Christmas Eve
One of my favourite things to do around Christmas is watch Christmas movies. The Grinch who stole Christmas. The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. The Disney version of the Christmas Carol with Scrooge McDuck. Home Alone. It’s a Wonderful Life. … Watching a Christmas movie, with an eggnog or hot chocolate in hand, with the Christmas tree glowing, that is one of my favourite things to do this time of year.
These stories have the ability to make us reflect on our lives.
Home Alone is about a boy who is left alone at home by accident, while his family goes on a trip to Paris. This little boy defends his home from thieves. Underneath the slapstick comedy there is a story about reconciliation with alienated family members.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a story about how a person’s life matters and makes a difference in ways that are maybe not always obvious to them. Remove that person’s influence and there is a negative ripple effect in the lives of many people around them. This story helps us consider the effect we have on the lives of those around us, which is sometimes hard to see when we are feeling down.
The Grinch hates Christmas and tries to ruin the Whos holiday. He comes up with an elaborate plan to try to steal the decorations, food, and presents. But when the plan is complete, he sees that the Whos are singing and are still celebrating. He thought Christmas was all about the presents, food, and decorations, but when he sees that the decorations and presents are secondary to this other, more meaningful thing, his heart grows and he is welcomed into the Whos celebrations, even after everything he had done. It is a story that reminds us to focus on what we are celebrating, rather than focusing on all those secondary things like presents, and decorations, and food. Remember to put first things first. “The Grinch who stole Christmas” is asking us why we are celebrating. How would we feel if all the presents, food, and decorations were taken away?
A Christmas Carol is probably my favourite Christmas story and I think there are a few good film versions of it. Scrooge is a very practical man. His main goal in life is making money. He believes in hard work. He doesn’t like wasting money on frivolities like parties, or charity. He believes people should put their nose down, work hard, and stop being lazy. He believes in honouring a contract, so if you can’t make your payment, then that mortgage contract you agreed to says your house is now his. He is visited by 3 spirits- those of Christmas past, present, and future. They take him on a journey through his childhood, and then into the present to see the plight of those like Tiny Tim, who is the child of one of his poorly paid employees, and in need of medical care. He is then confronted by his own death and potential judgement for the decisions he has made in life. These visits result in a converted heart and scrooge becomes generous and cheerful. It is a story that reminds us to consider the plight of those around us with compassion. It is a story that asks us to reflect on the time of our death and what we would hope people would say about us when we are gone. What do we want to say with our life?
The stories that grab a hold of us can inspire us to live differently. Stories can have an effect on our values and how we treat people.
A story that many people live in says that the universe is one of many other universes, and ours exploded from a point the size of the head of a pin, in an event we call the Big Bang. This point expanded and certain physical laws drove these energies and atoms, and they reacted in ways that that caused planets to form. And, eventually, from the mixtures of chemicals, living beings came into being- first single-celled beings, then multiple celled beings. Over time, life filled this little planet. In a sea of cold dead space, against the odds, human beings came to exist. Their brains were designed to help them survive, but (as a strange side effect) they imagined they might be more. Really their brains created the illusion of freedom and independent thought- the illusion of a self. But, in reality, the brain came into being as a part of an evolutionary process that helps them survive and reproduce. … The window of survival on this planet is very narrow. It was unlikely to begin with. Eventually the sun will cool. Or before that, an asteroid will end it all. Or maybe something else. And there is no surviving death. This story has an effect on how you live and what you value. So, eat, drink, and be merry, while we can.
Others see a very similar story, but behind it all they see a Mind. What looks like random chaos is actually a very complicated symphony, a dance, a moving work of art. In the Big Bang they see God speaking the universe into existence. They see God setting the physical laws in such a precise way that life on the planet becomes possible. And from the dust of the ground God draws living beings into existence, until human beings form and they have the breath of God breathed into them, and they become self-aware in a way that other creatures don’t seem to be. … But they also believe that the universe is more mysterious. There is an unseen aspect of the universe- there is a heavenly reality that our usual senses can’t detect. And consciousness is not an illusion of the brain- it is an aspect of a mind, a soul, that is not entirely dependent on visible reality. This Creator Mind (God) that created the universe has expectations of these little creatures. There is an expectation for them to be good in reflecting the image of God. God extends conscious existence beyond this life. And there are consequences to how this life is lived. … This story has an effect on how you live and what you value.
The ultimate Christmas story is found in the Gospels, of course. But, it’s easy for these stories to just become a part of the nostalgic background. A manger scene. A cover for a Christmas card. A theme for a Christmas carol.
If you take it seriously, this story can have an effect on who you are and what you value. This story says this Creator Mind who conducts the dance of the universe, amazingly became concerned for human beings, who had wandered off the path that was set for them. God had inspired many teachers and prophets to try to light the path the Creator had set for them. … Now, this time, God was going to come to them in a way that they can experience the character of God. This God was going to take humanity into His own being in such a way that people can experience God through one of their own. The letter to the Colossians says of Jesus that “he is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). The Gospel of John talks about the Logos, which was the word philosophers at the time used to refer to the rational, organizing principle of the universe. It was the Logos that kept the universe from being a messy soup of unorganized atoms and energy. The Logos was the power behind the dance of the universe- the physical Laws that guided the dancers- the DNA that created the context for life. The Gospel of John says that this Logos came to human beings as one of them. “The [Logos] became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14).
And what would we expect to see? This ultimate Power and Creator of the stars and galaxies coming to humanity as one of them- what would we expect to see? Perhaps manifesting as a fully grown powerful king- every bit of flesh glowing with light. Perhaps a booming voice that causes all in his presence to fall to their knees with fear of judgement? Perhaps he would come as a master of law and order- A creator of society- forcing them to dance according to his will.
Instead, we read that he chooses an unwed woman to be his mother. By social standards, she was an ordinary girl who would have been forgotten by the scribes of history. The father he chose was a carpenter. He too would have disappeared to the memory of history, even while being one of the numerous descendants of King David. Remember that David’s son, Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines, and that was 1000 years earlier. No doubt being a descendent of King David wasn’t that unusual. (Some estimate that Genghis Khan has 16 million present-day descendants.)
When it was time for him to be born of Mary, there was no fancy crib for him. He was placed in an animal’s feeding trough, in a little town called Bethlehem (a name that means “house of bread”. Perhaps these are hints.)
When the unseen realms announced this birth, they didn’t announce it to kings or scholars, they announced it to shepherds. Shepherds were among the most despised in their society. They were the lowest of the low in the eyes of their people. They were very poorly paid, and considered unsafe. Most people would cross the street if they saw a shepherd walking towards them. They were so untrusted that they were not considered valid witnesses in courts of law. These shepherds get a special invitation to this incredible event.
Believing this story has the power to effect you and the way you see the world. The power behind the universe came to us as a baby, in a poor family. This gives dignity to being human, and to those living in poverty. He chose the lower end of the social ladder. … This story has the power to help us see that humanity matters. We aren’t just an accident- a blip of strange delusional life on a tiny planet unnoticed by most of the universe. We are loved by God. … Believing this story means taking the teachings of Jesus seriously- the path the Creator has set for humanity to walk is ultimately about love- love for God and love for neighbour. The path is about sacrificial love- love to the point of dying to save you.
The stories we hold in our heart have power to effect how we see the world around us- and what we value. They have the power to effect how we treat the people around us, and how we spend our time, and how we spend our money. … Tonight, I would like us to ask what story we carry in our hearts. AMEN
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