Christmas Eve Sermon 2009

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
5:00 PM
December 24, 2009
Luke 2:1-20

Over the past few weeks, at least three people have said to me, “I don’t know, I just don’t feel the Christmas Spirit this year. Maybe it’s because we can’t afford a lot of presents. We’re really pinching pennies right now. Who knows, I may not get anything at all.”

To me, these people are poor indeed. However, their poverty does not come from the fact that they will not receive any Christmas presents this year. No, their poverty stems from their perception that they need presents – this world presents – in order to be happy. Their poverty is the result of an inability to experience the greatest gift of all. A gift that is theirs this Christmas and always – not a gift wrapped in a shiny box or a supersize TV with a big red bow around it – but rather, the gift of life, love, and peace. The gift of God made man - God incarnate. The gift of Jesus Christ, our light and our Savior.

As I was preparing to write this sermon, I gave serious thought to these people who seem to need material gifts in order to experience joy. I found myself wishing that some of them might be here with us tonight as we, who are blessed with the knowledge of Christ, experience the power of his birth in this 2009 Christmas Eve Eucharist service.

I also prayed that I could summon the creative juices that might in some small way bring life to this awesome event, and bring honor to Mary’s glorious words recorded in the Magnificat, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.”

In the end, I decided that I needed all of you in the pews to help me out. The awesome task of honoring Christ’s birth needs to be a community event – a real celebration. So, as we review the birth story in tonight’s Gospel reading, I am going to ask you to speak up on cue from your handout. No singing is needed, although these short quotes are verses from hymns that you will recognize.
No, no singing is needed. What is needed though is a thoughtful reading of each verse when I give the sign. Remember, you are helping me tell the story of this wondrous event.

“While they were there, the time came for her to deliver a 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.” (Luke 2:6-7)

People: Hymn #101; verse 1

Away in a manger, no crib for his bed
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

Mary and Joseph had travelled from Nazareth to Galilee to register for a census. The purpose of the census was to insure that everyone was accounted for and taxed appropriately. This was a long journey – about 90 miles each way. Whether on foot or by donkey, it must have been a very difficult and unpleasant journey for Mary who was pregnant.

On the way home, exhausted and knowing that Mary might be about to deliver her child, the couple stopped at an inn seeking lodging. All the rooms were filled. Mary and Joseph were offered an alternative place to stay – the manger, a space normally reserved as a shelter for animals. It was in this very humble space that the birth of Christ took place.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, God incarnate, our Savior and our Redeemer was not born in the comfort of a fancy palace or temple. His parents were given no special consideration. The innkeeper did not move an existing guest and give them a real room instead of a dirty animal shed. No grand and glorious welcome befitting a king here. No, Christ was born in the most humble of settings among the poor, the needy, and the vulnerable – among those whom he would serve, teach, and encourage to become his followers, his disciples. Ordinary people, just like you and me.


In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Then the angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (Luke 2:8-9)

People: Hymn #94, verses 1 & 2

While shepherds watched their flocks by night all seated on the ground,
the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around.

“Fear not,” said he, for mighty dread has seized their troubled mind;
“Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind.”

Shepherds were not rich. Shepherds were not sophisticated. Shepherds were not educated. Shepherds had little, if any, social standing. Yet, God chose them to be the first to learn of Christ’s birth. God revealed himself and the birth of His Son to the most ordinary of men – not to kings or emperors.

Imagine these tired and dirty men out in a dark field, perhaps cold and hungry, minding their own business and tending their sheep when all of a sudden an angel appears before them – an angel in a cloud of glory! They were terrified!

But the angel said, “Fear not.” And then, miraculously, “The glory of the Lord shone around them.”

Somehow the shepherds understood the grace that had befallen them. They heard God. They listened intently and in awe as the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go 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. (Luke 2:15-16)



People: Hymn #83, verse 1

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of Angels;
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

The sheep were forgotten. The shepherds knew in their hearts that they had to see for themselves this miraculous “Thing that had taken place.” They dropped everything, including their livelihood – the sheep – and hurried off to Bethlehem.

These shepherds foreshadowed all those men and women who in the coming years would lay down their worldly goods and gifts to follow Christ – the fishermen, the tax collector, and all the saints who have given their lives to proclaim the Good News of Christ.

As Jesus said to the man who was asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

Once we have seen the glory of the Lord, there is no hesitation, no concern for what others may think or what the consequences of our commitment to Christ might be - no hesitation at all - we simply love, or adore, him with all our hearts, and all our minds, and all our souls.

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.” (Luke2:17-20)

Hymn #88, verse 1

Sing, o sing, this blessed morn, unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, God himself comes down from heaven.
Sing, O sing, the blessed morn, Jesus Christ today is born.

The shepherds were amazed at what they had been told, and what they had seen when they finally arrived at the manger scene in Bethlehem. These very ordinary people served as witnesses to the Incarnation, just as other very ordinary people would later become witnesses to the resurrection.

Other than the angels, the shepherds were the first to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ birth. Not CNN or Fox News, not the New York Times, not Newsweek or Time Magazine – just ordinary folks like you and me, singing praises from door-to-door.

Tonight, it is very ordinary people like you and me who, once again, are witnessing the birth of Christ. It is very ordinary people like you and me who will follow this Christ-child through the brief but world changing 33 years of his life. It is ordinary people like you and me who will journey with him to his death on the cross, his resurrection, and beyond as we, ordinary people, just like the shepherds, proclaim the Good News of Christ’s birth in ordinary places, over and over again.

As we consider in awe, just as the shepherds did over 2000 years ago, the profundity of this miracle of Christmas Eve, let us open our hearts to the wondrous gift of God made man. Let us pray that we may grow in His likeness until we find eternal love and salvation in His presence, now and ever after.

I hope that you will all receive wonderful gifts in bright shiny boxes whether tonight or tomorrow morning – whenever is your custom to share Christmas presents. But, more than shiny gifts, I hope that right now you will open your heart to discover the greatest gift of all – Jesus Christ.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay
close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

Sedona...here I come!

Well, the place for reflection has been decided upon. July 1-5 will be spent in Sedona, AZ, a truly beautiful and spiritual place. I have also decided that two days sans computer is a part of this retreat process. This has been quite a year. I can't believe all that has happened in my life since leaving Florida just 18 months ago. Most especially, I can't believe that my ordination is becoming a reality. There is so much to think about, so much to continue to discern with regard to my call from God. As we approach the day of Pentecost, I am filled with an overflowing sense of the Holy Spirit and his presence in my life.

So Many Things To Do

My attempts to remain faithful to my blog seem to have gone astray. One day fades into the next and before you know it the week has passed. Some good intentions have been fulfilled; others not. The trouble with this rapid passage of time that leaves life in a blur, is that we quickly loose sight of the forest through the trees. We are so intent and, sometimes drained, by dealing with the present that we forget our future is limited in time. This dilemma is all too unpleasantly staring me in the face. I have so much that I want to do and so little time. A new commitment has arisen - take some time to figure out the priorities of time for myself. The first week of July has now been set aside for this contemplative excercise. Wish me well. Peace...

Opening Our Minds

I just read a reflection by Joan Chittister http://www.benetvision.org_In_Passing/05_04_09.html
The last paragraph relates very much to where my mind is at these days. "Once we empty ourselves to our certainties, we open ourselves to the mystery. We expose ourselves to the God in whom 'we live and move and have our being.' We bare ourselves to the possibility that God is seeking us in places and people and things we thought were outside the pale of the God of our spiritual childhood. Then life changes color, changes tone, changes purpose. We begin to live more fully, not just in touch with the earth, but with the eternal sound of the universe as well."
Life is safe when we keep it in the little box we have constructed to help us understand what life is all about. Once that box breaks, wears out, etc. life can be very scary. We question God. I am not sure that He wants to protect us from those questions. But I am sure that He wants to shepherd us to the answers that are right for us. Peace, Clelia

Responding to Violence

Bishop Dan's Blog of yesterday http://www.bishopdansblog.blogspot.com/ speaks of the dreadful violence that is prevalent throughout the world today. My personal belief as a clinician, and as an observer of life, is that a great deal of this violence is the result of traumatic stress disorder. A phenomenon that begins in utero. Salient symptoms of traumatic stress disorder among both children and adults are anxiety, panic, anger, violence, substance abuse, and mental illness. Traumas pile up. If a child is traumatized in early childhood (let's say by the death of a parent, violence within the home, etc) the trauma impacts the successful acheivement of what ever developmental milestone that child is going through at the moment. Unless the child receives help at that time, he/she is likely to be stuck at that developmental milestone. As a child, or adult, experiences more life trauma, the situations, left unattended, compound themselves. We have lots and lots of traumatized children, and adults, in the United States at this moment in time, with very few programs to identify or treat this serious issue. The same principle applies to our returning vets. They have been severely traumatized in one way or another during the course of their military service. They return home after having been in the midst of flying bullets, exploding rockets, and mutilated bodies, only to be told to turn in their uniform and gun and get a job. This approach is not working. The learned violence and the trauma of this war on terrorism hangs on and on perpetuating more violence.

We have a traumatized society. I have come to believe that until we think of ourselves in this light, we will only become more traumatized and more violent.

The Weeks Fly By

I find it difficult to believe that we are at the end of yet another week - a week that has been, once again, filled with amazing stories from the growing number of clients that I am seeing in individual counseling. Almost all my clients have PTSD caused by events that range from the Vietnam War to being stabbed by an angry boyfriend several weeks ago. Some are young (13), some are older (59). The stories and feelings that are shared with me can be very difficult to hear and to process as I move through time and continually consider the lives that God asks us to live. Through all the tears, anxiety, anger, and grief, however, there is rarely a time when God fails to enter the story. At some point or another, the storyteller always brings up the way(s) in which they sought God's help in living through their dilemma. Each day, I am struck by the fact that, for the most part, we all go forward. We all move through life, no matter what the circumstances, with great moments of joy, humor, and apprieciation and prayer of thanks for the gifts that God has given us. My difficult work could possibly make one question God in a negative way - for me, it has strengthened the powerful reality of a God who is with us constantly, in ways that we will never understand, with gifts that we are always discovering and receiving.

Poverty vs. Culture

For a while now, I have been struggling with the cause(s) of various dilemmas that I encounter with the clients that come to our organization for help. Most individuals who end up in our waiting room are quite, if not very, poor. Initally, I blamed everything on poverty. However, recently it has become clear to me that our clients' problems extend far beyond their poverty issues. The other day as I was thinking in the shower (one of the best places to think quietly I have found), it struck me that the real problem out here in the wilderness is not poverty - it is cultural. In my theological framework, I would say that for the most part, the wild west has not been touched by the Holy Spirit. By this I mean that the culture accepts, perhaps promotes, self-motivated, impulsive, and violent behaviors. This type of lifestyle produces isolation, anxiety, and indifference. I am just re-reading the Acts of the Apostles in preparation for a Christian Education class that I will be giving, and in reflecting on this issue of poverty vs. culture I am reminded of the inital work of the apostles and their commitment to the mission that had been given to them by Christ; their understanding and internalized knoweldge of the power of the Holy Spirit. Slowly in that difficult wilderness of ancient times, they converted first a few, then a few hundred, and then a few thousand. They did not change any socioeconomic problems, but they did bring healing and brotherly love - a spirituality of compassion - the presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that we can in some small way do the same.

What a Week!

This has been quite a week. Everything from meeting with Senator Harry Reid to finding out late yesterday afternoon that our organization has received an additional $44,000 for one of our grant requests. The good thing is that the grant is a three-year grant - that means $44,000 x3. The extra funds will allow us to place a staff member way up north where one is desparately needed. However, in the middle of these two "good news" bookends were a lot of difficult situations and challenges for my small staff of eight. It's interesting to note that we are all deeply committed to our various faiths. Our common denominator is a sense of mission to relieve suffering, fear, hunger, and loneliness. There are always unspoken words of faith and prayer as we work together as a team to problem solve. A visitor noted the other day, "there is a real sense of peace in this office." I agree with him. We are all at peace, because we are led by Christ in our mission.

Visit with Senator Reid

My visit with the Senator and some of his staff was awesome. A handful of other community members and I got to introduce ourselves and then hear from the Senator about what's going on in Wahsington. He has found a great staff and a great way to network himself to his constituents. His methods and his words gave me hope, for the first time in a great while, that this country might be turning onto a better path. The visit also reminded me of how important contact with our legislators is. I flashed back to my AIDS activist days and memories of many flights to Washington D.C.; meetings with other activists from throughout the country to strategize; and then several days of meetings with various senators, congressmen etc. It was hard work, but totally effective. We got the inital and continuing Ryan White funding and the critically needed state of the art clinical trials that would identify so many effective medications in treating HIV. I don't know about becoming an activist once again. But, maybe...there are many issues to be addressed.

On My Way To Senator Reid's Office

I am just about to set off for Las Vegas and a meeting with Senator Harry Reid. One of his Nevada aides called last week to say that he'd like to learn more about our programs. This meeting comes at a time when we, just like everyone else in the non-profit world, are quite worried about funding for next year. Senator Reid could open some important doors for us at the Office of Violence Against Women in Washington, D.C. It's also very windy outside, and I am not fond of driving through the mountain pass that takes me from Pahrump to Las Vegas and back in high winds - it can be scary. So, I would have to say, I have butterflies in my stomach. It is one of those times when I allow my mind to empty and to focus on an image of Christ that I have in my mnd's eye - Christ as he shared the Last Supper with his disciples. This image and my thoughts of his love, comapssion, and courage give me strength and courage of my own. I pray that by the time I reach Senator Reid's office, with Christ's help, I will have laid aside my personal thoughts and concerns, and be an effective spokesperson for those we are attempting to help.

A Day in the Desert

We decided to spend a reflective day in the desert. We drove over to Indian Springs to visit Auntie Moe's, a wonderful source for Native American art, crafts, and jewelry. The entire 60+ mile drive was through barren desert ringed by mountains - some with snow, others with none at all. We stopped along the way simply to reflect on the peace and beauty of it all. Standing in the vast open space with the wind buffeting our clothing, it was hard to imagine the turmoil of the populated world - a good place to pray and consider the joy of Easter Sunday. When we arrived at Auntie Moe's, we discovered that her husband had died of cancer last night. Another time for a prayer and a big hug. We plan to return to the desert - this time Death Valley - tomorrow. This is a good weekend to let it all sink in without distractions, and in a place where God's presence is so evident.

Concerns From Pahrump

We are working diligently as a community to establish a more effective and efficient safety network both those living in poverty and for the many children who are abused and/or neglected in our little town. This is work that sometimes tests one's faith. So, throughout Holy Week, I have given great thought to what faith really means and how we can keep it alive when faced with adversity and shockingly sorrowful stories of small children and lost teens. Our hearts are broken by what we see; it is difficult to identify a justifiable explanation for such distressing circumstances - some that are irreparable. We are like Doubting Thomas before Jesus appeared to him. But Jesus did appear. He said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." This commission gives us the task of going forward in our ministries, and of keeping our heart and minds open to the power of the Holy Spirit.