Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC, 24 Dec. 2017, Christmas
Eve
RCL:
Isaiah
9:2-7; Psalm 96:1-4, 11-12; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20
Merry
Christmas!
How
delightful to say this after weeks of
waiting
& preparing.
When
we say “Merry Christmas” we may have a mental picture of Mary
with Baby Jesus, as if we say:
“M-a-r-y” Christmas”,
overlooking
Joseph or seeing him away in the back
behind
the manger.
I
wonder how Mary AND Joseph felt on that
night of nights.
We
know how each received & reacted to the unexpected news: Mary
would have a child.
We know the emperor has demanded a census,
requiring people travel to their family's hometown
– what a pain in
the neck at Christmas!
Think
how you would feel if the government demanded each of us go today to
Asheville for a headcount.
At least we could get there & back in a day.
I
wonder about the stress
Mary feels walking or riding a donkey on their 5-day/90-mile1
forced-march to Bethlehem with none of our amenities: no
Greyhound
bus, no
welcome center, no
restrooms.
I
wonder how Joseph feels.
It
would be tough enough if he could go alone, leaving his young,
pregnant fiancé at home to be tended by family. But NO: the emperor
insists:
“Everybody, report to your family's hometown.”
“Everybody, report to your family's hometown.”
We
know Joseph is a carpenter &
his
work demands planning. This trip demands planning. Joseph
prepares carefully in case Mary goes into labor en route. He studies
the route, packs plenty of supplies...2
How
does he expect to find a place to stay? He can't call ahead to book a
room. Joseph
& Mary finally arrive & the inn keeper says:
“No
room.”
Joseph
has no hotel points card to flash his diamond status & demand the
1 room always kept available for the elite.
How
does Joseph feel? He's planned so much. They've come so far. They're
finally here.
Think
of a time you traveled, when you would have preferred to stay home,
&
the journey was hard,
inconvenient.
“There
are times in our journey when we think the end is in sight. The hard
part is over...we're about to [finish &] something happens...[It
seems so hard, so unfair...Why can't this be easy?]”3
Our
journey with God has times “of excitement, joy, & even rest,
but it's unlikely...the journey will ever be easy.”4
Beloved
Brothers & Sisters, Jesus comes to show us how to live especially
when it isn't easy. Jesus comes as a human boy to show us how to look
differently at our un-easy
times.
Despite
how difficult the emperor's demand is that makes Joseph go to
Bethlehem, it is
God's plan for Jesus to be born there. For Jesus to be born in a
stable assures us God has down-to-earth, 1st-hand
experience with the hard times of human life.
Joseph,
this hands-on planner, this man of action, has done all he can to
provide for Mary. As she gives birth to Jesus, so much is out of his
hands5.
The labor is Mary's work6: Joseph can wipe sweat from her brow, help her breath, give her water.
Suddenly
Mary's labor is completed. A new life is swaddled & cuddled in
Joseph's arms.
What
is the look on Mary's face as
Joseph
hands her Baby Jesus?
What
about Joseph's surprise as shepherds appear & this unexpected
bunch crowds the stable entrance to see this precious infant?
As
if Joseph needs one more surprise, these outdoorsmen tell him:
“So
we're
in the fields like always watching our sheep when – Schzaam!7
– an angel stands in front of us. God's glory shines all around us
& we
are terrified
– scared stiff – until the angel says:
'Don't be afraid. I've got
good news:
a brand new baby is born, &
this is great joy for
everybody!
You'll find him in a manger – no kidding – you'll see him
in an
animal's feed box.'
“So
there
we are trying to take all this in & Schzaam! a whole bunch of
angels joins in praising God! We
just stand there open-mouthed....& then try to sing along.
“Then
we say: We
gotta go to Bethlehem & see this Baby! So we drop everything &
here we are. We found you! And we're still amazed.
“We're as amazed as you are & everybody who hears this Good News!
“I'll
tell you how
good this news is, we left our sheep & we're at peace about their
safety on this
night of nights. What a night!”
“What
a
beautiful Baby. Did you see that? He smiled! He opened his eyes &
looked right at me & smiled. . . . . . .Don't
tell me newborns don't open their eyes. I saw him. Wow! What a
night!”
What
a night indeed!
This
night is special, different. This amazing news calls the shepherds to
be adventuresome. This amazing news calls us again to come & see
Jesus, then to go & tell others about Jesus.
This
night is special & different: God has called you & me here
this night to come grow in grace, to be nourished with the gift Jesus
gives us in Holy Communion, the gift of life & love, the gift of
Jesus himself.
Know
this: “...It's not how you [plan for the journey] that's important,
it's being willing to take the journey & go wherever God leads
you.”9
As
you journey with God, remember Joseph with his rough, practical
carpenter's hands holding Baby Jesus. Think of the awe filling him as
Jesus breathes his first breaths of earth's air.
We
know God is awesome & far other
than we are. Joseph knows this. Yet here he holds Baby Jesus, God's
Son, God Incarnate, God In Human Flesh. Awesome.
Holding
new life is
awesome.
“Awesome & above being possessed by mere mortals, this
mighty God calls us friend & beloved child. God's fearsome love
for us [leads Jesus] to the cross where Jesus dies for us.”10
“Once
we have truly known God, [this] same fearsome love compels us to lay
our life on the line, pick up our cross, &
follow.”11
As
we follow Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have
abundant opportunities to share the Good News to people who are in
darkness. Shine the light on them.
How
you shine the light depends on your personality & your unique
gifts.
The
“how” may be different.
Our
work is the same:
share
the Good News.
As
St. Francis tells us:
Always preach the Good News
&
use words
when
you must.
Bibliography
Holy
Bible with the Apocrypha.
New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press.
1989.
Kautz,
Richard. A
Labyrinth Year: Walking the Seasons of the Church.
Harrisburg: Morehouse. 2005.
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
Robinson,
Barbara. The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
New York: Avon Books. 1972.
Tenney,
Merrill C. Handy
Dictionary of the Bible.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. 1965.
3
Ibid. P. 9.
4
Ibid.
5
Note: Thought from Ibid. P. 13.
6
Note: Ibid.
9
Ibid. Kautz. P. 6.
10
Ibid. Kautz. P. 15.
11
Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment