Today's the day which we, anybody that's got
a pulpit, is going to say things like that probably.
To look back at 2020 and wring our hands. There
are plenty of examples of difficulties, but that's
not what I'm going to do. Yes, I'm sad in some
ways, but that can't... overshadow, it can't
eclipse the joy of the day. I remember when I
first came to Santa Rosa as choir director, Christmas
1985 it would have been, I'd been preparing since
October. And the choir, just building a choir,
there was not really a choir at the time. We
practiced, we practiced, we practiced. Much more
than these dear women had to practice because
they've got it already under their belt. We got
to Christmas Eve service and there was one person
in the congregation. And that person wasn't even
Orthodox. They were just visiting from out of
town. So while this is sad that we can't all
be gathering together because of course our faith
is about the assembly and gathering the fellowship,
that's much sadder. So let's... let's put things
in perspective. I recently read an article about
a woman and her family that drove 750 miles back
in August of 2017 to get the best view of the
total eclipse of the sun. They went from Pennsylvania
to St. Louis. And when the eclipse happened,
the family was in a park in St. Louis. The woman
the wife, the mother of the family, wrote this.
She said that the world darkened, the stars peaked
in the sky, people cheered, the last sliver of
sun vanished, and for a moment there was a diamond
ring in the sky, a black hole ringed with white
fire. An elderly black woman, threw up her hands
and said, praise be to Jesus. Praise be to Jesus,
she cried. She said, thank you, Lord, for letting
us see this. You didn't have to do this, she
said. You didn't have to make it so beautiful.
The wonder and amazement there in the natural
beauty, that phenomenon, rare as it might be.
Imagine, brothers and sisters, that night in
Bethlehem. Imagine the wonder, the joy, the divine
fear. Not at a symphony playing carols, but the
angels, the multitude of them singing, and the
humble God in a feeding trough. The creator of
all things. the one who managed that eclipse
for the joy of those people and the wonder and
praise of that elderly black woman, in a feeding
trough as a sign of that which was to come, that
now it's not a feeding trough, it's an altar,
and he feeds us. Simple hill country people.
Imagine the angels singing. The awe of the Magi
from Persia bringing their gifts. So first, Christmas.
There's wonder. There's joy, even in sorrow.
There's worship. Here, for us, in this place,
this today is Bethlehem. This altar. is the cave.
Listen to the hymn that we heard recently. Because
this is the source of the joy, what this hymn
tells us. Without this, then what is it? It's
a commercial miracle of our society and a wonderful
Victorian celebration. But no, listen to these
words. The Virgin Mary's womb, is a spiritual
paradise planted with the divine fruit. If we
eat of it, we shall live forever and not die
like Adam. Christ comes to restore the image
which he made in the beginning. Christ comes
to restore the image in us, covered and disfigured.
and sinful. He comes to restore the image which
he made in the beginning. Could it be that we
hear those words about immortality, eating and
living forever, and God's image being restored
in us, shined and enlivened and raised up? Could
it be we let those words quietly pass us by?
Perhaps momentarily, maybe, puzzled, By why we
don't encounter the same depth of wonder and
joy as that hymn writer did. That the shepherds
knew. That the magi experienced. That the saints
before us knew. That those who wrote the Christmas
carols knew. That the folk songwriters knew.
It's not empty hyperbole. It's not exaggeration.
Let me say. Those words stand about, those words,
Christ comes to restore the image which he made
in the beginning, those words stand in judgment
against us. Not judgment to condemn us, but to
set us right, to inspire us, to truly believe
that Jesus Christ, the one born of the Virgin
in Bethlehem, is truly God. Become man. And we
are joined together with him. And as St. Paul
put it in Galatians, you are now children of
God. And the Holy Spirit has been poured into
your heart. In the Holy Spirit, every soul is
quickened and made radiant. And through cleansing
is made radiant and bright. Nothing can dilute
or reduce the power of God to save us or his
presence, his rescue mission for this world.
Nothing in the year 2020. No personal sorrows.
The joy remains in the sorrow. Nothing in 1914,
nothing in 1917, nothing in the ghettos in Poland
in 1939, nothing in the civil rights marches
in the early 60s and late 50s or whenever can
eliminate God from this world now. He is here.
The crucifixion couldn't get rid of him. Herod
couldn't get rid of him. Don't banish the Lord.
Don't eclipse him from your heart. by sin or
forgetfulness or sorrow or frustration or anxiety.
God didn't send someone to tell us something.
That happened in the Old Testament. He himself
came to call upon us and save us. Woe to the
one who thinks he can craft a life free of tribulation
and sorrow. conflict, troubles, and suffering.
It will be the case that we encounter those things
in this life, but not in the next life. The joy
and the wonder and the amazement cannot be something
just found in our senses, but has to be something
within us. The Holy Spirit has been given to
us in our hearts, says St. Paul. And we are children
of God, crying upon him, Abba, Father. So now,
as I said, the manger of Bethlehem has multiplied
across the world into thousands and thousands
of altars. And the infant Jesus in swaddling
clothes awaits us now in a new and radically
incredible way. a humble way also, the holy mysteries
of the Eucharist. So we may be recipients of
that joy and wonder and that humility, knowing
that Christ is God and he is with us to save
us from death, to save us from sin, to bring
us to the Father. I will not try to convey this
joy to you with my words. It is inexpressible
by any words, says St. Theophanes the recluse.
He says, the work that was accomplished by the
Lord who is born touches each one of us. Those
who enter into communion with him receive from
him freedom, healing, peace. They possess all
of this and taste of its sweetness. There is
no reason to say rejoice. to those who experience
this within themselves, for they cannot help
but rejoice. But to those who do not experience
this, why say rejoice? They cannot rejoice. No
matter how many times you say rejoice at your
deliverance to one bound hand and foot, he will
not rejoice. Whence can the joy of healing come
to one who is covered with wounds of sin? How
can one who is threatened by the thunder of God's
wrath breathe freely? There is deliverance. You
say to that person, go to the infant wrapped
in swaddling clothes in the manger, the humble
manger, says St. Theophon, and seek deliverance
from him. From all the evils that encompass you,
for this infant is Jesus Christ our God, the
Savior of the world. Christ is born.