It was time for the annual Nativity pageant put on by the children
of the church. The manger was located in front of the alter steps. Mary
was there in a blue mantel and Joseph in a cotton beard. The wise men
were there with a handful of shepherds, and of course, in the midst of
them all was the Christ Child, lying on the straw. The nativity story was
read by the pastor with carols sung at the appropriate places, and all
went like clockwork until it came time for the arrival of the angels—a
“heavenly host” of the children of the congregation dressed in white and
scattered throughout the pews with their parents.
At the right moment the angels were supposed to come forward
and gather around the manger to sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will among men”, and that is just what they did—
except there were so many angels that there was a fair amount of
crowding and jockeying for position. One angel, about nine years old
who was smaller than most of the other angels, ended up so far out on
the fringes of things that not even by craning her neck and standing on tiptoe could she see what was going on. “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will among men,” they all sang on cue, and
then in the momentary pause that followed, the small girl electrified the
entire church by crying out in a voice shrill with irritation and frustration
and enormous sadness at having her view blocked, “Let Jesus show!”
The wise pastor decided to end the pageant right there. “Let Jesus
show!” the child-angel had cried out, and while the congregation sat in
stunned silence, the good father offered a quick final prayer and
blessing, and everybody filed out of church with those unforgettable
words ringing in their ears.
May the little angel’s cry be our prayer in the year ahead: “Let
Jesus show!” in our families and work places and schools; “Let Jesus
show!” in our compassion, forgiveness and joy. May we not “lose”
Jesus in the many demands on our time; may we not “hide” Jesus when
the difficult decision has to be made; may we not “pack” Jesus away
until next Christmas, but may the “Word made flesh” make his dwelling
place among us here, now and always filling every one of our days with his wisdom and grace. Let Jesus Show.
Christmas 2020 12-25-2020
December 25th, 2020The Gift of “Long Walk” 12-20-2020
December 20th, 2020One Christmas, a boy in an African village gave his teacher an
exquisite seashell as a gift. He had walked many miles to find it, to a
special bay, the only place such shells could be found. The teacher was
quite moved by the boy’s gift: “What a beautiful shell. You must have
walked many miles for it. I am deeply grateful for your gift”, the teacher
said.
“Teacher”, the boy said, “long walk part of gift”
Often the most beautiful gifts we give are not the seashells, but the
“long walk” of forgiveness, empathy, love, and understanding.
Especially at this busy time of the year, we can be overcome with the
shopping, the mailing, the addressing, and the decorating. Remember
that “long walk” is as much a part of the love we give and receive as the
destination, that the best Christmas presents are those of the heart and
spirit.
Remember You Always Walk With God 12-13-2020
December 13th, 2020A few weeks before Christmas, a woman who lived in a New York
apartment building found a greeting card taped to her door. “Merry
Christmas from the custodial staff”, it said.
“How nice”, she said to herself and promptly forgot about it. A
week later she came home to find another card taped to her door. It was
the same message, “Merry Christmas from the custodial staff”. But this
time stamped right in the middle in big red letters, were the words,
“Second Notice”!
Many of us are terribly forgetful. We immerse ourselves in our
daily tasks of life as we must-we can forget almost anything: birthdays,
anniversaries, appointments, our bank balance, our glasses. You name
it, we forget it. We make lists so we won’t forget and then we forget the
list.
But our forgetfulness isn’t limited just to the little things. We
forget the big things as well; who our real friends are, what really
matters in life, who loves us, who needs us, what we were made for. We just forget.
I believe that is why we need to gather here – week after week; to
help each other remember who we are, remember what really matters,
and remember that we aren’t walking this long road alone. We’re
walking it with the Lord who is right at our side.
And what is this Lord like who walks at our side? Does God walk
with us as a critic? A police officer? A judge? Or maybe just an
impartial observer? In fact the Lord is none of the above.
The Lord walks with us as a partner and mentor who wants to see
us succeed and who understands that it’s going to take us a while. Now
what more could we ask? How can we not celebrate and rejoice as
today’s liturgy urges us. How can we not be confident and hopeful and
put all fears behind us. After all, God is with us and for us!
And there’s still more. Having God walking with us as partner and
mentor gives us the opportunity to be in close conversation hourly. With
simple words like, “Well, Lord, what do you think about this?” Or, “Lord can you help me see this clearly?” Or simply, “Help, Lord, I can’t
do this one alone.” Those are the kinds of words that partners and friends speak very often.
All of that is what we have to come together here to remember.
First, remember to rejoice and forget all your fears because God is with
us. And second, remember to listen to and talk to God about the real
stuff of our lives because God cares more than anyone else…and God
knows the way home.
I would like to close by sharing with you my idea of what God’s
special Christmas card would say to each one of us;
“Remember what you’ve seen me do”, says Jesus. “…the blind
see, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, and dead men raised
to life”. If you’ll let me, I’ll do the same for you”, he says. “I’ll heal
what is sick in your spirit, if you’ll let me”.
“I’ll open your eyes and your ears so that you’ll know what really
matters so you’ll know that happiness and peace are available to you
everyday, even on the worst days. I’ll show you that and let you
experience that, if you’ll let me.
“I will not insulate you from adversity, challenge, or pain. But I will always see you through them, and never let you come to ultimateharm. I’ll take you by the hand, and raise you up; I’ll help you to walk
and I’ll walk with you until your journey is complete, if you’ll let me.
“All that is my promise to you, my solemn pledge. And I will not
take it back”, says the Lord. We have a lot to rejoice about today!
Don’t we!!
