Let’s Put “It” Back Into Christmas

December 25, 2005

By

Rev. Litton J. Logan

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        This morning’s scriptures from Luke’s Gospel along with various scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew make up in some mix and match combination our traditional Christmas story. 

        I can not hear these scriptures without thinking about a funny little Christmas story I read a few years ago:

A Jewish lady named Mrs. Rosenberg many years ago was stranded late one night at a fashionable resort - one that did not allow Jewish people to stay overnight.  The desk clerk looked at her driver’s license as ID and then looked down at his book and said, "Sorry, no room.  The hotel is full."

The Jewish lady said, "But your sign says that you have vacancies.”

The desk clerk stammered and then said curtly, "You know that we do not admit Jews.  Now if you will try the other side of town..."

Mrs. Rosenberg stiffened noticeable and not to be outdone or turned out in the cold, said, "I'll have you know I converted to your religion."

The desk clerk said, "Oh, yeah, let me give you a little test.  How was Jesus born?"

Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born to a virgin named Mary in a little town called Bethlehem.”

"Very good," replied the hotel clerk.  "Tell me more."

Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born in a manger."

"That's right," said the hotel clerk.  "And why was he born in a manger?"

Mrs. Rosenberg said loudly, "Because a jerk like you in the hotel wouldn't give a Jewish lady a room for the night!"

        Over the years, I fear in our attempts to harmonize the Christmas story with modern thought and science along with rampant materialism, we may have destroyed the inspiring truth of this beautiful story of God’s breaking into human history to offer us the chance for a real and lasting peace and joy in life and in death.  This morning let us see if we can put it—the inspiring truth of Christmas--back in or maybe for some find it anew in Christmas.

        As I said last Sunday, some would reduce these stories of God’s presence in Jesus to a simple, time-honored myth that evokes in our imaginations ideas of hope in what at times seems a hopeless world.  Others would say that such a story simply makes the necessary easier for the simply minded.

        Nevertheless, I would submit to you that these Christmas scriptures are more than just feel-good scriptures for the young, the young at heart, the dreamers, or the simple minded.  These scriptures tell us an eternal truth.  It is a truth upon which every human being on this planet builds their lives, whether or not they are Christian.  These scriptures tell us a truth about all that is solid and dependable in this universe.  They tell us about finding the courage to give our life meaning in spite of all that seeks to undermine our sense of purpose and meaning in life, including death.

        These scriptures elevate human thinking and evoke feelings that point us toward moral and spiritual principles and insights beyond the limits of our normal reason. 

        Some people only see the story metaphorically and symbolically.  For instance,  The shepherds represent the lowest and most hopeless of persons in society.  A shepherd in the Jewish culture of Jesus day was at the top of the list of unclean occupations.

The wise men, learned men from the east, the gentile world, who would come later to adore the Christ child represent the fact that even the powerful  and most learned persons regardless of race, nationality, or creed recognizes the universal importance of Emmanuel—God with us.  Regardless of religion, education, social or economic standing each human being must in some way or the other acknowledge their dependency upon the supreme Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  In so doing, we realize our need for a divine presence and help in our daily struggles and in the eventuality of our death.   

Joseph and Mary, for some, represent the idea that even the lowliest, most obscure of us can rise to prominence and divine favor through a pure faith.  Others would add that hope and life-courage, can be found in the innocence of life, like a young teenage girl, who is full of wonderment and expectation in life. The virgin birth tells the hopeless, the oppressed, and the weakest that God doesn’t always conform to the world’s ideas of power and propriety.  So, look to God for ultimate hope in life.

        Many would say that the stable and lowly estate in which Jesus was born conveys to us an understanding that hope is something born in the spirit of humankind not necessarily in the places of wealth and power. 

        The angels represent a proleptic moment—a not quite heaven, not quite earth moment--for the dispirited where divine hope impinges on the hopeless in this life.

        In addition, to all who would interpret the story this way, I would say, “Yes, you are absolutely right.”  “What more truth could you ask of these scriptures or any scriptures?”

        However, remember we are not trying to validate the facts of the story, but rather, find the inspiring truth of the story.  It is in truth that we are set free to give our lives meaning and hope, not in facts.

        How many times have we found the courage to go on in spite of the things life has thrown at us or the things we have done because some theologian, biblical archeologist, astronomer, or scientist validated a passage of scripture?  I dare say none of us.  We have found the will, the strength to go on, to be whole and healthy regardless of life’s vicissitudes and even our sins because we have been inspirited or inspired by the truth of scripture, which engulfed us with such powerful understandings of divine love, forgiveness, and divine strength that we carried on in spite of.  We’ve carried on because the truth of God’s love and forgiveness came to us in not only in scripture but was made manifest in our lives through sometimes supra-natural loving, caring, and forgiving people.

        I was once a part of one of those silly theological discussions couched in the logic of theological philosophy when something suddenly hit me.  What hit me was the insight that ninety-nine percent of the people I knew didn’t care a hill-of-beans about the theological and religious stuff that divides and polarizes the people of this world.  Most of the people I knew wanted to hear and know about God’s care and love for them, now and eternally, in spite of who they were or what they had done.  They wanted to hear how they could become better people, more of what God wanted them to be as people, and not how they could become better Methodist, Presbyterians, Baptists, or Disciples.

        These stories of Christmas have quieted and calmed the souls of the lowest, the highest, the most powerful, the most troubled, the weakest, and the bravest of people across the years.  How has it done this?  Through the power of truth—the truth that we are not alone in the human struggle, this life is not all there is, and there is an abiding, personal  presence of our Creator and Sustainer in our lives in the here and now.

        The truest theologians across Christendom have understood this and have found many elegant and relevant ways to tell people that the under girding truth, the basic spirit of reality is that God is God and we can count on that eternally.  The universe operates as it is supposed to and we can count on that.  We know that our faith in God to sustain life, especially our life, is well placed.  

        Therefore, “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.

        As you heard those words, didn’t something in you relax?  Didn’t those words resonate with something in you that said thank God, because I can’t do anything on my own to abate the anxieties of life, nor I can’t assuage my guilt from all I could be and I am not?

As I read those passages, did you feel just a small sense of exhilaration knowing that when the final curtain of you mortal existence comes down you know that whatever, God is not going to let the importance of your life be lost to you, to God, and to those you love?  In short, isn’t it inspiring to know that in Christ, you are saved from the worst of your choices in life and in death by God’s grace in the here and now and the then and there?

        Every human on the planet needs, no longs, to hear these words about God’s grace.  A grace that vouches safe our lives in the gaps between all we are and all we could have been.  These scriptures this morning tell us that God came into human history to show us the highest ways of life.  God comes to us in the teachings, witness, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which saves us from the worst of our possibilities, the worst of our choices, and the choices of others. 

Therefore, “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.

        Did you feel it?