PRESENTS & THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS, Dec 20, 2009

Luke 1:5-23 & 39-45
Hebrews 10: 1-7

It is 5am, Sunday morning, so cold you can see your breath, your toes went numb long ago, and nostrils are stuck together. In the midst of the dark of night there is a brilliant florescent light, the swishing sound of skates on ice, then the crash of bodies against a plastic wall, the slap of wood against a puck and the droning sound of a buzzer.

It is the first day of Spring, still cool but warm sunshine warms the marrow of your bones, bright blue sky and grass that never has seemed so green, there is the smell of hotdogs, peanuts and stale popcorn, the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, the Call: “Play Ball”, the crack of a bat and cheers as a wave goes up through the people.

There is the sound of a calliope like organ, the smell of animals, we sit on wooden bleachers, as strangely decorated people with elongated smiles and rubber noses invade our space to make animals out of balloons, amid the sounds of people collectively gasping and cheering, a voice cries out “Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of All Ages”.

In each of these settings, we know where are.
There is ritual of time and space, smells and sounds: to a Hockey Game, or Baseball, or the Circus. YET, in the midst of the ritual, we expect to witness and be part of something unique that day.
How much different, if after waking at 4, driving to a match, feeling our toes and cheeks grow numb, that one who slapped the puck and scored the goal, was your child!
How many of us have hoped and dreamed that not only would our team hit a Home Run, but the ball would drop out of the sky, right into our hands?

So why at Christmas, do we see the red leaves of poinsettias, smell cookies and taste eggnog, see the sparkle of ornaments and lights on a tree, hear the carols singing “Silent Night, Holy Night” amid the glow of candles, and imagine that all there is is our giving of presents and sharing of tradition?
We are asked what we want, and we mumble something about “PEACE ON EARTH & GOOD WILL” knowing full well we will get a book or tie, or some new electronic gadget.

How different Christmas is for those in Afghanistan this year? How precious and vital thoughts of GOOD WILL among All Humanity, when you are “Peacekeepers in Iraq” or fighting terrorism in Pakistan, fearing weapons testing in Korea and Iran. How different, HOPE for the NEW YEAR feels, when you know you are beginning to lose your memories, worried you will lose your mind and never come back, or when you have Cancer or Leukemia, or you are more than the Care Giver, you are also the spouse or child of those who do. What if, in the midst of all the piles of presents, we believed in the GIFT of Christmas?

The Gospel of Luke does not begin with the Genealogy of who BEGAT WHOM, or rush to the Baptism as Mark does, Luke does not go back to Beginning of Creation to assure us Christ was there. Luke begins with Rituals and traditions that have been followed for Centuries. Luke immerses us in the culture that everyone knew, the singing of songs, the reciting of poetry, that allow us to slow down to transcend, to know this is mystery, this is to be awed.

MOSES who led the people from Captivity in Egypt through the Wilderness to the Promised Land, MOSES who gave the people the LAW of the 10 Commandments and the TORAH, this same Moses had a brother Aaron. While many of us remember Aaron for the Golden Calf, Aaron was the first Priest of Israel, Aaron was the father of 24 sons, who each represented an order of the Priesthood. Throughout the years of taking possession of the land from the Canaanites, the priests had heard peoples prayers and offered sacrifices. Throughout the building of the Monarchy during David, and the building of the Temple of Solomon, throughout all the wars with Assyria and Babylon, the priests had heard the Joys and Concerns of the People and Offered Sacrifices. Throughout the invasion by Alexander the Great and the Greeks, throughout the invasion by the Roman Legion and their Caesar, people lifted up their hopes and dreams, and fears in prayer and sacrifice at the Temple. According to ritual and practice, each of the 24 Orders took turns being the Priests at the Temple, listening to people's confessions and prayers, and offering the people's sacrifices. With 24 Orders of Priests, it came to each, twice a year, that they could choose among their all priests, who had never before offered the sacrifices. For a Priest of Israel, regardless of which Order, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Zechariah was advanced in age, and never before in all his life had he offered the prayers and sacrifice. For all these Centuries, from the invasion of the Assyrians and Babylonians, the Greeks and Romans, the People of Israel had PRAYED that their sins would be forgiven, that God would hear their cry as God had done with Moses, and God would send a Savior. For all their married life, Zechariah and Elizabeth had wanted a child, but it had not been for them, and they were advanced in years, beyond the age of conception.

Zechariah listens to the people, as a pastor hearing each of their concerns, their hopes and prayers and wishes, he takes their sacrifices to offer for the people then enters the Holy of Holies and prostrates himself before the altar in prayer as priests have done for as long as there have been priests. When what to his wondering eyes did appear, was not a Miniature sleigh and reindeer but an ANGEL, Gabriel one of the Four Great Angels of the Old Testament. And the first words of the Angel, the first words spoken by anyone in the Gospel of Luke, were “PEACE, BE NOT AFRAID.”

The angel reveals God's Plan of GREAT JOY, that Elizabeth is to give birth to a child who will be a Prophet and Priest, who will live his life as an Old Testament Priest of Levite, like Samson or Samuel. AND Zechariah says “No”. As the Son and Son in Law of Presbyterian Pastors, who has been a Pastor now for over 25 years, your pastor for 13, I know there is no vocation like this. And yet, for my own children, like Zechariah, I would wish for them a different life, that instead of preaching and praying week after week, that they would change the world. In response to which God through the ANGEL says to Zechariah, you shall not speak until the child is real. Unable to speak, the priest cannot exit the Temple to offer the people ASSURANCE OF PARDON, the priest cannot bless the people.

The same angel appears to MARY, a young child, and again the first words of the Angel are “PEACE, BE NOT AFRAID” and “I bring you GREAT JOY”. The irony is that what the Angel is saying is “You will have a child out of wedlock, and the child born to you will be arrested as a criminal against the State, he will suffer and die as a Sacrifice for Humanity.” And instead of saying “NO” Mary says “Blessed am I to be an Instrument of the Lord.”

For NINE MONTHS, Zechariah cannot speak, until the child is born. 8 days later, when the community of faith gathers for the Circumcision, the people would have named the child Zechariah like his Father, but Elizabeth and Zecharian both speak as the Angel had instructed, “His NAME IS JOHN”. In the Bible, Names have meaning, Jesus like Joshua means SAVIOR, John means “THE GRACE OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD”.