Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
(Luke 2:25-38)
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It’s all fading fast. I’ve already seen Christmas trees put out at the side of the road, so that now they’re just dry and dead pine trees ready to be ground up into wood chips. Decorations are being put away, lights are beginning to disappear. It’s like Christmas was a long, long time ago. Today is December 30 and we’re all planning for New Year’s Eve by now. We’re looking ahead into 2019. I was trying to explain to someone a few weeks ago that in the church December 30 is Christmas Sunday, and they said that no one could relate to that because December 30 is after Christmas. Except that it isn’t. In the world, I know, Christmas starts at the latest by the end of November and it’s over on December 25. But in the church that’s Advent. In the church Christmas starts on December 25 - it doesn’t end on December 25. So if I’m talking all month about “Confronting Christmas Culture” - I need to reflect on this a bit. The church and the world have an entirely different understanding of Christmas. The world wants to have a giant, month long splurge of excess and then call a screeching halt to it on December 25 with the birth of Jesus being the final act in the Christmas season, if it’s thought of at all. The church says that it’s only with the birth of Jesus that Christmas and what it means – the presence of God; the coming of God to the world to share our lives – can be fully celebrated and understood. And I don’t even think that our appreciation of Christmas has to be restricted to these famous “12 days.” I’d like to think that at least a bit of Christmas and what it represents to us would be on our minds always. So I tend to lean to the Dr. Seuss school of thought – that “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.”
I wonder why there’s such a rush to get Christmas over with? Why do so many people seem to think that December 25 is the end of it all and they put Christmas away for the next eleven months? People talk about loving the so-called “Christmas spirit.” They talk about everything seeming brighter and people seeming happier and more friendly at Christmas-time. And yet it seems as soon as we can we pack it all away and move on. We may not be like the Grinch who tried to steal Christmas, but still it seems just a little bit Grinch-like to try to hurry it to an end. Why do we do that? Perhaps there are a couple of reasons I can think of right off the top of my head.
Maybe – as much as we love the season and the feelings that it brings to our hearts – we’re a little bit uncomfortable with what we in the church like to call the “true meaning” of Christmas. Maybe the very idea of the incarnation of God (the idea that God would become human - “veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail the incarnate deity” we sing in a popular Christmas carol) is just too overwhelming; too unnerving and too unsettling for us to be comfortable with it for very long. So perhaps we hide ourselves behind the secular festivities and we move on as fast as we possible can to avoid having to deal with the theological implications of Christmas – with what Christmas actually tells us about God. Most of us – if we’re being honest about it – like to think that we kind of have God under control. We don’t want anything too strange or unusual to happen. We want to let God in a little bit – but just a little bit. We remember that Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was as uncontrollable as the wind – but we sure try. And we like to think we have God figured out. So most often what we end up with is a God created in our image, rather than a God who created us in God’s image. We want God to be like us. We shy away from things that make God different. Jesus is a comfortable companion for us as long as we stick to his ethical and moral teachings. Add in the virgin birth as anything more than a cute little story that works for a Sunday School pageant and we suddenly start to get nervous. Because that doesn’t make sense. That isn’t logical. And we justify rejecting it by playing with Isaiah 7:14. “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive ...” And then we realize that the word we translate as “virgin” is the Hebrew word “alma.” And then we realize that “alma” can also be translated as simply “young woman.” And lo and behold we suddenly say: “well, it has to mean ‘the young woman shall conceive.’” And we go on, having excised the great miracle of the Christmas story with a translation game. Except – it makes no sense because of the first part of the verse: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.” What sort of sign is a young woman having a child? That’s no sign. It literally happens all the time. UNICEF estimates that 353000 babies are born every single day. There were fewer people 2000 years ago and so there would have been fewer births, but still – a lot of babies were born. The only logical translation of Isaiah 7:14 is “virgin.” And that pushes us out of our comfort zone and makes God a bit scary because when God is truly in control things happen that shouldn’t happen. And the letter to Titus tells us that Jesus is the grace of God that came to earth. That’s the Christmas story. “On earth peace and good will to all.” Christmas reminds us of the scandal of divine grace. Christmas reminds us that God comes for everyone and not just the ones we deem worthy of God’s presence. If you get too deeply into it, Christmas is theologically very uncomfortable. It pushes us, it prods us, it tells us to consider the implications of a God who chooses to become flesh and to dwell among us and to live with us and to die for us. Those are big issues. It’s no wonder that even in the church we kind of rush to get it over with. Better not to be reminded perhaps of all those implications of Christmas.
And yet, the wondrous thing is that as uncomfortable as Christmas might make us with God the more we think about it, Christmas is also a reminder to us that God is so approachable. Christmas reminds us that – as amazing as it may be – God comes to us, we don’t have to come to God. I sometimes hear Christians who speak of finding God or finding Jesus. But we don’t. God finds us; Jesus finds us. God comes to us in the humble form of a child and remains with us throughout our lives. If the meaning of Christmas is summed up by the word “Emmanuel” - “God-With-Us” - then Christmas isn’t just a day or 12 days or a month. Christmas truly never ends. In the 1951 movie version of “A Christmas Carol” the host of Christmas Present says to Ebenezer Scrooge that “the child born in Bethlehem does not live in men’s hearts just one day of the year but all 365 days of the year.” And so he does. If December 25 represents the end then Christmas itself is pointless. But if December 25 is just the beginning then Christmas takes on a whole new meaning – with a spirit and a message to be lived throughout the year.
The work of Jesus just got started with his birth. As Simeon said in today’s Gospel reading,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. … This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed ...”
The world may want to tell you otherwise. The world may be beginning its countdown to a new year, and in the next few days Christmas cards will be replaced by Valentines Day cards and all reminders of Christmas will disappear. But Christians know better. Christmas isn’t all finished just because December 25 has come and gone. The work of Christmas goes on, the presence of God is eternal and the spirit of Christmas needs to be felt all year round.
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