December 25, 2022 at St Agnes, St William, St Peter the Apostle Churches in Naples, FL
Isaiah 62, 11-12 + Psalm 97 + Titus 3, 4-7 + Luke 2, 15-20
Everywhere tonight and tomorrow people like you and me crowd into churches, perhaps taking a deep breath to shut out the noise of this world with all the controversies that tear us apart. For just a little while we can forget about political crises that never seem to go away no matter who is elected. We might like to silence voices of blame that stir up distrust over serious questions about homelessness, and the inability of institutions to resolve conflict and stop violence. We proclaim in here this Gospel, celebrating Christmas in an age of uncertainty and controversy. Yet, if we listen carefully to this Gospel, nearly the same things rocked the ministry of Jesus from the beginning.
I have said over and over again in talks and in sermons that this Gospel is not history. It is Theology. No one should have come here to hear a story about something in the past unless it is to confirm that God acts. We do not gather here to be amused or entertained with romantic sweet stories. We can’t come here and hide from that chaotic world outside, because this Gospel will not let us. In this Gospel, the greatest man born of woman, that’s what Jesus called John the Baptist, is innocent because he spoke the truth and he sits awaiting execution. While waiting he has doubts about where Jesus is really the one. In this Gospel there is a murdering tyrant. In this Gospel there are migrants fleeing violence and murder. In this Gospel there are homeless people seeking shelter where ever they can on the streets, on park benches, or in stables. We have not come here because of something in the past because it is all still happening. We cannot come here to hide from it, but we can come here to discover what God is doing through it not just in the past, but today as well.
Who could really believe that a child born in a cave or a stable could amount to anything? Who could believe that a child born to migrant immigrant parents on the run fleeing murder and violence might have something to say to this world? Who could believe that a man from a town hardly anyone ever heard of would go about proclaiming God’s justice and love be crucified as a criminal, and then be celebrated like this as Savior of the world?
We could, and we have, because when we dig into the meaning of this Gospel we can discover that God is a source not of happiness, but of Joy. The promises of God are the bedrock of our existence. The promises of God are the reason we get up in the morning. Whatever happens to us in this world with all its contradictions, turmoil, controversy, and uncertainty can never stop our journey’s end or keep us from revealing God’s glory. That’s what happened to that child and that man he called his Son. Jesus was never put down or silenced by the wild noise, the stubborn opposition, or the violence of those who refused him. We believe that it shall also be so for us for we are no less God’s children than the one who came out of Nazareth or Bethlehem or where ever.
Our celebration on this day does not deny or hide the inconsistent life we lead or our sometimes-faltering faith. What it does reveal is that in spite of what might seem like our uncertainty we do know where we are going and who we are going toward. All we have to do is pay attention to how God works in all of human history, acknowledging that never has God failed to create from chaos not just at the beginning but even now.
We come here like shepherds a little dirty from our labor, and like magi getting lost now and then and needing directions. We come here like John the Baptist even with our doubts looking to Jesus for an answer. We come here like Peter, James and John, not exactly sure where we’re going, and sometimes not too sure it’s where we want to go. We come here like those women on Easter morning full of sadness only to discover real Joy. We come here like those frightened cowards locked in an upper room set on fire by a vision of the mission entrusted to us.
This day we rejoice. This day we look past anything that might discourage us or allow us to think that we are alone because Christ has been born and now God is with us in the flesh and in the blood of his Son Jesus Christ. With all the hope the message of this Gospel holds for us, I wish you peace and hope that whatever in your lives might be broken will be healed bringing you into lasting Joy.