"After-Christmas" December 26, 2010

Isaiah 63:7-9
Matthew 2: 13-23
After the last person had left following the Midnight Service Christmas Eve, so on Christmas morning, I walked the Village quiet. All through each house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. What caught my eye was not some miniature sleigh and reindeer, but the tree, the end of the pier, on the lake. The waters were calm as glass, and the tree which shown as a blaze of light, the light on the top shining brightest, as if a star, was reflected beneath with brilliant trees of light each extending five times as big. Suddenly it occurred to me that while we had each been hustling and bustling to create Christmas, that singular event was over in a moment, while the reflection “After-Christmas” stretched many times as large in every direction. We, none of us, create Christmas, not even Jesus has that control, Christmas is God's gift. But what we do with “After-Christmas,” how we reflect, extends that event through all our lives in every direction.

Funny, we have amalgamated all the traditions and stories of Christmas as if one. The only description of there having been No Room in any Inn, of the baby being born in a Stable, laid in a manger, visited by poor shepherds, angels, of Dedication at the Temple with two turtle doves, is in the Gospel of Luke. John retold Genesis' creation. Mark began at the Adult Baptism and beginning of Jesus' ministry. Matthew seems to suggest that Joseph and Mary were residents in Bethlehem, and in days “After- Christmas” were visited by Kings before whom they would bow down.

Threatened by announcement of a new king, Herod killed all the babies about the age of Jesus. There is an ethical dilemma for us in this story... That Christ came to save the world, to suffer for all humanity, why then, in his birth, were all the others killed? We can make the Suffering Servant Argument, which the Sanhedrin would discuss regarding the killing of Jesus, that one person suffer for the salvation of all the rest, but Why should only one be saved by God when hundreds were put to death? Worse, we could make the argument that the others were not even at risk from Herod, until the coming of the Savior, the birth of Jesus, so did his birth cause suffering for the world? Everything would be so much simpler, if we remain with the pieces of the story we want, rather than reflecting and extending the events of life in differing directions from each of our perspectives.

How different the world might seem IF ONLY.
I have shared previously, that my mother died in an odd circumstance of my birth. So, much like Jimmy Stewart in “A Wonderful Life” had I not been born, what might her life have been?
When the Sudanese first arrived, Jacob was filled with questions: You have given us gifts we did not even know existed, but what we want is a Bible, where is the Bible? There were over 6000 Refugees at Kakuma, out of the 26000 who began, why were the three of us Chosen? And why, when the Civil War had gone on for decades, had it taken so long for America to get involved?
Recently someone gave me a family letter, translated from German, written after World War I. The Letter describes the devastation of the economy, repressions that led to the rise of Naziism. To suddenly go from a comfortable life to having only one cow to provide milk for your family, and she is stolen and slaughtered by those who were starving. The letter names “How different the war would have gone, if only the Americans had not entered in.”
The Afterward of Christmas is what gives meaning to all that occurred.

History is written by the circumstance of what comes after.
The point of marriage, is not how beautiful the wedding day, but the commitment of the couple.
The point of the birth of a child, is not how many hours of labor; though we take pride in announcing the weight and length of the baby, this has no effect on our height or weight as adults. The point of the birth of a baby is that this new life has entered the world, entered and changed our lives, forever.
A Century ago at the World's Fair in Paris, The Eiffel Tower was unveiled as the world's tallest free standing steel structure, after which in America we created the Empire State Building, as an even taller steel structure, but one that could be occupied with offices for business and apartments for residence. When the Soviets were first to launch a dog into space, we pledged to have a man orbit the earth, and within a decade to set foot on the moon.

I would dare to say, that there is not one gift given by any of us this Christmas, that we could not have lived without. And yet, there are gifts and relationships and circumstances, that do change the world, change our lives.
Because of the Anger of Herod, Joseph took Jesus to Egypt both that the child was saved and, that like Moses of Old, the Savior would come Out of Egypt to set free a new people of God. The point here is not what Jesus experienced in Egypt. There is no record of this upon the family. But that those who came after, reflected upon the events.

We are in the midst of cultural change, as the postal service becomes more expensive, and electronic communication becomes a norm. One of the things I hope is not lost, is the communication that comes from people in reflection upon the year. More than a ubiquitous Christmas Letter bragging of all the accomplishments of our children, the opportunity at least once a year, to connect with people who touched our lives and changed us. To hear, at least once: what happened AFTER?

How different the framing of reality, if instead of focusing upon “IF ONLY” we perceive life through how our lives are touching the life of others, the difference we make. Time and again this last year, we have encountered difficult times. And persons have come up afterward, not having rescued, but having said “We were watching to see what you would do, and to learn from you.”

One of the circumstances of this year, I hope to remember, is having tried to assist a church using two Open-ended Questions:
What do you reflect on as being the best thing this Church has ever done?
Sponsoring the Sudanese? Making a difference, and challenging perceptions about race.
Rebuilding and reinvesting to make a resource for this community?
Creating a Pipe Organ, and place for Skaneateles Festival and for Masterworks to rehearse?
Supporting Alternative Education and Nursery Schools, the Early Childhood Center?
Several times in recent days, I have heard comment about the Church Cookbooks?
Maybe it was the group that used to remake misfit toys from Larabee's Train Co for the Mission-field?

What does this community need, that isn't being done?