Christmas
Eve 2016
The
Cathedral Church of the Nativity
Bethlehem,
PA
The Very Rev Anthony R Pompa
Some years ago, when my very good friend Pat was
driving down the road, his then 9 year old daughter Abigail in the back seat,
she voiced an unexpected question, as only 9 year olds can do. “Dad she said, what happens when an atheist
dies?”
Her priestly father as he tells it, immediately felt
inside of himself the pressure of the
moment. An opportunity to pass on the poignancy of his lifetime of theological
study and work, as well as the pressure of sorting through the thicket of
theological reflections and teachings regarding faith and belief, hoping to
land somewhere that his 9 year old daughter would hear worthy of the God he
hoped she would know.
In the moment, he launched into his narrative. A
narrative about the complexity of the human condition and the magnaminous
nature of our Creator. Three lines in to what he believed was pure theological
magic, Abigail interrupted,
No Dad, stop,
that’s not what I meant. I just
wanna know if like, they have a service
of some sort and do people come to it.
Many years of preaching at Christmas, and tonight, in
the midst of the complexity of the human condition in which we live, this
preacher wonders if perhaps we ought to just take a lunge at the punch line for
fear that the 9 year old in all of us may not be yearning for a deep
theological reflection this night.
Here it goes. Christmas is about Hope and Love. Plain
and simple, straight and forward.
Close your eyes and take a breath. Take a pause and
this night and in your daily life, just listen. Listen with your heart and
listen with your soul.
Listen to the story of the Scriptures.
As these angels on our screen stand with majesty and
care over us, hear the poetry of their message to be not afraid, for God is
with us. Everywhere and ALL the time. No matter how challenging life may get,
God is with us. Mary, Joseph, Be Not Afraid. Which didn’t meant there wasn’t
anything to be afraid of, but instead meant Don’t let Fear hold you back! Hold
you back from taking your part in this Godly orchestration of Hope and Love
found in this Jehoshua (Jesus) which means God Saves. Find the courage to Say
YES to Hope and Love. Be Not Afraid! May
we find the courage to say Yes to Hope and Love.
Listen to the Awe found in the experience and voices of common
Shepherds, who standing in the fields doing what they do in life everyday, lift their voices as they “see” God at work
in the world, causing them to be astonished and among the first to tell the story of the birth of Hope and Love. May we in our everyday
be visited by God’s Holy Astonishment and tell of the birth of Hope and Love
wherever and whenever we see it!
Listen to the majesty of Kings who journey toward the
promise of a star lit in the sky, that will lead them to humbly fall to their
knees and offer the best of what they have at the feet of pure beauty , Hope
and Love, enfleshed and born in the person of Jesus, taking his nascent breaths in the humblest of circumstances. Listen to these Kings and be so in tune with
with these life-saving virtues that they were wise enough to see the contrast
found in Herod’s dark design of violence and
oppression, becoming Wise as they choose to go home another way, choosing the
Hope and Love of Jesus, over the despair and hatred of Herod. May also be offer the best of who we
are to our Lord of Hope and Love, and may we be wise in our recognizing Despair
and Hatred, and choosing the instead the path of Christ, the path of Hope and
Love.
Listen, to the beauty of melody and song, songs of
Hope and Love in each note and lyric lifted to the rafters of this Cathedral
and beyond, and let them bolster your spirit, lift your hearts, and fill you
with courage to Love more boldy. May we LOVE more boldly as God Loves us so
boldly.
Just listen.
Listen. Listen for God’s
footsteps, heartbeat, breath, for at Christmas Hope and Love Come to dwell
among us. Can you hear?
And if even if all this picture I paint this night
fails , if it seems as if the preacher has failed you with overdone religious
imagery and narrative………..
Try this.
Imagine perhaps the Grinch. Imagine the Grinch
standing puzzling and puzzling. Imagine the Grinch looking upon us as if we are
all the Who’s in Whoville, even as if the darkness of a night may strip us
sometimes of all the packages, boxes, and bags that we may feel necessary for
the security and celebration of our lives.
Imagine perhaps the Grinch, any Grinch for that
matter, whose hearts have become small and are in need of Grace to grow
bigger. Imagine that Grinch puzzling for
three hours as each of us, Each of us Who, tall and small, sing our song of
LOVE and HOPE, the best present of all.
Imagine perhaps the Grinch, or any Grinch for that
matter, who through singing comes to know what we know, “Maybe
Christmas…perhaps….means a little bit more!”
And as the theological master Seuss says,
Imagine what happens then?
Well, the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that
day!
And so does ours at least.
Merry Christmas!
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