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Christmas Day sermon 25.12.17 Revd Elaine
I love Christmas, although I do feel a bit stressed out this morning with dinner to cook for 9 and 12 to feed tomorrow. But it will happen somehow, especially if there are some willing helpers in the kitchen.
But this year is special because we have our two grandchildren with us, and that doesn’t happen every year. Two two-year olds, really appreciating something of Christmas Day for the first time. But the highlight for me this Christmas is that we were able to bring our grandson to church yesterday for the Crib service, and they will both be putting baby Jesus into our nativity scene later.
I expect some of you may have been fortunate to have been invited to a school nativity play in the last few days, and I hope that some of you at least may be with little ones at some time over the season. Christmas, people say, is for the children. But is it?
This implies that Christmas is something we grow out of? But if that’s true, it’s a great shame. Someone said in something I read recently, that Christmas is not something we grow out of, but something we grow into.
I suppose it all depends on what we think Christmas is all about. I suppose it depends on whether we give ourselves time and space to allow ourselves to think and contemplate the wonder of the birth of Jesus, and fundamentally,whether we believe, or even want to believe. But, I imagine, or rather I hope and trust that, that because we are here this morning, we do actually believe, or desperately want to believe more and more, that what we celebrate today is true.
Whatever you think of President Trump, he has made us think this year of the difference between fake news and the truth.
His catchphrase of ‘fake news’ will enter into our language,and we may laugh, but hehasperhaps made us think more about what we hear in the media, about what we believe to be true just because someone has told us, or because of something we’ve read. And that in itself is good. Because, as we all know, there is a lot of very damaging ‘fake news’ about.
Luke, the writer of this Gospel story, would certainly like us to distinguish between ‘fake news’ and the truth.
Luke tells us that the angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds living in the fields around Bethlehem and announced some wonderful, joyful, earth changing news.
… the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’ Luke 2.10-14
What would we think, I wonder, if we were told that someone had seen such a vision today? Would we believe or not?
And it is not right to say that people then were more easily taken in by strange happenings - they were people like us who could be just as sceptical as we are - or as sceptical as perhaps we should be, and at least they didn’t have social media to spread fake news. We have to learn to question everything and discern what is true, not because of something we have heard but because it fits all the facts.
And Luke wants us to see here something here that distinguishes between fake news and the truth.
Let us think for a few moments about the world into which Jesus was born. He was born into a small, impoverished place in the Roman Empire, ruled over by Caesar Augustus, who had established peace, the ‘Pax Romana’, after years of turmoil and civil war. And a great altar had been erected in Rome symbolizing this peace. For Rome, it was a time of great hope, a golden age, and Caesar Augustus was heralded as the saviour of the world and as the son of god. Does that sound familiar?
Luke in his writing certainly intended his readers to make a comparison between Caesar Augustusand Jesus, the true Son of God, the only true Saviour of the world and Prince of Peace.
And, of course, the Roman dream, as so many other dreams, was short lived and would come to nothing. In fact, after Caesar Augustus’ death, the Roman dream for many became a nightmare.
The peace offered by Caesar was an end of warfare, but at a great human cost.It was a peace enforced by Roman justice exercised by heavy-handed soldiers, as we know from the events of Jesus’ crucifixion. It was said that after the defeat of the slave rebellion led by Spartacus, 6000 slaves were crucified along the Appian Way.
If that is the meaning of peace and salvation, then such peace is indeed ‘fake news’.
Many, I know, look at the world today and see the Christian message as ‘fake news’. ‘Where is this peace that was promised 2000 years ago?’ is a legitimate question. Is this world peace just wishful thinking?
Christians point to a future fulfilment when God’s kingdom will finally come and establish for ever this peace on earth. But that doesn’t satisfy any sceptic. And Jesus himself said that there would always be wars and violence in this world.
In fact, Jesus himself said,
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.Matthew 10.34
People often point to war and blame religion - usually non-specifically. Yes, religious conflict has sometimes been the excuse for violence. But is that really the truth?
Often religion is just the excuse - because so often it is what marks out the difference between communities and cultures.
The real cause of aggression is the very human response of fear, mistrust, jealousy or greed; the fear of losing, or others taking,something we hold dear. Or sometimes it is about scapegoating, blaming others who are different from us for our own failures.
True peace is not a cessation of hostility, it is a change of heart. Peace is not achieved through raising barriers to keep enemies apart to prevent clashes. True peace is when the barriers come down and opposing sides can embrace and respect their differences.
So what about this peace that was heralded by the angels? What about Jesus, the Prince of Peace, announced by Isaiah? If we look at the references to peace in the Bible we may discern that true peace is the result of a meeting with God or with Jesus.
The resurrected Jesus greeted the disciples in the upper room with
‘Peace be with you’ Jn. 20.21.
And often we hear that Jesus’ words to someone he has just healed are,
‘Your faith has made you well, go in peace’.
This peace is a deep sense of the presence of Christ,the Prince of Peace, who helps us overcome our fear and brings peace to troubled minds.
And this peace comes from within the hearts of individuals.
Thisis the peace of a person at peace with themselves,who is then able to be a peace-maker, extending the hand of peace to a neighbour.
This is the peace offered to us all in Jesus. It is the peace the Jews call Shallom - an inner peace that is wholeness, harmony, tranquility - and this is how Jews greet each other - a prayer for the other’s wellbeing.
This is true peace, a peace which we should pray for, for ourselves and for others.
Any other sort of peace quickly disappears whenever there is fear or jealousy or distrust of those who are different.
Today families all round the world will be getting together to celebrate, but the ideal held up to us of a happy family Christmas is often far from the truth. Christmas is often a time when family disagreements rise to the surface to spoil the festivities.
True peace within families is not an avoidance of anything controversial, it is an acceptance that our different opinions may be equally valid. And some of us may even be called today to be peace-makers.
So, our prayer today is for ourselves and for those we love, especially for those who do not yet know the peace of Christ; it is for the birthing of Jesus once again within the hearts and minds of all of us, so that we may all come to discern more and more the truth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in the midst of all the Christmas excitement.
So then, is Christmas just for children?
Is Christmas something that we grow out of, or is it something we grow into, year by year, as we give ourselves the time to contemplate the wonders of a world changed for ever with the birth of Jesus Christ.
Because a Christmas without Jesus at the centre is a fake Christmas.