David's Christmas Sermon

Sermon for the International English Church
Christmas Day 2007

We interrupt this regular programming for a newsbreak. This is an important announcement. So, may I have your attention, please? There has been a child born this past night. It was in the early morning hours of 25 December. Eyewitnesses say that this is no ordinary birth. In spite of the humble surroundings there is a sense that something momentous and special has occurred. We are at present trying to sort out the story.

We have reported on the significance of the Roman census for weeks. We have reported that this census has brought difficulty and hardship to many. The lack of rooms in key cities of origin has left many without provision, particularly in the far corners of the Roman Empire. Judea is one such place. Our sources have found that towns such as Bethlehem, Jericho, and even Jerusalem have not been able to provide the needed hotels and inns for those registering according to the decree of Caesar Augustus.

If reports are to be believed, the mother of the child born is named Miriam. Our sources, religious in nature, have used the phrase “born in the fullness of time.” We have been unable to find a satisfactory explanation for the use of this language since there seems nothing unusual and nothing majestic about a story of a mother birthing a child under harsh conditions. We have found that her presence in Bethlehem was due to the registering of her betrothed. The man’s name is Persian is Yousef. The couple had humbly settled for a warm place of bedding in a stable below the guest quarters of a local inn.

Rumors are already circulating about this couple and their child. Some have made extraordinary claims and some are hinting at scandal and indiscretion. Shepherds, note the unreliable source, from the nearby countryside had been quoted as saying that they had seen a vision of angels bidding them to visit the child in Bethlehem and the vision of angels proclaimed this child the long awaited messiah or anointed one. At the same time, word reached our palace reporter that three visitors from Kashan in Persia had appeared in court with a most unsettling story for Herod. The Magi, or Persian wise men who study the stars, had noted that a King was about to be born. They had followed the long foretold wisdom of the stars. A special congruence of stars directed them to the capital of the Jews in Jerusalem. They inquired where such a child was to be born. Herod consulted Jewish scholars called scribes and encouraged the Magi to pursue their inquiry in Bethlehem. It is uncertain what Herod will do next but it seems, according to reliable and undisclosed sources that a new King is most unsettling to Herod and threatening to his reign.

On the scene in Bethlehem there are rumors. These rumors mostly come from connections arriving from Galilee. The child has been named Isa bar Yousef in the Persian. Some have derisively spoken of the child as Isa bar Miriam. They question the propriety of this birth, suggesting that the family is perhaps covering his illegitimacy. This seems to compromise the idea of a royal birth in the line of David. Further reporting is needed to clarify this issue.

As further news unfolds we will take newsbreaks to follow this general report. Of course, our reporters on the scene will keep you posted. This is David Wolfe signing off from the news desk. Have a good day.

Well that was some report. It sure kept my attention. Did it yours? The story in the New Testament is even better. You can see that this is one of the most amazing stories of the ages. Each Christmas we put ourselves in the place of the holy couple, the wise men, the shepherds, and sometimes even the manger animals. All the characters who surround the story as it is filled out in our legends are given voice to express their amazement and awe. It is the greatest story ever told. As Christians who come from many lands, north and south of the equator, we love to share this miraculous story. Each year we are asked to live into the story. Even if it were not surrounded by tradition and the transformation of the world with its good news it would draw us. We reenact this story without much bidding for it is unthinkable to live a life of Christian faith without celebrating what God has done for us.

Each of us gathered here lives in a land that is not our native home. The customs of home countries are foreign to many whom we deal with daily. We are called upon to adjust to a very different religious and holiday calendar. Unless you live in a neighborhood that is predominately Christian, your neighbors are going about their daily lives without recognition of this most special day where we celebrate the birth of a child whom we call “Immanuel- God with us.” We who live in Iran can draw upon our special experience of being in a culture that is not our own. Perhaps, we can empathize with this child who comes among us as savior. Perhaps, we can reflect upon this special Incarnation- the humbling of the Son of God whom men and women experience as the second person of the Trinity.

In the 17th Chapter of John we find Jesus praying for his disciples before giving himself over to the authorities. He says something in verse five that indicates his awareness of the glory that he gave up to come to earth. A colleague of mine in Oregon in the United States noted this scripture and began to wonder if Jesus had a sense of this “sending.” (I am indebted to Dan Cammack for his post,"The Word Became Flesh," in Barclay Press for November 28, 2007 where he asks the questions that help structure this sermon.) During this Advent season I have taken his reflection seriously. I ask you to join me in appreciating the sacrifice of our Jesus who came among us, humbling himself for our sake. We worship a God that cares about the creation.

What does it mean that God became flesh and dwelt among us? How can I personalize the impact of the incarnation and make sense of this most blessed of seasons? Some questions help.

First, did Jesus miss his home while he was here on earth?

Second, can Bethlehem shine any light on our understanding of being born again?

Finally, what does Christ becoming a child teach us about humility?

These are only a few of the questions that enrich our lives as we seek to live more fully into the Kingdom of God.

Our family calls the US home. My three children are right now gathered with my son in law and his family in Miami, Florida. We are away from our home and we miss Mexican American food, going to Little Havana Restaurant on Biscayne Blvd for a meal, traveling to the mountains of Virginia to cut our own Christmas tree, and visiting my brother in his home in Kansas. We miss our church family in Virginia.

I wonder if Jesus missed his home when he came to earth. Did he ever remember what home was like? Jesus prayed as an adult, “And now glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” Did Jesus remembered his native home? When I am tired or discouraged these rituals and customs from home beckon the loudest. The pizza with real tomatoes sauce with pepperonis on top, the turkey at Christmas with gravy and dressing all are missed when we think about our warm familiar traditions. The adventure of life even well lived in a foreign land are colored during these special holidays that Christians celebrate around the world. Did Jesus long for home during lonely moments?

When Jesus showed his love for us we often think of his crucifixion. Perhaps his birth, his incarnation also shows us his love for us through his sacrifice in coming to earth to dwell among us. He humbled himself so as to provide us with life abundantly; to bring us the good news that the angels proclaimed to the shepherds. Just as you and I miss our homeland I wonder if we have a special appreciation of how much Jesus gave to come among us as a stranger in a time and place that was full of strife and discord.

When a child comes into the world we hold our breath until we hear that first cry. Not only is crying one of the first signs of life, but a baby cries to communicate its distress and desires and when they get a little older it may be a shriek. I suspect Jesus cried when he came into the world.

I do not know anyone who remembers being a baby in arms but when we enter a new culture we often refer to the experience as one of culture shock. We may feel disoriented and at the mercy of colleagues and friends even to help us do the most mundane things. For those unsuspecting of this disorientation there also may be some crying.

Just think, when Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again, he knew what he was talking about. He had experienced birth for himself and knew what it was like to live as a child who must depend on others. Do we know what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of being born again or born from above? I wonder if in our way of thinking we have room to consider being born again as culture shock. Two Duke University Professors in America wrote a book they entitled, “Resident Aliens.” We truly are “resident aliens” when we give our lives over to Christ and are born anew into Christ’s fellowshipping community. Now our homeland is the Kingdom of God.

Finally, I want to come back to the theme of humility. I have been studying Farsi since February with a break to travel in the US last summer, talking about Iran. The most humbling endeavor here in Iran is not finding my way in the culture but make a fool of myself in Farsi. For many in the US who seek to serve in missions, travel is to Latin America. Their first task often is to learn Spanish or Portuguese. Henry Noewen tells of spending a year among the Indian people of South America. He published a journal of his experience entitled, “Gracias” and reflects upon this spiritual pilgrimage. Having left his academic position at Yale University he hoped to find a new place of service. He did not count on the difficulty and loneliness of fumbling over a language in which he did not have great dexterity. It was particularly a foreign experience because he had made his living in Europe and America at major universities by his talent in expressing the human condition as only a theologian can. Others find language study so humbling that to learn how to count and name ones colors is impossible to deal with. Often a missionary faces the stark reality of beginning life over. Many a person cannot deal with the fumbling attempts to master a new language and rely on the good will of the people of the land.

Christ truly humbled himself and dwelt among us. He chose to come not in a chariot of fire or with a sword as a conquering hero. He did not choose to live in a palace but to identify with the common person.

The Kingdom of God is not primarily for the proud and self-sufficient. As the prophet Micah put it, “He has showed you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Jesus modeled this for us and each year he asks us to be a part of this greatest story ever told.

I want to end with a story that a colleague, a fellow hospital chaplain, told recently. Let us call him Charles. Charles was carrying a pager in a major university hospital and took all the crisis calls for that day. His pager went off and Charles hurried to the floor where a family was huddled around the wheel chair of a very elderly man. Charles stopped at the nurse’s station and asked the particulars. He found out that the man’s wife had just died so he went to comfort. Charles compassion and training served the situation well for the family parted and let him enter into the life of this grieving elder.

The first thing the man said was, “I do not go to church.” There was a pause to see how this was accepted. It was a test and Charles passed the test. The old gentleman then began to tell his spiritual story. “I pray to God daily and often. But I have never learned the first name of God, have you?” The response was predictable, “No, I haven’t,” said Charles. The man in the wheel chair straightened himself and looked Charles straight in the eye. “So, I named him Sam. Yes, when I talk to God I address him as Mr. Sam God.” Charles was a little taken back. You do not learn the first name of God in seminary or in clinical training. Then it struck Charles, what a wonderful intimacy. A whole lifetime of friendship with his friend “Sam.” It would hold him well into the future. Charles reflected in a devotional piece for chaplains that he still remembers this elderly gentleman who taught him a lesson in intimacy. An intimacy with his friend, Mr. Sam God, no less.

We too are called in this season to travel to that stable in Bethlehem and to hold the hand of this child. (Remember to get permission from his mother since little Isa may be tired from too much attention from people like us). Could it be that we could look into his eyes and see into eternity? Could it be that we could carry his spirit with us more diligently in a world that pushes us to forget our walk in faith? Could it be that at the manger we can rest and celebrate the unfolding story of the birth of “Immanuel?”

I ask you to look upon the quiet and humble acts of the Holy Spirit at work in the world in that day and this day remember the special relationship we are called to with a living Christ. One who did not exploit his relationship with God but emptied himself to be born in human likeness.

Thank you God for this most wonderful revelation of your nature. May we this day live more deeply and humbly into the fellowship of Christ.

Amen.


David E. Wolfe
Tehran, Iran