Christmas Sermon 2016

Sermon 142 Dec 25, 2016 Mt 2: 1-12; Ga 4:4-7; Jr 23: 3-8 Xmas

Preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Chapel

          “But they weren’t there!” So, said Fr Paul Harrilchak a few years ago, during a talk here on the Christmas Season east and west. I am always amused by this when I think back on that presentation. He was talking about how the Three Wise Men [or the Three Kings] are depicted in images and stories and in the nativity crèche attributed to St Francis. They missed the birth. They came later. In the gospel passage that follows what we heard this morning, Herod gives us a clue about the timing of their visit in the reference to his ordering the killing of all male infants 2 years old and younger. Yet, maybe this is the ideal point of departure for us, since we too come to this event later, much later.  We celebrate the birth of Christ as if it is happening at this moment, which it is, in our spiritual understanding of this mystery, but historically it was two millennia ago. So, as with the Three Wise Men, we too are coming to this late. But does that matter?

When they came doesn’t matter, what they were seeking does matter. And what were they seeking? A baby? No, scripture says that they were seeking the Messiah. The savior of the world. And it was they seeking him and not the other way around. Jesus wasn’t looking at his watch, tapping his foot and wondering, “so, when are those three kings going to get here anyway!” God’s invitation to all of us to come to him is always available, but we need to initiate the action to seek him.

Sometimes church feasts are assigned dates directly connected to the chronological sequence of the events. March 25^th is the annunciation and 9 months later, December 25^th, the birth of Christ. Then on January 1^st we mark Christ’s circumcision. And yet 5 days later he is baptized as an adult. But then on February 2^nd, the Feast of the Encounter, Christ is a child again, presented to the temple. The manifestation of God is not time dependent. The symbols we choose to use to portray this reality may involve both chronos and kairos images. This entire season of lights which extends from December 25^th to February 2^nd is about the manifestation of divinity in humanity through Jesus Christ.

These feasts of the Church are inviting us to seek the reality of God in all we do and experience in life. Last week at matins we heard a reading from Thomas Keating who said: “Some devout persons think that if their activities at home or their job get in the way of prayer, there is something wrong with their activities. On the contrary, there is something wrong with their prayer.” What this means is that my prayer must infuse all that I do. It is not something separate. The incarnation, the manifestation of divinity in our human reality, brings this perspective to the fore. No matter what I am doing or where I am, I am invited to see God in it all. It is a full integration of this reality with the reign of God that Christ preached. It is one. The more I am able to see this, the clearer the path I am called to follow. Nature, chores, study, leisure, birth, death, all are infused with God’s reality, a reality that extends beyond this life. Celebrating Christ’s birth is like celebrating the planting of a seed that will germinate and grow from a small sprig into a large tree. From Jesus’ humble birth, will grow the reign of God. Something worthy to be sought by kings and by you and I.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!