Is Christmas Ever “Normal”

Christmas Eve December 24, 2020 The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter Is Christmas Ever "Normal" In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:1-20 Let me begin by offering a word of welcome and thanksgiving. Welcome to those who may be participating with us in this service at home on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And in thanksgiving for all of you who have remained connected and faithful during these many months. A special thanks this year for those behind the scenes and behind computer screens that put all of this together. May God offer us all renewed hope and may God draw near as we listen again to the story of the birth of Christ. The understatement of the evening is of course: this is not a "normal" Christmas. I would venture to ask and suggest: is Christmas ever normal and ordinary? Over the last 30 years my role on Christmas Eve has included that of cheerful greeter, master of ceremonies, keeper of tradition, juggler of family duties as father and husband, herder of cats, non-threatening evangelist to the many unfamiliar faces that fill our pews on this night, and of course, gatherer of the parish flock on this most holy night. Over the course of those years, even with all of the pre-holiday rush, the exhaustion and the building excitement of children, it is still, to me, one of the best days and nights of the year to be a Christian. This is the night when we put meaning to the waiting. We connect past to the present and look into a still unknown future with hope, because sometimes, some years, hope is all we have. From my years of looking out into the faces of Christmas crowds, I've learned that this night is not one to preach about too much or too long about the darkness in our world or to try to explain away or justify ancient church doctrines. Rather, I return again and again and point to and lift up wonder, mystery and light. After all, we are invited through the psalm (96) to "Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the whole earth. Sing to the LORD and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day." Many of us have learned how to sing in new ways over the last ten months. We have rediscovered new ways to be the Church, news ways to reach out and connect. New ways to express love of the other, family and stranger alike, by how we act and live through these trying times. Tonight, our church pews are empty. There will be few open houses with neighbors and friends and extended family meals. This year many are heeding the warnings to stay close to home and stay apart as much as we are able for the health of those we love. With the hope of vaccinations on the horizon -- a true miracle for all of humanity -- many of us are holding our collective breaths for a return to what we remember as, well, normal. And there's that word again: normal. Stepping back and looking as if for the first time, what about the Christmas story sounds even remotely normal? When the angel Gabriel announced to the engaged but not yet married Mary God's plan for her to conceive a son by the Holy Spirit...well, that sure wasn't normal or ordinary. Joseph and Mary should have stayed close to home in Nazareth - clearly there was no Dr. Fauci giving traveling advice in their day - and they took to the open and often dangerous road to make their way to the city of David called Bethlehem. (I had to find a way to bring Dr. Fauci into my Christmas sermon somehow!) The birth had to be in Bethlehem, census or no census, room or no room, in the inn. The news of the birth that would change the world did not come first to the rich and powerful or well-connected, but to simple hard-working shepherds out in the field at night - alone tending their sheep. This baby would threaten King Herod to the point of paranoia and cruel random violence inflicted on the Holy Innocents. Wise men from the East would make their very long journey to kneel down to offer this child treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Ordinary: not a chance! God has been trying to get our attention for as long as we remember. The story of the Bible lays out how we failed to grasp or accept -- despite the many prophets sent to tell us and the many divine rescues from slavery, wandering and exile -- how far God will go to lead us to believe and know that we are made in God's image and loved without condition from the moment we came into being. This is the season of Emmanuel: God with us. Marcus Borg, in his essential book "The Heart of Christianity" reminds us of what makes Christianity truly unique among the great religions of the world. It is that we find the revelation of God primarily in a person. Moses, Mohammed, and Buddha each played a role in receiving or teaching revelation. Jesus is what can be seen of God embodied in a human life. (p. 80) Borg continues: "we have found in this person Jesus the light in their darkness, the way that has lead us from death to life, the bread of life that nourishes us even now; we have found in this person the word and wisdom of God; we have found in this person the son of God, the promised messiah." (pg. 87) There is very little normal about the kind of world Jesus imagined for us. A world where to become wise, one must first become like a child. A world that is turned upside down again and again: when the last shall be first; the lost are found; a leader must be a servant; the rich have to be open to giving up wealth and power to rediscover their souls and reclaim their lives; where those on the margins of society are brought into the center and given places of honor, where the dancing does not begin at the party until everyone has received an invitation and welcomed at the door, and where no one should judge less they themselves be judged. St. Francis of Assisi once said: "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." At Christmas, we are shown the place and the way to begin to believe -- or to believe again. Start with the story of the birth. Watch the child grow and pay attention to what he says and does through the course of his short life. May we, with God's help, try to learn to love those whom Jesus loves. Give voice and defend those whom Jesus defended. Visit, feed, encourage, cloth, and forgive as he would. God in Christ is with us. Yesterday. Today. And forever. Merry Christmas! 3