Christmas Homily

Brother Christopher

Everyone loves a good story. Throughout history human beings have always told stories, either passing them on orally from one generation to the next, or putting them down in print or in film. Stories captivate our imagination and help form who we are, our values, our hopes, our dreams, who we hope to become. Now admittedly, not all stories are of equal worth. For most, we read or look at them only once. We’re temporarily entertained, but then we move on to the next one. However, for a really good story, one that is beautifully written or told in film -- with an engaging plot and vivid characterization, we may come back to the story, even several times. Such stories have the capacity of feeding our souls. I remember our Brother Elias used go back and re-read Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy every Bright Week. For him it was that rare story he never tired of.

Yet the story we hear in this morning’s Gospel is somewhat unique: it is God’s story and given that we “read it” -- listen to it -- every year, it has the power to work on us progressively, bringing us deeper and deeper into its mystery. For as Paul writes in the passage from his letter to the Galatians, “in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons and daughters.” This is God’s story, begun in the fullness of time, and we are drawn into it as participants. God makes us part of God’s own story. The whole Patristic tradition witnesses to the chief fact of the incarnation: God became human, so that human beings could become God... not God by nature but by adoption, by being brought into an everlasting communion of love. And the Gospel story in all its simplicity and beauty describes the dramatic way this begins: wise men coming from the East, King Herod’s alarm at their question, his duplicitous scheming, the wise men following the star to Bethlehem, their finding the child and his mother, their falling down in worship and rendering him homage, their offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh... their traveling back home by a different road.

I think it’s fair to say that in this story the truth is stranger than fiction: God becomes a creature -- a human being -- without ceasing to be God. God incarnate in the form of a vulnerable baby is contrasted with a corrupt King who is interested only in clinging to his own power. And the real wisdom figures are the wise men from the East -- Gentiles -- who are interested only in worshiping the true king. the real question in all of this is, “why did God choose to do this, why did God become a human being?” And the answer is: to draw humanity into the real story -- God’s story -- to become part of that forever by revealing the extent of divine love. Jesus is the fulfillment of the human hope for salvation, and he reveals this throughout his life. And while Jesus comes as the long awaited Jewish Messiah, the story makes clear through the presence of the wise men that he is the fulfillment of Gentile hopes as well. Through the adoration of the wise men, Gentiles bow before the infant king. And even though the Gentiles -- all Gentiles -- don’t have the Hebrew Bible and the promises of tradition, by following the star, the truth they do perceive, it will lead them ultimately to the Savior. Jesus is for them, as well.

Last night when we sang “God is With Us” it was with the energy and power of spiritual realization. God is truly with us... not only for Jews, but with the Gentiles as well, not only with Orthodox Christians or even Christians in general, but with all people, of all religions, even those who haven’t asked for him or even seek him. All people are called to become part of this story, not for God’s sake, but for their own. It is their destiny, not their humiliation; it is their dignity, not their shame; it is their freedom, not their bondage; it is their very life.

Christ is Born!

Sunday December 20, 2015

Preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

Sermon 132. Dec 20, 2015 Mt 1:1-17; Heb 11:8-12; Gn15:1-6: Stars

         When we sell a puppy, being in the State of New York, we have to go through a lot of paperwork with the new owners before they can adopt the puppy. There are assurances about the health of the puppy, copies of the New York State law governing the rights of the new owners to return the puppy if there are health issues, documents from our veterinarian showing the medicines and vaccinations that the puppy has already received, guidelines on neutering and spaying your pet, and the list goes on and on. One of those papers is the puppy’s pedigree. It is issued by the AKC [American Kennel Club]. It shows a few generations back in the puppy’s family tree but the owner can go on line and learn more. So we deal with canine genealogies all the time. But what about people?

A few weeks ago I was talking about genealogies with one of our community friends and she mentioned that she had taken an interest in doing some genealogical work on her family. What she noticed in herself was that this hobby can become addictive! What isn’t in life!  You can find a second cousin 4^th removed and some tidbit in the information will then lead you down other “branches” of your family tree and pretty soon you discover how much time you have just spent on a very tenuous connection. But it’s fun and basically harmless. I guess a lot more people have come to appreciate all the genealogical work the Mormons have done over the years.

         Once long ago I thought about doing some genealogy digging into my family background but I never got very far. I did find a book on the Dorr Rebellion but I got bored before I got to the end of it! My brother Paul did some genealogical sleuthing too but that’s all I know of being done in my immediate family. And yet, finding out about one’s family and all the connections with relatives can open up new relationships with unimagined results.

         In some ways it seems odd that Americans have taken to genealogical research since for generations one of the hallmarks of American self-identity was that “who you are” was not supposed to be as important in evaluating someone as “what you do” or “what you have made of yourself.” Valuing family of origin distinctiveness was frowned upon; it had the odor of nepotism and nobility, things supposedly of the old world that people came to the new world to escape. Here you were to be able to work hard and make your way and your family identity did not matter.

         So in light of these mixed signals from our society, what are we to make of today’s commemoration of the Ancestors of Christ? Why should this genealogy matter to us today? In Jesus’ day and in Middle Eastern society even today, genealogies can be very important. Among Muslims, it is a great honor and matter of pride to be able to trace your family tree back to the prophet Muhammad. Genealogies are used to justify particular family’s claims to leadership in some states. And even at levels well below questions of power, tracing one’s lineage can make a difference in what jobs you can hold, what state allowances you are entitled to, whether or not you are able to obtain nationality status. For Matthew, who was writing to his own Jewish community, he wanted to be able to convince his readers of the genuineness of the claim for Jesus to be Messiah by linking him to King David and all the way back to Abraham.  My guess is that many committed Christians today are not particularly concerned about such arcane arguments, despite the rise in personal genealogical quests. Believing in the claim that Jesus is God’s son may rest on other aspects of the Good News.

         Even so, as I pondered this scripture passage an image far removed from Matthew’s concerns came to me. Remember God’s promise to Abraham: I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven. What I see in the genealogy of Jesus Christ and in all our genealogies is mirrored for me when I gaze at the stars in the night sky. They are so numerous that they are beyond counting, and yet they are all part of the same cosmos. They are all connected.

Another way of looking at it is the image of the “family tree.” God’s promise about the descendants of Abraham creates a growing and ever expanding forest of genealogies of all humanity. Indeed, if we trace back our lineages we are all related to each other. And if you add Jesus’ genealogy to all the rest, then we are all related to Christ, yes, we are all related to God. God’s children, if you will. So we might say that the incarnation is not only about God coming into our world to experience human life, but also to sanctify all life by solidifying the connection with have with God. From this perspective the genealogy of Christ is a cause for rejoicing, not because Jesus is related to King David and Abraham [and all the rest in the lineage] but rather because we are all related to him! Yes, as scripture says, we are all sons and daughters of the Most High.

Glory be to Jesus Christ!