Christmas Eve, Yr B (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Christmas Eve (I), Yr B (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Luke 2:1-20 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
Advent is a season when we talk about waiting and watching –
waiting and watching for Christ in our midst –
but how are we to wait and watch with so many distractions around us?
It is hard to wait and watch when Big Box stores have Christmas trees and adorable inflatables stocked the day after Halloween.
It is hard to wait and watch when radio stations begin playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
To add to the distractions…
we get extra advertisements in the mail about all kinds of splendid sales….
we’re invited to numerous holiday parties, parades, and school programs….
all of these things are vying for our attention as if Christmas arrived 2 months ago!
It is so hard for our culture,
and thus for us within our culture,
to wait and to watch --
to be silent and still.
But apparently, this is nothing new.
As Luke narrates the very birth of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph were in a bit of chaos themselves…
just a tad distracted by events in their own lives.
They were traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census,
and the town of Bethlehem was such a-buzz with people,
that there was no space for them.
As it turns out, God showed up right in the midst of their distractions,
in the birth of Jesus,
at an unexpected time and place…
even for a couple who were seemingly “expecting”!
Over and over the Scriptures tell us that God shows up at times and places
and in ways unexpected:
In burning bushes,
in sheer silence,
through speech impediments,
in foreigners, prostitutes, and barren women,
even through a baby whose first bed was a feeding trough!
Mary and Joseph and the shepherds in the field were all going about their daily work,
minding their own business,
when God showed up.
They were not intent on seeking out some special “God-experience”
or way to bear God in the world,
but when the opportunity arose,
they recognized it and responded.
Now, I’ll grant you that angels appearing while you’re reading a book,
taking a walk,
or doing the dishes, might well arrest your attention.
However, I wonder if at times when we think we might be experiencing the presence of God in some unique way, do we tend to write off the experience as an over-active imagination?
God couldn't possibly be talking to us.
And yet, if we actively watch and listen,
we just might have a better chance of noticing God in our midst
because God continually seeks us out.
In addition to God’s showing up in unexpected times and places,
apparently God’s appearance may well be frightening!
When the angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple, his first words were:
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah.” (Lk 1:13)
The first thing that Gabriel says to Mary after he tells her that God is with her is:
“Do not be afraid.” (Lk 1:30)
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife…” (Mt. 1:20b)
The angel of the Lord said to the shepherds in the field,
“Do not be afraid…” (Lk 2:10)
God knows that Divine appearances in our lives can be frightening.
Our task is to respond with courage…
to move forward in the face of fear,
trusting that God is doing with us and for us more than we can ask or imagine.
Mary pondered in her heart,
not once but twice,
what God was doing for, with, and through her….
Mary pondered that what was taking place in her life
was not something SHE accomplished on her own,
but was a gift from God…
a gift that she had the choice to receive or reject.
In our culture,
we are trained to think in terms of what WE can accomplish,
and we go about busying ourselves to get it done.
In our busy-ness,
I wonder how often we miss where and how God is gifting us –
and how often we miss how and where God is using us to gift others!
The angel of the Lord says to the shepherds in the fields:
“to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Lk 2:11)
To you is born this day.
To us is born this day the Messiah,
Emmanuel,
God-with-us.
The first Christmas was about God coming through people unexpected,
in places unsought.
Jesus arrived in this world with nothing…
Mary and Joseph had left everything behind…
all their preparations –
no doubt a lovely wooden crib hand-carved by Joseph,
as well as the comforts of a home and friends and family.
That’s where they expected to Jesus to arrive.
And yet, without any external trappings,
Jesus – God - was born into this world.
So, you see, God is able to work through anything – or nothing.
Our task is to respond even when we feel we have nothing because it is not about us!
Our faith says that it is God’s power that is at work in the world,
and God looks to us to notice and allow God’s grace to work through us.
Mary had to say “Yes.”
The shepherds had to leave their fields and go in search of Jesus.
The disciples had to leave their nets and the tax-collecting booth.
The first Advent is over,
but we continue to live our lives watching and waiting,
listening and responding to God’s presence among us,
even, or especially, in the midst of all our busy-ness.
Mary pondered in her heart God’s promises to her –
and the fulfillment of God’s promise to her.
We are as much bearers of Christ in the world as Mary was,
but sometimes we have to get out of our own way –
letting go of our trappings of stuff
or ego, or independence, or whatever we desire to accomplish.
God’s Word has come and dwelt among us,
and God’s Word continues to dwell among us –
and through us –
if we will allow it.
Christmas has arrived,
but let us not cease to wait and watch for God’s unexpected inbreaking…
so that with a resounding “YES” we may not be afraid to join in God’s plan
for healing for ourselves and the world.
Amen.
