Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw
If I could put us all into a Star Trek transporter and magically beam us down to Bethlehem, as Jews living in Palestine, 2,000 years ago - here’s what might be different.
Most of us would work producing food, clothing, or both - and we could afford few luxuries. We would not have indoor plumbing, running water, a stove, car, more than two changes of clothes, or Jimmy Kimmel. If we lived into our 30’s we would be lucky.
We would live under the constant threat of Roman aggression. Sure there was peace. But Jews were unhappy with the Romans - and some made this known - with guerrilla tactics that endangered the common folk - who never knew how Rome might punish all its citizens for the sins of a few.
Amidst this ongoing turmoil, we would earn enough money to support our families, pay our taxes, and offer sacrifices during one of more of the annual religious festivals, but we would probably have nothing left over for lottery tickets.
And while our region would be prosperous, it would be nowhere near affluent. We would not live near kings, political players, billionaires, or power brokers. It was not Silicon Valley, more like the Ohio Valley.
I want us to go there because we are often tempted to turn Christmas into a safe holiday, with its music, movies, and soft-focus memories, looking through a sentimental lens at what the Christmas Creche on the altar holds - and not at the harsh realities of that day - which, of course, is meant to speak to you and me in our day - Right here and right now.
If you’re like me, you come to this second consecutive COVID Christmas with too little joy, peace, and harmony, and with too much worry, anxiety, fear, and mourning.
The lead story in this morning's paper read: "Inflation Is High and Uncertainty Rampant as Economy Heads Into 2022"
We are, once again, cooped up in our homes - unable to be with beloved friends and family in, of all places, the safety of our churches, in the ways we would like to be.
We are wearing masks everywhere, getting one shot after another - most, but not enough of us -
And too often we’re taking out our frustrations over all the things we’re missing out on - our disappointments, uncertainties, and stress - on those who mean the most to us - on our loved ones, on God.
Ya, some of us are really mad at God this year.
COVID has robbed us of so much.
The precarious nature of our times is so upsetting.
All of us are mentally challenged.
Our souls are not well.
This really stinks.
Yet, we are here.
Showing up in person - or online -
And why are we here?
Because in this Christmas story, God offers us the 2 things we so desperately need to hear in times like this: we are loved and we are not alone.
Yes, the situation is dire, but we are not deserted or divorced from the Almighty.
The incarnation tells us that God knows how bad it is out there, how bad it is in here - and that God is here to walk us through it - to love us through it.
The Christmas story tells us that no matter how bad things seem - no matter how wretched our world has become - How discombobulated our daily world has transformed into, God is unwilling to give up on it.
God is unwilling to give up on being with us and on loving us.
Because as we turn to our Gospel tonight, we see that how Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.
This is your Christmas Eve tweet:
How Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.
And how did Jesus get into the world?
Let me make three points here.
Jesus came to the world through a poor family, through an unwed mother, through a politically oppressed people. God brought the light of the world, into the world, with these three strikes against him to show us that there is no situation that is insurmountable.
God can do anything.
God is out to redeem everyone and everything.
It's as if God is saying, If I can bring salvation into the world through some peasant Family in some backwater region of the Roman Empire, I can bring it anytime, anywhere - I can do anything - and that is for you and me - and so there is never any reason to give up hope.
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Jesus came to a poor area full of poor people. Those whom society was most likely to abuse, run over, and overlook.
Jesus did not have parents with connections. They did not go to Ivy League schools. They did not know the difference between the salad fork and the dessert fork. They would not have qualified for an American Express card.
Jesus was the son of an unwed mother.
This was as shunned upon in his society as it is in some parts of ours.
He was unexpected and faced unacceptance.
Sure, he had good paternal, DNA but that only gets you so far with the middle school bullies.
Jesus was born among an oppressed people.
The Jews were not conquerors, they were the conquered.
They did not have complete freedom to do what they wanted when they wanted.
The laws, currency, the food and customs were as of foreign as they were unwelcome.
The Holy Family was forced to live under the greedy thumbs of their heathen Roman overlords, and there was nothing they could do about it.
How Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.
Jesus came through and to a people who were least likely to have hope - they were poor, shunned, and oppressed.
And if any part of any one of us is impoverished, rejected, or oppressed tonight, God is here to hold out hope to us as well.
God says, don't give up, I haven't.
I will be there for you -
I will get you through this - although it may not be when you want it or how you want it.
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It was a 1940s, and a family had moved west in order to seek better opportunities.
John, Mary, and the two kids, Bob and Grace, loved the new scenery and the chance for a new start.
Unfortunately, jobs became elusive, and the family lived from hand to mouth for quite some time.
When Christmas came, Mary, who always prided herself on decorating their home with a grand Christmas tree, became worried. Where they lived, Christmas trees were expensive, and no matter how she worked and re-worked the budget, the tree was more than they could afford. She was sad for the children's sake, all their friends had Christmas trees, and she knew how much they enjoyed decorating it. Yet, for some reason, Mary did not give up hope.
And she prayed that God would help her make this Christmas, despite the family's financial problems, the best one it could be.
Then, two days before Christmas, as Mary and the kids were cleaning the kitchen, she glanced out the window, only to see a huge tumbleweed roll up to the garage door.
Bob and Grace said, "Don't worry Mom we will move it out of way." But Mary's eyes lit up! She said "Quick, go grab that tumbleweed, I want you to put it in the living room!"
For the next 4 hours, Mary and the kids found a way to turn that tumbleweed into the most glorious, if not unconventional, Christmas tree anyone has probably ever seen.
Carefully removing antique ornaments, that had been handed down for generations, and placing them on the tumbleweed tree, popping corn, then stringing it together and winding it around the tree, and cutting up tin foil to make their own tinsel, Bob and Grace remembered that tumbleweed Christmas tree all of their lives. In fact, it was the most memorable Christmas they've ever had.
Friends, if we learn anything from Christmas, it's that God cares for us more than we'll ever know, and God will bring us through every uncertainty we can name, whether it's covid, bankruptcy, job loss, or whatever.
Sure, there may be big challenges along the way, things may not go according to plans, but in the midst of our crummy situations, God is here and God loves us.
May the light of Christmas reveal to each one of us that this is enough.
Amen.