On
the 5th day of Christmas....our True Love gave to us....a
reminder that the light shines in the darkness.
At
least, I think this is the gift we can claim from this morning's
gospel.
A
few years ago, a confused curate at Midnight Mass read THIS gospel –
to the crowd gathered for tidings of comfort and joy. As the training
incumbent I was less than delighted. The preacher that evening would
doubtless tell you that he was
even more disconcerted - but perhaps a reminder of the darkness is
not so very out of place.
So
today with the birthday festivities still carrying on
around us (Christmas lasts til Candlemass, remember!), we are invited
to jump forward, beyond next week's celebration of Epiphany to hear
what happened AFTER the wise men went home...Wibbly wobbly timey
wimey, as Dr Who would put it.
But
it's not exactly good news, is it?
It's
a reminder that even as we come together in candle-lit churches
crammed with children to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of
Peace – the darkness is pressing very close.
Our
story has a tyrant more sinister and malevolent than any pantomime
villain.Herod the king in his raging has been booed off the stage for
centuries – and it's tempting to see him as just a stock figure,
there as part of the drama...Except that his spirit survives in our
world today.
The
darkness gathers...so much heartbreak contained in just 1 verse of
Scripture
6 When
Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was
furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its
vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the
time he had learned from the Magi.
And
the weeping of the mothers of Bethlehem is echoed in the weeping of
só many others
through the centuries –
nor are their voices stilled today. In
our own lifetime we have witnessed genocide on a frightening
scale...and the shadow of the Holocaust still lingers...and the
children of Syria cry to us from the camps...
So
much darkness that if the
full Christmas story was turned into a film,
I can't think it would be considered suitable for under 12s.
But
we tend to censor the story. We offer our children – and our
occasional Christmas visitors to - a
sentimental candlelit version of
events, complete with
added chocolate. No
wonder that many leave
faith behind as a childish myth as
they look full on at the
hard places of the world. If
Christmas is only about babies and stables and cuddly animals and
stars – then there's little point to it.
But
today we are reminded that there is tragedy built in from the very
beginning. That Emmanuel – God with us – starts out as he means
to go on.
He
is here as a vulnerable child, forcibly displaced, seeking asylum
with his family far far from home.
And
in 33 years, his story will end in a similar vein, with
God-made-flesh receiving the anger, injustice and cruelty that the
world offers day by day.
But
– he IS Emmanuel – God with us – beside us in the darkness, and
pain and fear...and that's some help, at least. Companionship is
always good – and often all that we can offer.
But,
though Jurgen Moltmann would remind us that “only a suffering God
can save us”, others would argue that if you are stuck at the
bottom of a pit, there's not much point in your rescuer jumping in
beside you – so that two of you are stuck, with no obvious means of
escape. So surely “God with us” is good news only so far as his
presence brings hope of change, the promise that suffering will end,
that one day the world will be a safe place for ALL children – not
just those whom we know and love and shower with Christmas gifts.
Perhaps
that's where the epistle comes in, speaking of God bringing many
children to glory and of Jesus as the pioneer of their salvation, who
first enters into their suffering. It talks of him as a sacrifice –
NOT a sacrifice to an angry, vengeful God, but a sacrifice to those
structures of evil and oppression, those forces of darkness that
still sacrifice children over and over, all around the world. God
becomes one of us at Christmas and offers himself up to suffer what
millions of children suffer - so that we might grasp what “God
with us” actually means.
Because,
it is never about endorsing privilege...God “With us”
and “against Them”...God siding with one nation,
one class, one faith group...
Never,
never, never!
God
with us means God there with every child, every family.
Yes,
God with us is a gift to those who are celebrating Christmas safe and
happy and secure – but his presence matters still more for those
who are struggling, forgotten, locked away, abandoned, bereft.
The
light shining in the darkness...showing it up for what it
is...inspiring us, and all who are children of light, to work against
the powers and principalities that seem to hold the world in thrall.
For
if we are not part of the solution, working WITH God to transform
this dark and broken world, then we too are part of the problem.
Inaction is not an option.
Because
the Christmas story is nothing to do with the saccharine and schmalz
we might seem to be peddling. It's about eternity breaking into
time...heaven touching earth...so that earth can become like heaven.
And
that's costly...and hard painful work...for God with us, but for us
with God as well.
So,
to end, listen to this poem by Steve Turner – and remember that the
light which first shone in the stable in Bethlehem was not
extinguished on Good Friday – but shines still to bring hope to all
the dark places of suffering today and always. Christmas and Easter
-two essential parts of the same story – that Great Story in which
we all have our place.
Christmas
is really
for the children.
Especially for children
who like animals, stables,
stars and babies wrapped
in swaddling clothes.
Then there are wise men,
kings in fine robes,
humble shepherds and a
hint of rich perfume.
Easter is not really
for the children
unless accompanied by
a cream filled egg.
It has whips, blood, nails,
a spear and allegations
of body snatching.
It involves politics, God
and the sins of the world.
It is not good for people
of a nervous disposition.
They would do better to
think on rabbits, chickens
and the first snowdrop
of spring.
Or they'd do better to
wait for a re-run of
Christmas without asking
too many questions about
what Jesus did when he grew up
or whether there's any connection.
for the children.
Especially for children
who like animals, stables,
stars and babies wrapped
in swaddling clothes.
Then there are wise men,
kings in fine robes,
humble shepherds and a
hint of rich perfume.
Easter is not really
for the children
unless accompanied by
a cream filled egg.
It has whips, blood, nails,
a spear and allegations
of body snatching.
It involves politics, God
and the sins of the world.
It is not good for people
of a nervous disposition.
They would do better to
think on rabbits, chickens
and the first snowdrop
of spring.
Or they'd do better to
wait for a re-run of
Christmas without asking
too many questions about
what Jesus did when he grew up
or whether there's any connection.
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