Trinity Episcopal Church
Towson, MD
December 24, 2016
Year A - Christmas
Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Psalm 96
We
have just heard an amazing story… An amazing story of a miraculous birth… A
wonderful story of a child that was born who was called Jesus (God Saves)… Emmanuel
(God With Us). A child who, before he grew up, was referred to as Lord and King.
The lesson that was just read from the 2nd
chapter of the Gospel of Luke is probably one of the most well know chapters in
all of holy scripture. Folks who consider themselves Christian, who have heard
the story before, but probably couldn’t tell you what chapter or book it’s from,
could probably recite a few verses of Luke 2 from memory. That’s how well known
it is... A story this deep and this meaningful goes deep into your soul and
gets into your DNA… It becomes part of you.
Can you remember the first time you remember hearing the
story? It could have been when you were very young, or it could have been just
last year, or last week, or even 3 minutes ago. Remember? Remember how it made
you feel deep down inside? Remember the simplicity, the mystery, the magnificence,
and the harshness… all rolled into one tight-knit, complex story.
Most of you know that I have been working on my Christmas
sermon for a little over a month now, amid all the other complexities of my
life. Kelly is not home this Christmas, she continues to improve, but will not be
discharged from the hospital until Tuesday. So, it is through this lens that I
am thinking about the story… the story that is deeply part of who we are. I
decided to have you think back a bit because that is what I have been doing these
past few weeks…
I can remember when my sister and I were little… I’m talking
little-little… too little to go to “late
church” on Christmas Eve. My parents would go to midnight mass and we would
stay with my Grandparents who had come to spend the Holidays with us.
But before my sister and I went off to bed, we would always
be allowed to open one Christmas gift from under the tree. I was ALWAYS a new
pair of pajamas. See, my dad was a photographer, so the Christmas morning
outfit had to be just right for pictures!
After we opened the gift, my sister and I would crawl up in
my father’s lap on the couch in the living room, and he would open up the Bible
to Luke, chapter 2. He would open it up and start reading, “And it came to pass
in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be taxed…
And with the poetry and rhythm of the Victorian English in
the King James version, the story was shared. Shared… shared outside of the
church, shared in the comfort of a living room in a father’s lap… shared while surrounded
by family. Shared within a family by a family.
My family wasn’t uber-religious. They were just simple
believers with a deep and profound faith. A deep faith that was developed,
sustained and nurtured by practice. We went to church and practiced our faith. Practiced,
because proper preparation takes practice. So, we showed up and participated… I
would like to think it played a part in my continuing faith formation. I think
that it has helped me become the person of faith that I am today…
There is another tradition in our home around Christmas
time. It is watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas Special.” Some of you may have
seen it. It has run every year since December 1965. 51 years of Charlie Brown
and Linus and the Peanuts gang, the poor raggedy excuse of a tree, and of
course, snoopy and his overly decorated dog house…
The part of that animated special that always sticks out for
me was the part during the preparations for the Christmas play at their school,
directed by Charlie Brown, of course, Good Ole Charlie Brown asks the question,
“does anyone know what Christmas is all about?”
And then you could have heard a pin drop when Linus perks up
and takes center stage and the spotlight goes on him and he starts reciting a
portion of Luke 2 that we just heard read…
“And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they
were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, 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, and
on earth peace, good will toward men.”
And then simply turns back to Charlie Brown and says, “That’s
what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
I must have seen that show 40 or 50 times. I know that I’m
only 49 years old, but some years I watched it twice! It wasn’t till this year
when I read something that was written about the creation of the famous Christmas
animation. Then I watched it again, and understood that Charles Shultz, with
the wonderful characters and animation, gave us a message within the Christmas
story. Gave us a message that we would only notice if we were paying careful
attention to what was going on in the action of the scene.
The character of Linus, who was Lucy’s brother, was an
intelligent, yet insecure and somewhat immature young man who carried a
security blanket and sucked his thumb right up into elementary school. This
character, Linus, who needed to hold onto his blanket to feel safe to feel
secure in this cruel and broken world…
When he gets to the part where he says that the angel said, “FEAR
NOT,” he drops his blanket and continues to tell the story.
At the words, “Fear not,” he releases everything in this
world that he holds onto to feel safe and trades it for the peace of this
newborn hope...
Fear not, when we would be otherwise be terrified and
riddled with fear cowering in a corner In a puddle of our own tears…
Fear not, of the evils of this world of the destruction and
danger and death around the block, down the street, and over the seas…
Fear not, of the powers and regimes, of kingdoms and
presidents and governments and economies and other principalities and prisons, both
physical and psychological.
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Brothers and sisters, this is the day where we start anew. Start
anew with a fresh hope that God is indeed with us… Immanuel
A fresh hope that comes to use amid the terror, death and
destruction that we bring upon our selves…
A fresh hope, born in a stable in Bethlehem of Judea those
many years ago.
I asked you to stop for a minute to remember. Remember the
ancient story and how it was revealed to you. How you came to know the story. It
could have been through a parent a father or mother, or another relative. Or it
could have been a friend, or a pastor, or teacher. Or possibly you could have
heard it the first time when watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Or
you could have possibly heard it for the first time tonight.
Regardless of how or where, you’re here tonight because this
story means something to you.
It hopefully means that you haven’t given up in your quest
for understanding…
It means that regardless of how bad things are or how bad
they may get, you know that your real security… your real faith is based on
things that can’t always be explained…
It means that we trust in a truth revealed to us by
fulfilled prophecy…
It means that we believe in a story that brings hope, love,
and peace in the midst of despair…
A holy story about a holy child who is God with us…
A holy child, Jesus, who is God saving us…
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Hearing the story again, what does it mean to you? Is it a
part of you, part of your DNA that you will share with others? How will you let
it change your life? How will you let it change the world?
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace!
