The Work of Christmas

[This is a reconstruction of the message I preached at Tenderloin Open Cathedral this past Sunday, 20 Dec 09. At Tenderloin Open Cathedral I preach from the outline in my head.]

The sermon was based on Psalm 80:1-7, focusing on verse 80:3,"Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved," (NLT).

In one of my favorite Christmas carols we sing the chorus, "Star of wonder, star of night. Star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light." It is a prayer some utter this time of year, paying homage to the wanting to slow down, to want to meditate on what the star is guiding us to. A verse from Psalm 80 points to this as well: "Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved."

This verse imagines God's face shining down upon us, guiding us like a star in the night.

God wants to turn our sight towards him as we walk in the shadows during the shortest days of the year. In the cold, God's face shines down, like a star, over Emmanuel -- "God with us" -- Jesus. Not Jesus who is the mature adult teaching the Beatitudes, but as a baby shivering in the cold, lying in a manger.

God's hope to us, Jesus, comes to us each year as a fragile baby, shivering in the cold. I sense some people are uncomfortable with this image as they rush to plant the cross next to the manger, reminding us of the salvific work of the cross as Jesus is barely in diapers. This rush, however, ignores the work of Christmas

I myself am finally beginning to make sense of the image of baby Jesus in the manger. Jesus who is our hope, comes to us as a tiny baby to be nurtured by us and to instruct us.

When someone holds a baby, there can be the reaction of discomfort. You know the person I am talking about-- the person who holds the baby awkwardly and as soon as the baby dirties her diaper hands her back to her mom or dad. Figuratively, these are the types who barely slow down at Christmas.

However, there is another reaction one could have towards Christmas -- to pick up to cradle and nurture the Christ child. When you pick up a baby, your heart can melt at the sight of a baby's smile or giggle. When you hold a baby, you're reminded to be gentle and not rough. Lastly, when you look into the eyes of a baby, you want to make the world a better place so babies can grow up free of fear, hunger, and violence.

This is the work of Christmas, to pick up the Christ child: to let our hearts be melted so God can work in us and through us; to hold and treat each other with gentleness; and to try to make a world a better place for all of God's children.