This year will mark my 19th December leading Christmas eve worship services. For number of years now, sometime in mid December, I find myself wondering what more he said of about the birth of Jesus. The problem I encounter is not just what can be said but also that many of our traditional carols proclaim a theological approach that is inconsistent with the message I offer the rest of the year. I cannot proclaim that the world is joyful because the coming of Jesus has ended a curse placed upon the world by the sin of Adam and Eve. "Joy to the world, No more let sins and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground, he comes to meet his blessings flow far as the curse is found." In the short time of the Christmas eve sermon is seems impossible to overcome the centuries of tradition. Yet it has been my privileged to interpret the ancient story each December.
I am torn because the message that we perceive in our Christmas story is the joy and peace we yearn for. The world does need salvation but not from God's wrath rather from the wrath humanity has created, embodied in both the ancient and modern culture. The story that we have from the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke was not intended by either writer to be all that important. In fact, both gospels are only making a point about the importance of that man and not the infant. It is the passion stories at the end of the gospels that is the point of the story. There are hints of this in both: in Matthew the gifts of frankincense and myrrh are for the preparation of his burial, in Luke the end of the story is Mary is told that she will experience deep sorrow. There is many more interesting details in both gospel nativity stories and if I had a month of Sundays maybe we could give them a legitimate examination. Sometimes it is what is not there: No donkey, no stable, no cattle or sheep, no indication of the number of magi.
The message we all want to hear Christmas eve is that there is hope for this hurting world. Because it is clear, particularly this year, that it is hope humanity needs. I wonder that instead of worrying about old and misunderstood theology ease if we could and just sinking into the intended underlying message of hope. New birth is all of the whole, always has been, always will be. This is why the story is so attractive. A baby, a struggle for young couple, throw in some cute animals in a shiny star and how can the story fail. Hope and "oh isn't that sweet" just tumbles out of the story. Over the last 19 years I gone with: just let the story touch your heart, I have explained the biblical details of the stories, I have challenged people to change their lives, I have connected the nativity story to the passion story. I am also sure that most Christmas eve preachers have done the same over the years as they sought the spark to make a difference. In the end folks mostly want the "feeling" of Christmas eve. I must admit that I cannot remember a single Christmas eve sermon from before the 19 years of my ministry.
Maybe I should forgo the sermon on Christmas eve and just tell jokes. Christmas jokes but jokes just the same. How do we know that the wise men had women with them? They eventually stopped relying on the stars and asked for directions. What was the name of the angel who spoke to the shepherds? Harold. "Hark the Harold Angles sing." I have lots of jokes and puns. But is seems shallow and pointless to just laugh in the moment. So I will prepare a message for Christmas eve.
The reason I will do so is because the hope must be expressed. Even it is just for me. The exercise of reflecting of the hope is healing for me. In the end the experience of the message is more important the content. Although I can't remember the content of the Christmas eve sermons from before I was responsible for the messages I remember the experience. Yes content matters but only in how it effects the experience. Somehow everyone one of us need to experience hope in order to be hopeful.
So on Christmas eve I will once again try to create an experience of Hope not just for the folks who will listen to my sermon but for myself as well. After all, the Gospel writers weren't telling a story about a birth but a story about hope. Their message was that with this birth something new has begun. Mary sings, the wise men worship, the angels glorify, the shepherds are awestruck, the tyrants fear, and Mary ponders and we hear hope in an ancient story once again.
HOPE!
