CHRISTMAS EVE
The
hopes and fears of all the years – are met in thee tonight.
This
line from O Little Town of Bethlehem expresses where I am tonight. The
hopes and fears of all the years – the past three years- melt away for a moment
as community gathers around the miracle of love.
I
invite everyone to soak in this miracle – love. Love is not always easy to
find, often hard to give, and certainly takes openness to accept. I invite you
to sit comfortably and listen for love.
I
had a high school teacher who taught students tricks to help with writing
exams. At an exam, when feeling overwhelmed, or your brain has the answer but
can’t quite pull it from memory, he suggested closing one’s eyes and listening
for the farthest away sound that could be heard. He said that the exercise
worked in facing life too. Try it. Close your eyes and concentrate to hear the
farthest away sound you can hear.
At
16 this exercise was a lifesaver. The exercise centered me; it brought focus,
calm, and an ability to get back to work. I used the exercise for decades: when
anxious before a presentation or sermon delivery, in moments of writer’s block,
when called to be present in situations of crisis. As I have aged the exercise
doesn’t always work, sometimes I have ringing in my ears that won’t let me
listen beyond my ears. Sometimes the ringing causes its own stress and anxiety.
Life
is like that too – at 16 it was easier to bounce back and shift gears – as I
have aged, as we all age, we accumulate experiences, our own and those of
others, bearing witness to human condition and circumstances around the world. In
living life humans accumulate grief, care-giver (COVID) fatigue, carry residue from
stress and trauma. As we age our bouncing back ability dampens. We carry a lot
of stuff, especially if we live from our hearts and venture into the realm of love.
This stuff is like constant ringing in
the ears.
A
month ago, I invited the congregation to share with me their favourite
Christmas carols and to share why. The favourites by far were Silent Night
and O Holy Night. People noted that these carols bring forward emotions
and memories of stillness, the ambience of candlelight, beauty in simplicity, a
peace like gently falling snow. I wonder if these carols touch us so deeply
because in the stillness of their nature they are just loud enough and in the
right tone to abate the sound of ‘ringing in the ears,’ the noise of a harsh
and crazy world, and usher in a calm to fill hearts and minds; a miracle-
centering us once again into a state of love.
The
hopes and fear of all the years – are met in thee tonight.
This
miracle of love is a human reset, not something we can purchase and put under
our Christmas trees, it is a gift from God – in fact it is God- love incarnate.
God chooses to enter human life in all its messiness and noise to incarnate
love among us. To say to the human being, the human heart: you are worthy, you are loved, you are free; so
that you can live from your heart and continue to venture into the realm of
love.
Author, Nicholas Sparks, in “The
Notebook,” wrote:
We sit silently and watch the world
around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able
to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young,
brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence
is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are
comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great
paradox.
I invite you to listen for a moment.
Tonight, we are drawn together,
comfortable sitting with each other without speaking. There is a shared
silence. A holy silence wherein love comes and dwells among us.
Holy
silence is akin to embracing holy darkness: Jesus grew in the warmth and
darkness of Mary’s womb; the shepherds watched their flock by night; the
wisemen followed a star in the night skies; in the backdrop of darkness the
glory of the angels appeared. In the night - this evening, in the midst of human
condition and circumstances, in the noise of the world, in fears and hopes of
all the years, holy silence rests upon us. This is a gift from God. A miracle!
Love
has come. Love sits with us. Love embraces us. Love meets us.
Be
blanketed in holy silence, filled with the miracle of love. And may this silence and love travel with you,
tonight and tomorrow and always.
CHRISTMAS
DAY
We
sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn.
It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything
and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the
silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people
together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without
speaking. This is the great paradox.
Last
night I shared this quote from author Nicholas Sparks.
This
morning it rings even more true, as I hear the words from John 1 – read in this
holy space; devoid of presents and crinkling wrapping paper, bereft of pent-up
excitement and over-exuberance, free of impatience – here we sit content in the
quiet of holy silence, comfortably connected without having to say a word.
In
holy silence, Christmas is different, with the noise of the world hushed for a
moment, our hearts are open to hear these profound words:
In
the beginning was the Word, the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without
him not one thing came into being. What came into being in him was life, and
the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overtake it. -John 1:
1-5
This
text is an old friend. In my opinion one of the best pieces of literature ever
written. I could sit silently with this text all day, as I watch the world go
by. With morning coffee in hand, a blanket, and a comfy chair, I could repeat
everyday all winter long.
One
of my favourite words -because it enfolds me into a feeling- is the verb to
bask.
To
bask – is to laze, loll, lounge, relax, sunbathe, swim in, or toast oneself;
It
too can be interpreted as to indulge, relish, revel, savour, enjoy, luxuriate, frolic,
wallow.
Today
I bask in Christmas.
Christ’s
mass – to celebrate God incarnate; to be embraced by Word; warmed by love.
Many
of you will have noted that when closing off emails and writing salutations, I write
- Hugs and Son-shine; Son shine, spelled capital ‘S-o-n” dash shine.
This
is me basking in Christmas
-in God incarnate- and in return offering a theologically pointed
blessing. ‘Hugs’ is me loving whomever I
am speaking to, it is relational and personal, and meant from my heart to theirs.
If I do not know a person as well, I say peace instead of hugs. The Son-shine is
based on John 1. The son of course is Jesus, the Christ, who was in the
beginning and brought life and light to the world. Son-shine is a word play of
sunshine (like sun in the sky); sunshine that brings warmth and brightness.
Christ does this too. When using this blessing I am inviting the receiver to
Son-bathe (s. o. n.) in God’s grace, to bask in the Word, and to be embraced by
love. This is how I keep Christmas in my
heart all year through.
As
this year draws to a close, I invite you to consider how you will carry Christmas
with you into the new year? How will you witness to and share the Word?
On
this Christmas Day - To each of you, from my heart to yours,
Hugs
and Son-shine.
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