, Good Will to All brings instead Stress on Earth, Bad Temper to Many.
The challenge is to balance the traditions that manifest the joy of the
season
with the gift that is the reason for the season: and that gift is of
course
Love.
Love came down at
Christmas
Love was born at
Christmas
Stars
and angels gave the sign. So did wise men and shepherds then so do
presents
and mistletoe; homecomings and holly and Santa Candles today. All the
things that make Christmas Christmas point us to that gift of love if we
let them. Listen to how an un-named author with more creativity than I have
put
it:
If
I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights
and
shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.
If
I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing
gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do
not
show love to my neighbor, I'm just another cook.
If
I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I
have
to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.
If
I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a
myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but lose sight of
the
Christ in Christmas, I have missed the point.
Love
stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love
sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love
is kind, though harried and tired.
Love
doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table
linens.
Love
doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way.
Love
doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in
giving to those who can't.
Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
Love
never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf
clubs
will rust.
But
the gift of LOVE will endure.
Love
will endure. The promise of new life in the birth of this Christmas
baby
becomes the hope of life eternal in the resurrection of our Easter Lord. It
is
love that triumphs over death -- Love that is the Christmas Truth a truth
greater
than the traditions it inspires: the mystical longing of the creature for
the
creator the finite for the infinite the human for the divine. It is a
longing that transcends culture, religion, language and custom it is a
longing that is represented for us as Christians in the baby in the manger
the sudden, amazing and incomprehensible gift of grace: a God who loved us
enough to become one of us. Yes, we manifest the wonder of Christmas in the
gifts given, the meals shared, the gathering of family and loved ones. But
the
greater wonder is that the God who is love incarnate came down at Christmas
to be among us as one of us to show us how to share that love with a world
in
such desperate need of it.
That,
my brothers and sisters, is the work we have been given to do: the work
that
Howard Thurman called The Work of Christmas.
When the star in the sky
is
gone,
When the Kings and
Princes
are home,
When the shepherds are
back
with their flocks,
The work of Christmas
begins
To find the
lost
To heal the
broken
To release the
prisoner
To teach the
nations
To bring Christ to
all
To make music in the
heart.
In
a moment we will be fed by the holy food and drink of new and unending life
as
we gather about this altar for our eucharistic feast food for the journey
for the work of Christmas. And then we will be sent out into this most Holy
Night to love and serve the Lord. May the God who calls us to do this work
give us the grace to accomplish it and give us always grateful hearts for
the
privilege of being his people and for the gift of music in our heart for
the gift of love!
Thanks
be to God. Merry Christmas. Amen.
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