Cyber Gleanings, December, 2005:

Dear People of St. John’s,

     Christmas 2005 is upon us, just as two thousand and four celebrations of the Incarnation have come and gone.  It happens at the same time every year.  We know that Advent precedes it and Epiphany come after.  Christmas is no secret; we’ve been expecting it.  Shirley and I offer a special prayer that the 2005 observance of this event upon which history hinges will be the very best one yet for you and those you love.

     It really can be the very best one yet!  Even among, and in spite of, the yearly routines the message of the angels can reach us, if we listen hard.  The world is noisy.  It tends to get louder as we near Christmas Day.  Combine that with the tragedies of late summer and fall and we might feel we are sinking under noise and need.  Hearing the message of the angels requires us to be open-minded, soft-hearted, and willing to be surprised by God.  The Christmas message rarely get through to those who are cynical, those who believe they already have it all figured out, or those who refuse to allow the baby Jesus to grow up.

     If we will allow it to happen, God will connect certain vital symbols in this Christmas season for us.  Yes, we can begin with the crib of Bethlehem.  Celebrating the birth of the baby is a good place to start.  But, it is just a start.  We are not meant to get stuck in a stable.  We are invited on a journey.  With this baby we may flee into Egypt, we may observe a child growing up and learning a carpenter’s trade, we may watch in wonder as he confounds the scholars with the wisdom of a  twelve-year old, we may walk out with him to the Jordan and see water poured over his head from the hands of John the Baptist, we may travel with him on foot as he preaches and teaches, touches and heals, rebukes and challenges, loves and forgives, we may even watch as he gets into trouble for bringing God too close to human understandings of power, we may watch as he is nailed to a cross, and we may walk in faith with the faithful women in the predawn darkness of the third day and find an empty tomb.  We may sit with others in the fear-filled, silent upper room as he stands in our presence and breathes on us and makes some order out of the chaos of our lives.  We may experience the power of Pentecost and join with others in the creation of a new reality we know as the Church.

     Why, you may ask, do we need to look at rejection, trials, crucifixion, resurrection, and Pentecost at Christmas?  My only well-reasoned explanation is that God has connected those things and we fail to receive the intended life-changing impact if we look only at the crib of Bethlehem.  The one who ushers in the Kingdom of God, the one who frees us from the death of our sins, and the one whose “glory we have beheld” has indeed come.  That is the real message of Christmas. 

     My hope for all those who call St. John’s home is that we observe not just the birth of a baby boy, but the reality of the coming of the Lord…”for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

     Shirley and I wish each of you a Blessed Advent and a Joyous Christmas.

                                                                    Peace,

                                                                 Tom