December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve Service
The Incarnation
Isaiah 9
Luke 2:1-20
When is Santa going to die – asked 4 ½ year old Jonathon to his uncle. He is not going to responded his uncle. How do you know- asked Jonothon. Mommy says that everyone dies and Santa is getting pretty old. So one day, Santa has got to die. His uncle responded that he knew that Santa was magical – so he was not going to die. And if you talk to 4 ½ year olds – they have a wisdom that we lose in our older years- because they are never satisfied with just any answer. How do you know asks Jonothan again – because I live next door to his cousin – and he told me that santa has been alive forever. This story takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The uncle is in America. In the mind of his nephew – was a strange place where anything is possible. So it would make sense that his uncle from America would like next door to Santa’s cousin.
But my friend tells me this story because it bought back memories of his own childhood and the questions that he had asked his mother about santa. He had just moved, and his burning question to his mom was how was santa going to find him in a new house. His mom told him that all children are born with a little star inside of their heads. Santa uses this little star to keep track of us wherever we may be – that’s how he knows what we have been doing all year.
Christmas is a magical mysterious time of the year. Christmas is a time when fantasy and reality meet in the traditions of our lives. We have all kinds of traditions that we do this time of year, some are universal, some are unique to our family. Santa Claus has always been an important part of Christmastime. Santa Claus is a real man – with a real history in the life of Saint Nicholas. And sometimes we make up all kinds of stories about santa – such as living next door to his cousin. But the important stories about Santa are the ones that we witness every year.
In my friends story about santa – he remembered the magic of Christmas for his family. He remembered going to cut down the life tree – which in his neighborhood in Denmark was not a big deal – he remembered the popcorn garland his mother would spend so much time on, he remember the ornaments that he would make out of construction paper. He remembered the special Christmas dinner his mother would make, and the time that he would spend with his family. In those memories he knew in his heart that santa would live forever. There was no way Santa was going to die. But he would never share the real reason that he was so sure of that fact to his nephew. He knew that Christmas would never die because his mother would never allow it. As he and his sister grew up – his mother made sure that they carried on the traditions of their family. And now that his mother was gone, his sister still cooked the traditional Dutch Christmas meal of duck, and roast pork and rice pudding. And he would go out and pick a Christmas tree that his mother would be proud of , and make sure that is was decorated and taken care of. He and his sister were the next generation of the keepers of the dream. And as long as the dream was there at Christmastime – santa would always be a part of the magic of Christmas.
How did he know that Santa would never die – he knew for sure because he knew in his heart that his mother would never allow it.
That story stuck out at me this year, as someone commented that as for someone who says that they don’t like Christmas, that I seemed to be awfully caught up in the spirit. And that I seemed to be doing a an awful lot to celebrating. I too realized in my heart – that my mother would never allow me to do anything different. I am grateful that my mother is still with me – when most of my friends do not have their mother’s with them anymore. The truth is that I don’t have to really like Christmas to celebrate it- because I really have no choice. In my house – celebrating the birth of Christ was something that you did. Putting up the Christmas tree, and hanging the stockings, and playing Christmas music is something that we did in my family. The truth is, Christmas was my mother’s holiday. But in the moment that I was questioned, I realized that as my mother’s child – I was and in reality have always have been a pretty spoiled child. A child who was always blessed as a child – not just by my gifts – but by the love that I received from the magic of the time. And as an adult – things have not always turned out the way I wanted them to, My life has been a time of gaining much, and losing much. Even today I could lose my collection of 50 santas, I could lose the Christmas tree, and the ornaments to mark the years of my life, I could lose the angel at the top, and even the presents under the tree. But no matter what – they one thing that can never be taken away from me – are the memories of my mother’s Christmas. I will always be my mother’s child – and all of the wonderful things that we did to celebrate Christmas will be with me. How do I know that santa will never die – because my mother will not allow it.
Christmas is a magical time of year. But it is also a time of many mixed emotions. We all go through a lot of trouble to make the holiday special. We spend a lot of money, we do a lot of preparation. There are many others of other religions who criticize us as Christmas as getting caught up in materialism and overindulgence at this time of year – we take celebrating Christmas to an extreme.
We are all guilty of doing too much for Christmas – but isn’t because we are all looking for something deeper – something more – something special. The special moment with our families – the connection of love and care that we don’t feel for the rest of the year. That special reason to say I love you, that special reason to believe that the future will be more, that special reason to believe that we really do live in a wonderful world filled with wonderful people. In a world that sometimes seems cruel and out to get us – wouldn’t it be nice to know that God is with us. That God is one of us – that God understand us, that santa will put what we really want in our hearts under our tree this year – good health, dreams come true, a secure future, true love.
The good news is that we celebrate not because of what we wish for – but for what we already have. Santa bought us the greatest gift that we could ever imagine
A baby boy – born in a manger – Immanuel – god with us - wonderful counselor, everlasting father, prince of peace. God right here with us – constantly reminding us that no matter what it’s always going to be okay.
Tonight we celebrate the incarnation – the indwelling of God in our lives. A magical experience – something that we cant explain, much less always relate to. But something that will last far beyond the magic of tonight and tomorrow. A spirit of love, peace , hope joy, that you can feel now – but take it with you in your life, your relationships, your worries, your fears, your hopes and your dreams. The spirit of Christmas never ends – it just recreate, reinvents itself, renews itself whenever you need it. How do you know that santa wont die – it goes deeper then our mothers, and our mothers mothers. It goes even further back then a baby in a manger – it goes back before the beginning of time – when God loved so much that God thought of ways to be with you – to relate to you, to speak to you in the language of your heart. Keep the memory alove – there is are many behind you – waiting, listening, hoping for God to be present with them in the spirit. Tell them that santa
No comments:
Post a Comment