9 pm Candlelight Worship, December 24 2014
Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J Buttrick Patton
It’s a lot to take in: Christmas. Nearly impossible, perhaps, to wrap our minds and hearts around the significance of this season, in between the wrapping, shopping, hanging and baking, to pause and consider the true weight and breadth and wonder of it all: Christ is born – Emanuel. What does it mean, that we welcome this holy child into a world fraught with pain and upended by violence? What does it mean to sing, “Silent Night, Holy Night” when around the globe live millions for whom there is no safety nor comfort in darkness? Even as we sing Christmas carols, there are those among us whose hearts are broken, who grieve the death of a loved one, or lament the loss of a job. Even as we proclaim, ‘Joyful, joyful!’, the headlines cry “Worry and dismay!” We can name all the troubled places that fill the pages of the papers and overload our Twitter feeds this week: In our own country: Minneapolis, Ferguson, Brooklyn, Long Island, Washington D.C. … and around the globe: Syria, Pakistan, North Korea, West Africa and of course: Israel-Palestine, that Holy Land…
I don’t mean to dampen our holiday cheer. On the contrary: this is occasion for hope. After all: here you are! Despite those headlines, despite whatever pain you are navigating in your own life this season – or maybe because of it – you are here. Even though you may have gifts still waiting to be wrapped, or gingerbread to bake; even though the weather outside is frightful, even so, you came. Seeking comfort, pursuing hope, brimming with excitement, filled with joy – or longing for it.
It reminds me of that climactic scene in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
As Christmas day dawns, and the Hoos down in Hoo-ville gather in the town square to sing (even though the Grinch has stolen all of their gifts), the Grinch stands on a mountain ledge high above, his feet cold in the snow, and puzzles at what he sees:
“How could it be so? It came without ribbons!… it came without tags!… it came without packages, boxes, or bags!”
So, too, you came – full of wonder, you came, and anticipation: to meet one another, to sit in this sacred space, to seek after God’s Spirit; to light a candle, and to pray a prayer that the birth of Christ really does mean something in our broken-hearted world. You came because you believe it, or because you yearn to. Maybe because you’ve seen some sign of it with your own eyes: in a child who offers comfort to a classmate; in an act of forgiveness by someone who has every right to remain angry; in the passion and persistence of young people working for justice; in the grace of one who mediates peace; in a gesture of kindness to a stranger; in a big-hearted church … Maybe you’ve seen it, that hint of God’s presence in our midst. Maybe you’re still looking.
Either way, that makes you – us – not much different from those long ago shepherds and those traveling magi. We, too, are witnesses. We are the ones whose hearts are being touched. It is ours to bear witness to the God-Made-Flesh, to receive the gift of Love Incarnate, and then to share it. Starting here, in this star-studded sanctuary, we might just get a glimpse of the spark of God’s spirit, the glow of God’s love; we might just find ourselves nodding sagely, like one of those wise ones, or trembling and wide-eyed, like one of those shepherds, “Yes, yes! There is power here, and love and promise!”
Here, tonight, we hold open that space where wonder might enter in. Tonight, like Mary, we pause and ponder the possibilities. Tonight, we welcome the herald of angels, the news of shepherds. Tonight, right along with the magi, we scan the horizon, search for that Light, that Love, that Child who will make all the difference, who will mend broken hearts and heal a broken world. Tonight, we join that cast of characters. And with them, we will depart, to proclaim the news to any who will listen, with our words and with our lives: There is one who comes, who shines a light in the darkness. Authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Thanks be to God! Amen.