Christmas
Eve December 24, 2019
Is.
9:2-4,6-7 Ps.96:1-4,11-12
Titus
2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14
Why has Christmas taken over the world in way in which Easter never has? Why has Christmas had more influence in the secular world and in the non-Christian world than Easter?
Christmas is about a baby. It is about the wisemen bringing gifts to a baby, and what is more universal than giving gifts to children? And you are wise if you keep the children happy with gifts, right?
But beyond the popularity of Christmas due to the birth of the Christ child it is also about having hope in this life as we are now in it. Easter is much about hope for the afterlife and we can wait for the afterlife, we would like to ponder hope for life as it is now.
I think that the value of Christmas is reinforced by the child motif that is presented in the Gospel words of Jesus. Jesus said some rather enigmatic things about infants and children. He said, "Let the children come to me; for to such as these belong the kingdom of heaven." Sorry adults; those are the words of Jesus. Jesus also said that unless one became like a child, one could not understand the kingdom of God. Sorry adults. Jesus also said that he thanked God that these things were hid from the wise but revealed to infants because such was God's will. Sorry adults.
There is an Arab riddle which is based upon the belief that there are 100 names of God but human beings can only know 99 of those names. They can never now the hundredth name of God. So the question: Why does the camel have this silly smirk on his face? Well, he knows the 100th name of God and he's not telling.
Why does the baby have the angelic grin on his or her face? She knows and is living the reality of original joy and we adults can only look on as being perpetually locked out.
If we understand the mystery of being locked out of original joy; we understand the appeal of Christmas and the celebration of the birth of the Christ-child.
What is the conversion experience called? It is called a new birth. It is called being born-again. How much closer to childhood can one get than the experience of a new birth.
New Birth is what the early Christian mystics called spiritual awakening. St. Paul said the mystery of the ages of revealed: Christ in you the hope of glory.
I believe that the Christmas Story encodes the new birth theology of the early church. They believed from their experience, that a person could have as an adult, a renewal into the essence of the original joy of our birth into this world. The smiling baby can be alive and well within us. We can have the experience of original joy within us. We can access this original joy even as we live within all the harsh realities of our adult worlds. This is not an escape from our adult worlds; this is the great complement to our adult worlds. This experience of new birth, of our child-likeness, is not a childish denial, it is not the childish and inappropriate emotions of an inebriated state, it is a spiritual birth of renewal that is available to us. And we should not cease in our quest for life experience until we have found it and its effects.
Why do we love Christmas? Not because all of the family pressure to please everyone by finding the perfect presents to give. We love Christmas because we want to recover wonder and joy in our lives. We want to know that Christ has been born in us and for us and with us. We want to know that the divine affirms the validity of our lives.
Tonight, the celebration of the birth of Christ invites us to joy, wonder and renewal. And with God's gift of the Spirit, we can all find this tonight. Let us hear the whisper of God say to us tonight, Merry Christmas, my children, Merry Christmas. Amen.
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