A SERMON PREACHED BY THE DEAN OF CHICHESTER ON CHRISTMAS DAY EUCHARIST 2008

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Loren Robertson
5 years ago
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1 A SERMON PREACHED BY THE DEAN OF CHICHESTER ON CHRISTMAS DAY EUCHARIST 2008 HE S GROWN, THAT BABY He s grown, that Baby, not that most people have noticed. He still looks the same, lying there in the straw, with animals and shepherds looking on. He s safe there, locked in that moment where time met eternity, Reality, of course, is different, he grew up, astonished people with his insight, disturbed them with ideas that stretched them into new maturity. Some found him much too difficult to cope with, nailed him down to fit their narrow minds. We are more subtle, keep him helpless refuse to let him be the man he is, adore him as the Christmas baby, eternally unable to grow up until we set him free. By all means let us pause there at the stable, and marvel at the miracle of birth. But we ll never get to know God with us, until we learn to find him at the Inn, a fellow guest who shares the joy and sorrow, the Host who is the life we celebrate. [Ann Lewin] 1

2 Ann Lewin s poem He s grown, that baby does the same job as the letter to the Hebrews and the beginning of St John s Gospel. It makes explicit God s presence in history. It invites us to pause at the stable, certainly, to marvel at the miracle of birth, but then to move on to be astonished and perhaps to astonish; to be disturbed and perhaps to disturb. The first chapter of St John s Gospel helps us to make the transition from infancy to maturity by introducing the themes which are to recur throughout the book and which resonate through all of Christian history: Death life Light darkness Truth lie Grace sin Freedom slavery Jesus, the Word of God, is life and light, and John wants us to grasp that we will understand that truth to the extent that we embrace life. One of my most memorable Advent moments occurred last Saturday when I went for a short time to join a vigil for Zimbabwe on the Cathedral Green: a dozen or so people, mainly 2

3 Zimbabwean, quietly inviting awareness of what is happening in their country, to their families and friends. One of them said to me The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and another added, His name shall be the Prince of Peace. It led to a deeply theological discussion, in which those Christians spoke of responding to the coming of the light even when we cannot see it, by becoming brothers and sisters, in solidarity with one another. Jesus was not intimidated by darkness, hostility or rejection, they said, and there is no reason why we should be To approach theology in this down-to-earth way, is to be confronted with a question which is basic to scripture and at the heart of the Christmas Story: how does the acknowledgement of Immanuel God with us help us to evaluate our everyday notions of power, success or even survival? Well, our readings today explain who Christ is and what he means to people of faith. They lay out the contrast between God s way and the way of the world. Hebrews speaks of the difference between long ago and these last days, to illustrate the magnitude of God s saving work in Jesus, and its immediate relevance. 3

4 We tend to use scripture as a means towards discovering or deepening faith, but the earliest Christians read scripture in the light of their experience of Jesus, and on account of their faith. Their understanding was enlarged by bringing to the reading of scripture their own experience of Jesus gained in daily life. It is an important insight. As they began to understand that all Jesus work from the beginning was characterised by love, so they tried harder to be more loving, because that was more Christ-like. No doubt they were shocked by what later scholars have rather pompously called the scandal of particularity by which they mean God choosing unlikely people, places and things to do his work: the way God comes to us in spite of us, and in most peculiar ways - in Jesus of Nazareth for example, and in water and bread and wine But as the poet concluded, we will never get to know him until we learn to find him at the Inn that is, in the world astonishing us with his insight, disturbing us with ideas that stretch us into new maturity. There is work to do for the Kingdom. The wolf does not yet lie down with the lamb, nor is it yet safe for a child to play over the whole of the asp, or even in a city park; people still die of poverty 4

5 and cholera, and the earth is filled with violence as the waters cover the sea. We try to heal the sick and bring an end to war, and sometimes we succeed; but when we fail, because of our hard hearts or despite our best efforts, then sometimes God gives us a sign. It is as if God does not want despair to overwhelm us, death to have the last word - and so he shows us a sign. The one for whom we have been waiting, the one whom we welcome today is the one who waits for us as well. So let s look up to a star that penetrates the darkness of our world; let us recover a sense of who we are and what we might become, by the power of God. Let s be brave enough to let go of the old and receive the new. Let us by all means make the journey to the cradle that s where life begins but as a starting point for the way of the Cross. And let us ask for grace to believe that in this humble birth so long ago, and in equally fragile signs of love and justice all around us, the coming age has already begun. 5

The Shepherds and the Sign Luke 2: Introduction

The Shepherds and the Sign Luke 2:11-12 Introduction And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place