Reflection for the First Sunday of Christmas

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children”

It can be easy, in our one-and-done society, to forget that Christmas is not just a singular event, to be celebrated on December 25^th, and then forgotten about.

It can be easy, in our use-it-and-ditch-it society, to forget that our liturgical calendar celebrates twelve days of Christmas, not before the 25^th, but beginning with that day.

It can be easy, in our “what’s next” society, to set the excitements and stresses of Christmas aside and look toward the next thing, the next holiday, the next big news.

But we have twelve days of this holy season, including two Sundays. Christmas isn’t over yet.

And, further, even when the twelve days of the liturgical calendar are done, and we move on to other seasons and other holidays, we do not leave the joy of Christmas behind. The wonder of the child born for us, the joy and hope that we have in his arrival, and the trust we have in his promised coming again, does not end twelve days after Christmas. We are always children of God. We have been forever adopted, as Paul says in Galatians.

We may find that the world wants us to move on, that we have been indulged quite enough with Christmas songs on the radio singing the joy of Christ and the holy birth, but once December is over, the radio stations, for the most part, return to their regularly scheduled programming, and the joy and hope is forgotten.

It’s like the first snow of the season: bright, white, and enchanting. By the time January comes around, though, each new layer is a little dimmer, pushed under another layer of road salt and snowplowing, and the enchantment dims.

But God’s love does not dim, it does not stay pushed under the layers of weariness and exhaustion, violence and fear, hurt and pain that the world tries to shove on top of it.

God’s love, the great miracle of the birth of Christ, continues, in this season, and the next, and the next, and the next. This birth is only the beginning of Christ’s work in the world.

Thanks be to God!

Amen.

Reflection for Christmas Eve

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Imagine: a shepherd tends his flock in the scraggly field, trading off with others to stay awake and keep the watch. The lights in the town barely reach, and grow dimmer as one by one each household puts out their lamps and fires and goes to sleep. The sky grows darker, the air colder, as night settles in. This night is no different than any other night, and the morning will be like any other.

Shepherds were not included in the busy life of the rest of society. Shepherds were out of place at gatherings, with their clothes rumpled and dirty from nights and days in the fields with the messy sheep. They weren’t cultured, they weren’t up on the latest happenings. They were outcasts: literally living at the edge of society, out in the fields, with only each other and the sheep to talk to.

The shepherds weren’t invited. They weren’t the ones you’d expect. They wouldn’t have decorated their house (what house? they’re in a field!), they wouldn’t have baked the cookies (see: no house), they wouldn’t have travelled miles away from their sheep or had time to neatly wrap perfect gifts bought with money they certainly didn’t have… The shepherds were just themselves, exactly themselves, no apologies, no excuses made up.

And there they were, tending their flocks by night. When suddenly, breaking the quiet of the night, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were, quite understandably, terrified. Angel, did you get lost? Town and all the important people are in the other direction.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid—” yeah, right “—for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people—“ all you say? “—To you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

It doesn’t matter what field you are in, or what messy flock you are tending: Christ was born for you.

It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’ve been, or what relationships have hurt you, or what box society has put you in, or any of the other tools that we messy humans have of separating each other.

For a child has been born for us, for each and every one of us. Authority itself rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

In this last week of Advent, as we enter into our final days of preparation for the Christmas season and the celebration of Christ’s birth, we hear the angel’s greeting to Mary. We hear of the promise of the birth to come.

What are we listening for in these final days, then? What have we opened our ears to in these last moments of Advent, as Christmas rushes headlong towards us?

What do we have left on our “to do” lists? Do we have all of the decorations up and the gifts bought? Are the pictures taken, cards mailed, and family contacted? What more is there yet to do to be ready?

I think of all the sounds that are particular to Advent and December: the bells, the songs, the carols, of course. But I also think of the whisper that tells you the difference between rain falling, and snow. The way you can tell when the snowplow is going by, which is somehow a different sound than the usual cars or garbage trucks.

If we could open our ears to the world around us and hear God through the voice of the angel Gabriel, what greeting would we hear? What would we expect to hear? “Greetings, child of God!” or do we look down on ourselves in our image of God’s eyes, and expect something a little less cheery, “Hello, child.”

Perhaps we are indeed hearing God’s voice, coming closer and closer as Christmas approaches, through all the different sounds of the season. The voices of the angels singing out in the carols on the radio, the greetings of family and friends reminding us of the joys of the season, these voices remind us of the love of God, who delights to be in relationship with us.

And perhaps also we can hear the voice of God in the whisper of the falling snow and the rush of the working snow plows. Perhaps we can open our ears to the quiet ways that God calls out to us, calls us into the world that is always changing, forming and re-forming around us in every moment, calling us into relationship with God and God’s beautiful, holy creation.

After all, Christmas is when we celebrate God becoming a truly physical part of that creation.

And it’s coming soon!

Thanks be to God!

Amen.