New Beginnings 12-24-23
New Beginnings
Is 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20
Is 9:2-7
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. 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. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Luke 2:1-20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her 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. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “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. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
In the Night – by Michael Coffey
A Christmas Song In the cold on night as Mary held her baby tight, O, warm us, hold us in your love, God with us, in Christ. In the lonely night as Mary calmed her baby’s fright, O, still us, comfort us in your love, God with us, in Christ. In the peaceful night as Mary trusted all was right O, guide us, hearten us, with your love, God with us, in Christ. In the dark of the night as Mary saw her baby’s light, O, shine on, shine on us with your love, God with us, in Christ.
Prayer – Lord God, on many Sundays we come before you in prayer and ask you to do various things for us, to help us and support us when we caught up in darkness. As we gather this day on the eve of your Incarnation, remind us of how you act in our behalf. You continue to give us the gift of yourself, the gift of grace made manifest in the birth of the babe in Bethlehem. Help us to see the new beginnings that come with the birth of the Christ – give us a sense of newness through this new birth – this day and each – amen.
Can you feel it? The hum in the air as all our preparations come to an end and the celebration begins. I don’t think it is just us, either. I think all of creation recognizes the new beginnings that are happening tonight. The membrane between heaven and earth is so thin you can almost see through it. Tonight is the night we measure all time against. Everything that happened yesterday is before Christ, and everything that happens tomorrow is after him. Today, tonight, we are living in the eternal now of God’s coming among us. His name is Emmanuel – the God who is with us – who is made out of the same stuff we are and who is made out of the same stuff God is and who will not let either of us go.
That is the main thing we are waiting for tonight – for that baby’s cry. But that is not the only thing, because most of us are waiting for a new beginning. For instance, I believe someone here is waiting to find out what is inside that large flat box propped up against the wall by the Christmas tree. And someone else is looking forward to waking up in house in which all the beds are filled once again, with children and grandchildren who have come for the holidays. And all of us are hopeful that with the birth of the Christ child, something new and exciting has changed the way we look at the world.
I also recognize that others of you for whom this is a hard time of the year. There may be an empty chair to deal with, that stocking that stays folded in the decorations box. All the rituals that were designed for two or more are now up to you alone. Christmas is the season when you wait to see if the hurt has let up any since this time last year – and you want it to, so you can get on with your life – and you don’t want it to, because that might mean you have stopped caring. The memories of past Christmas’ rise up to meet you, swamping you to the degree you can almost taste it in the back of your throat.
For good or ill, every Christmas Eve functions as a kind of time machine for us, taking us back to every other Christmas Eve we have spent on this earth. For some, it is a reminder of the way life used to be, back when . . . Christmas is the smell of the fir tree and cinnamon sticks soaking on the stove. It is remembering dad waking up and banging cabinets to make sure my sister and I wake up for the presents and joy found in the day.
For others, this night is a reminder of the way of life should have been but never was – those who have looked all their lives through other people’s windows at scenes of domestic bliss. Everyone is supposed to go home for Christmas, only where is home? Some of us know and some of us are still trying to find out, but tonight the answer is, right here. This is our Bethlehem, where we have hauled the hopes and fears of all our years to lay them in front of the manger and a new born child. It is about new beginnings.
No wonder the place is humming. It is full of all our Christmas dreams and memories, all our best wishes for ourselves and others, including our ideas about what our lives should be like once God has been born into them. What will our new beginnings look like? If you aren’t sure what your ideas are, you can generally find some clue by looking at the Christmas cards gathered on the mantle. What kinds of images are on them? What kinds of words? Unless you have a friend with really strange notions of Christmas, chances are that ‘peace’, ‘joy’, and ‘love’ are on a lot of them along with pictures that reflect those very words. So as you consider the season of Christmas and the incarnation of God into our lives, what new beginnings do you see on your horizon?
Are you longing for a calmer, purer, more centered life and the way people talk about that life usually has a lot of ‘up’ words in it as if belonging to God were a matter of being transported to God’s presence for as long as possible. Are you hoping that with the birth of God into our lives once again we find that life itself may be a little easier, a little less complicated, a little more hopeful that at the end of the day, all will be right with your world, just like that Christmas card that catches your eye each time you walk by.
But do you know what? Even the pictures on the Christmas cards are only moments in time. If we could see past the edges, we would probably see some pretty familiar sights. I like landscape pictures and cards, so I can imagine a cabin nestled in the woods with a single set of car tracks leading up the driveway and snow falling and smoke curling out of the chimney – but I bet the lot next door has been clear cut for a new subdivision and through the barren trees I can see an old abandoned refrigerator that someone dropped off late one evening.
I hope I’m not ruining your Christmas parade. What I mean is, even the very best pictures of Emmanuel and his family, the ones where the artist has really focused on the softness of the baby’s skin, the warm bodies of the animals standing around him heating the night air with their breath, Mary and Joseph bending over the newborn child as if they were protecting God himself – even those pictures don’t tell the whole story.
We have heard the story many times – how the whole town is clogged with travelers, none of them there by choice, think Atlanta airport if you will. The emperor wanted them all counted and taxed and he could have cared less if or where they slept. You have to wonder what happened to Joseph’s family – it was his hometown and none of his peeps took them in. Were they embarrassed for him? Did they want to protect the family name since Mary was ‘with child?’ I don’t know. Joseph and Mary had to settle for a stall and not a room at grandma’s house. We know they got a feed trough because that is where they laid their treasure, and that is where the picture was taken for all of our Christmas cards – right then, while the star was still overhead and the angels were singing in the rafters.
But twenty minutes later, what? The hole in the heavens had closed up and the only music came from the bar at the inn. One of the cows inadvertently stepped on a chicken and the squawking woke up the new born child. Mary was at the end of her proverbial rope and when Jesus starting crying, so did she, telling Joseph she wanted her mother right then, right now. If she had only married a nice boy from Nazareth she would be back home where she belonged instead of competing with a sheep or a goat for a place to sleep.
After she calmed down, Mary apologized to Joseph and he said not to think another thing about it. He meant it too. They both hurt all over from the trip, from the delivery, there was nothing to eat and it was cold as the dickens, but you know what? God was still there, right in the middle of the picture. Peace was there, and joy, and love – not only in the best of times but also and especially in the worst of times – because during those times there should be no mistake about who was responsible.
It was God with us. Not the God up there somewhere who answers our prayers by lifting us up out of our lives, but the God who comes to us in the midst of them – however far from home we may be, however less than ideal our circumstances, however much or little of our lives reflect the Christmas cards we send and receive. That is where God is born, just there, in any cradle we will offer him, on any pile of straw we will pat together with our hands – all for a new beginning.
I imagine all of us, at one time or another, have prayed to be transported into God’s presence. This Christmas we can and will get our wish – perhaps not in the way we imagined. None of heaven’s escalators are going up tonight. Everybody up there, is coming down here, right here, right into our own Bethlehem, bringing us the God who has decided to make God’s home in our arms – new beginnings – thanks be to God – amen. (Adapted Barbara Brown Taylor – Past Perfection)