Another Christmas is upon us! Where to begin? How to tell the story? There are so many ways! But ah, the POWER of story!
You know, I usually don’t
watch much TV, but there is one show that I really like, and I have to watch it every Sunday night when it
is on. It’s called “Once Upon A Time”.
Have any of you ever watched
it? Well, it is a very interesting & creative show that takes the stories
& characters in the fairy tales we all grew up with, and sort of “re-tells”
them... but not quite exactly the way we may have heard them. It is a new version of some very old and
familiar stories.
The story takes place in Maine, in this little seaside town called “Storybrook”. And little do they know it, but the people who live there are all
actually various fairytale story characters! But they can’t remember who they really
are, as their memories have all been erased!
The first grade teacher who works at the school, is
really Snow White! The guy who works at
the animal shelter is Prince Charming! The town mayor is really the Evil Queen (of
Snow White). And who is the guy who owns the antique shop? Yes, it is Rumpelstiltskin. The town psychiatrist, is Jiminy Cricket, and so
on!
And how did they all get here? Well, a
terrible curse was enacted by the “Evil Queen” who wanted to take away all
their “happy endings”, erased their memories and brought them all to a
dreadful land where there is no magic and no enchantment!
Our world!
Ah, now we see the need
for stories!
Now, we may think fairy tales
are just for amusement and mean “fiction”.
But upon a closer look, many of these stories have a very deep spiritual
message, or lesson, a moral to the story. But you have to sort of read or listen between
the lines to get it.
The characters in Storybrook,
are all walking around with their memories erased, not knowing who they really are,
or what is really going on. But how many
of us walk or go through life this way?
Hmmm.
And on this night, we once again re-tell, re-remember
& re-live a very familiar and very old and very powerful story!
The Christmas story
is our story, all its
versions. Whether it be in song,
storytelling, music, traditions, rituals, and so forth!
And on this night, here in
this place, we once again tell the Christmas story!
Wonder why we have incense
tonight? We are enacting part of the
Christmas story, you are smelling &; breathing real Frankincense,
straight from Arabia! I brought it here from when I was there in 2009! Remember, the three Magi, or Wise Men
bring gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh!? And here you are, breathing the story!
We just heard Luke’s
gospel. Mary & Joseph had been traveling on the
road from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census.
Bethlehem, by the way is about five miles south of
Jerusalem, very hilly and means “House of Bread” in Hebrew. “ Baet” meaning
house. Well, being there were so many
people also in Bethlehem trying to register for the census, they could not find
a room at the inn, so they “checked in” to a stable. And among the animals, Mary gives birth to
Jesus, and lays him in a food trough full of hay, a manger!
Meanwhile out in the fields, the shepherds
are watching over their flocks. Suddenly, an Angel of the Lord
appears to them. And what happens?
They are terrified! And what does the angel say? “Do not be afraid! I am bringing you good news of great joy for
all people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the
Messiah, the Lord. … you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying
in a manger."
So, the shepherds go to
Bethlehem to “see this thing that has taken place", and there they find baby
Jesus in the manger. They tell everyone
there what had been told to them by the angel.
What did Mary do? Well, she
listened! And she pondered these things in her heart. Do you ponder these things, in your
heart?
And then, the shepherds went
away praising God!
I know, that for some of us, it
may be difficult to feel the joy of Christmas.
Perhaps you are grieving, or going through a rough patch in life. But to be sure, in time, it will change. Life will change. It will change, because we all change. For the one thing constant in life, is
change.
And over and over Christmas
comes, a constant in our sometimes turbulent lives & world. Christmas comes every year, in all its
versions and ways… Giving us comfort,
hope, joy, courage, strength, healing, and a time to re-remember what life is really all about!
Now someone mentioned their favorite Christmas song is "Silent Night". Yes, it tells the story, er, sings the story of Christmas. But do you know this song has a story? Well, here goes...
Once upon a time, a long time
ago, at
a little church in Austria, it was only a few days before Christmas, and the church
organist announced to the priest that the aging church organ had broken down. "Bad news Father", said the organist. The organ is broken, and it can't be fixed by Christmas Eve. What are we going to do?" The parish priest responded, "Hey don't you play guitar? Maybe we can have guitar music instead. I know it's a little unorthodox, but we are between a rock and a hard place!" The church organist agreed. The priest
added that he had written a little poem, perhaps he could put it to music?
And
so, on that night, on Christmas Eve in the year 1818, the world heard and sang “Silent
Night” for the first time. And we still
sing this simple yet noble song, for it captures so well the spirit of this holy night!
And once again we are re-reminded,
that even in the longest, coldest and darkest of “nights” in our lives, that
Emmanuel, God is with us… always!
Amen!
[Sermon given DEC 24, 2013 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Casa Grande, AZ.]
