Sermon for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007Who Will Carry the Baby?By Rev. Cindy Bates |
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Scripture John 1:1-5 Once again it is Christmas Eve, and we gather together to tell the story of the birth of a baby, a baby that would change the course of history, a story that would be told more than any other story. We know the story begins in the book of Isaiah, when we hear news of the coming of a Messiah sent by God to be light for our darkness. From Luke and Matthew's Gospels, the story unfolds and we hear angels and travel with Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Amidst the animals, in the shelter of a stable, we witness the humble birth of a baby, who was born to be a King. Even the stars in heaven shine brighter to announce this blessed event. Visitors from the East arrive to kneel down and worship him. We also hear the Christmas story from John's Gospel, but it is much more an interpretation of the meaning of the story. The details are left out. There are no angels or animals. There are no shepherds or stars, but the message of the Christmas story is very much present. According to John, "In the beginning of time, there was the Mind of the Universe, and the Mind of the Universe was with God, and in fact, the Mind of the Universe was God. Everything that was made was made by the Mind of the Universe. Life and light were created by this Mind. In the fullness of time, when the time was just right, the Mind of the Universe came as a human, living being and he was full...he was absolutely full of the grace and the truth of God. And we actually saw it. We gazed at the glorious presence of this fullness of God and we were changed. We received grace upon grace. We received God's vision, God's love for the world, for all of us." This is the Christmas story according to John. Author and Lutheran Pastor, Edward Markquart, says on Christmas Eve with the telling of the Christmas story there is a mystical wonder and beauty that we experience. He says, It is as beautiful as if God came down the stairway of the stars with a baby in arms and came into the sanctuary and whispered, 'Shhhh. Hush. Take my child into your arms. Hold Him. Look at him. A baby. Your baby. Let this child fill your heart with grace.' I really like that image. We hear the story, sometimes we see the story, but what would it be like to become a part of the story? What would it be like to hold the Christ child? To take him into our arms, to carry him into our lives. I loved the children's sermon a couple of weeks ago when Christy talked about one of our youth, when he was a preschooler, was determined to be Mary in the Christmas Pageant. Joseph or the shepherds or the wisemen wouldn't do. He insisted on being Mary. When his teacher asked why he wanted to be Mary, she discovered it was because he wanted to hold the baby. He knew that was a very important role. He wanted to be the one to hold the Christ child. Now, when we tell the nativity story at our annual Advent festival, both Mary and Joseph take turns carrying the Christ child. Perhaps it is a role we should all play. Some of you may have seen the story that was being shared over the internet a couple of weeks ago about another little boy who wanted to carry Jesus. Supposedly a couple of days after Christmas a pastor was walking by the manger scene that was being displayed outside his urban church. But on second glance he noticed that baby Jesus was missing. He was most perplexed as to who would want to steal baby Jesus. About that time he looked down the sidewalk and saw a little boy pulling a new red wagon and it looked like there was a small bundle in it. He approached the little guy and asked if by any chance he had seen the missing baby Jesus. The boy pointed to the wagon and said, "He's not missing. He's right here with me. You see, I asked him for a new red wagon for Christmas and told him if I could have one I would take him for a ride." I think he might have been a little confused about getting the red wagon from baby Jesus, but maybe he had the right idea about taking Jesus out of the manger scene and taking him along for the ride. There is something about Christmas that gets inside of us and for a time the world seems a little more compassionate, a little more caring, a little more forgiving, a little more loving. People come together and reach out to one another and hearts are filled with amazement and wonder that persons can be so giving. There is something about Christmas that seems more like what God intended our world to be. In a few days our Christmas celebrations will be over. We will take down the decorations and put the manger scene away and we won't tell the story again until next December, but what will we take from this sacred story and carry into the New Year? What will we take from this story and carry into our lives? Some of you have heard me tell about directing the "Live Nativity" each year when I served a church in Indianapolis. It was always an adventure in faith. Sometimes the animals didn't always cooperate as we would have liked. We had stubborn donkeys that did not want to make their way to the manger and a wild sheep that dragged a little shepherd boy through the mud. One year the camels were particularly ornery and bit a wiseman. But even when the action didn't exactly follow the script, everyone still loved it, because no matter how you told it, it was the same wonderful story of God's gift of love sent to earth in the form of a baby in a manger. The best part for me as the director each year was to hear the comments by the children as the sacred story was reenacted before their very eyes. The children invariably asked questions about what was happening and what it all meant. I remember one little boy looking up at his father and asking, "Daddy, is that real?" It was an interesting question for that father to answer. They certainly were real people and real animals. Was that really Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus ? No. Was that the way the story really happened? Well, not exactly. We fill in a few details in that manger scene that we really don't know for sure. But, is it real? The dictionary defines "real" as actually being existent, not imaginary, not artificial but genuine and authentic. What do you think? What is the birth of the Christ child to you? Is it real? Just as the little boy asked his Daddy if the story being told to him was real, I think Christmas is a way God asks each of us that question. Is the reality of God's love coming to us in the birth of a baby in a manger something so real that it transforms us? Will that love really shape how we live our lives? Will that love make a difference in how we see and care for those around us. Can we reach into the heart of the Christmas story and cradle its meaning in our arms and carry its real meaning wherever we go? There is a true story told about a group of Jewish villagers who gathered in their local synagogue in Poland during WWII. Their rabbi gathered them together to warn them that news had been received that the Nazis were approaching their small village. They needed to escape as quickly as possible. They gathered a few belongings and began an arduous, frightening trek, hoping to find help and safety. Along the way a young mother gave birth to a baby. As quickly as possible they continued on, but the way was very difficult, especially for the elderly and the children. Soon someone's grandmother felt she could not go on and she sat down alongside the road and urged the others to continue without her. The rabbi walked over to the young mother, took the baby from her arms, and walked to the old woman. He knelt down placed the child in her arms and said, "Sarah, you have to go on. Who will help carry the baby." They helped her to her feet and they stumbled on together. A few hours later, a child began to cry and begged to be carried. Once again, the rabbi gathered the baby in his arms and placed the infant in the arms of the small child. He said, "Levi, my child, we need you to keep walking. We need you to help us carry the baby." The story goes that they all made their way safely to their destination. They made their way taking turns carrying the baby. I believe God needs each one of us to carry the baby, to make this story real for others, for ourselves. Christmas Eve, the night when God came to us in the stillness, in the hush and said, "Take my child into your arms. Hold him. Look at him. A baby. Your baby. Carry this baby." |
