Sermons

First Eucharist of Christmas
Sunday 24 December at 11.30pm

Lesley Ashton
Readings: Luke 2.1-14; Isaiah9.2-7

Christmas is the one time of the year when we can expect to receive cards, letters and good wishes through our letterbox instead of the usual circulars, advertisements and invitations to have yet another loan or credit card.

Christmas cards are welcome and those of us who openly acknowledge our Christian faith no doubt get a good many that show the nativity scene or something relating to the Christmas message. A few years ago I received a card with a modern interpretation of Mary Joseph and the Christ child with the inscription underneath that said. 'Part of the inn crowd'. It's pun was an attempt to be different and to bring a smile, both of which it succeeded in doing.. I thought little more about it until recently when I read a piece of prose that reminded me that the words on the card were incorrect in more ways than one.

I guess most of us know the story well enough to know that Mary & Joseph were not one of the inn crowd, they had in fact been turned away, the inn was full, or was it their strange accent, their poverty, their outsideness that meant they were not invited to enjoy the comfort of indoor accommodation? The only accommodation made available to them was that used for animals. Outsiders offered shelter outside of the inn..

They were in fact not part of the in crowd in any sense of the word, they were part of the 'out' crowd, similar in fact to many of those seeking refuge and asylum today They found themselves through political circumstances, far away from their home town, forced to rely on the goodwill of others for their care and sustenance, treated with the sort of suspicion we still tend to extend to those who are other than ourselves, who appear to be outside of the norms that we occupy and feel safe within.

In fact the whole of the birth narratives include stories of those who were part of the out crowd. The story we heard tonight about the shepherds is one that tells of a group of people who were despised and looked down upon by others. Living outside of the normal timeframes of society, unable because of their duty of care to their sheep to fulfil their religious obligations, they were often portrayed, stereotyped as untrustworthy and of doubtful character.

And later, the wise men, who, despite their knowledge and wealth, were still strangers, outside of their own territory. Their presence brings unrest to Jerusalem and to Herod who is nevertheless willing to try and use these strangers for his own purposes and benefit.

The story of Christ coming to earth, the reality of God coming to dwell with us is an upside down story, an inside out reality. It is the reverse of what had been expected, this was not a saviour born in regal splendour. This was not the Messiah come to earth with power and might. This was God born in humble surroundings, to unknown parents, in a strange land.

So perhaps we might have hoped for a fairytale ending, a pauper to prince ending to the story or a grand finale of poverty being over taken by plenty, riches abounding, recognition and adulation.

But no, Christ throughout his life simply took the form of a servant, he stood alongside the outsider, those whom the world despises or ignores, he listened to those who talked about the dark outsider places of their lives, he offered a way to bring light into their darkness but he never compelled anyone through force to follow Him, he simply offered them an invitation to join him in a journey that was outside of religious or political respectability.

The journey he made eventually led to him being crucified on a cross outside of the city wall, alongside two other outsiders, watched by some of those who would continue follow in his steps and be outsiders for his sake.

We sometimes tend to think of Christmas as the end of the long wait in Advent, the culmination of preparations. But Christmas is just the beginning, the beginning of a journey towards Easter. When Christ who was born outside of the inn remains true to himself and is crucified outside of the city wall.

There is a motif within the Christmas story that continues throughout Christ's time on earth. Taking it on board means that if we really want to know God then we too have to step outside.

Outside of the comfort zone and outside of and away from the attractions and glitz of a commercialised Christmas.
We have to be willing to admit that we need something/someone outside of ourselves, to make our lives meaningful and complete.
We have to stand with Christ, with Mary and Joseph, with shepherds and with their modern day equivalents.

And the most interesting, yet the most demanding and challenging thing is that we often need to acknowledge and open up those parts of ourselves that are outside of the face we show to the world, the parts of ourselves that we keep hidden, even from ourselves. For it is within the 'outsider' part of each of us that God will be found, simply waiting to welcome us home.

Acknowledging the outsider in another or within ourselves can be the start of the journey that takes us inside. Inside into the beginnings of understanding the nature of God's kingdom, for this is the 'in' place for outsiders; it is the place where we find the real peace we all long to know.

Because this is the place where we really begin to understand the meaning of joy and joy is something that remains steadfast and holds us when times are hard, when we are deeply unhappy, when we faint with weariness.
Wealth, or happiness or status can never replace it.

Joy is God's gift of his presence with us now and for all eternity. It is heaven on earth and it began 2000years ago when God came among us in Christ. The promise of life began in a stable, God's generosity and grace brought to us in the Christ child. Generosity and grace that is outside of our understanding, until we experience it in all its fullness.

May we be surprised again by God's grace this Christmas, may we find it afresh with those who are on the outside, even ourselves and may we each know the joy and peace of the Christ child, Immanuel, God with us, now and always.

Amen

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay