Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, Oregon
Christmas Sermon
December 24, 2007
Sarah Schurr
Good evening, and welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis. We are glad you have chosen to celebrate Christmas Eve with us. In this family service we will join together in dedicating young children in our community. And we will hear songs and stories about the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, celebrated all over the world at Christmas. This Christmas story, told and re-told every year, is a parable. It is not an account of historical facts, but it is a valuable story none the less. As a parable, it is a story that holds wisdom and meaning for those who listen.
I begin with a story. This story is in the form of a letter, written by Mary, the mother of Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth. For those who may not be up on your Bible stories, Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist and she was also Mary’s cousin.
This letter is dated January 15, 30 B.C.
Dear Elizabeth:
I miss you so much. How are you and Zechariah? And how is cute little John. Seeing him when he was newborn, he is such a smart little boy. I know he is just a baby, but such bright eyes he has! I am sure he will keep you very busy in years to come. You’ll always feel young with a son so full of energy.
So much has happened to Joseph and me since I saw you last, I don’t know where to begin. And I don’t know when I will be able to write to you again. I just have to tell someone and I know I can trust you to understand. Shortly after I left your home, Joseph got the notice that we needed to go the Bethlehem for the census and tax. I didn’t really look forward to making that kind of a trip, especially when I was pregnant. But we really had no choice. We took a donkey, and I rode him when I got tired. But the donkey got tired too, and the going was really slow. It took us a long time to get to Bethlehem from Nazareth. By the time we got there, no rooms were left in any of the inns. After such a long trip and then finding no room to stay and me being so uncomfortable…I just couldn’t stop crying. Poor Joseph, he was really tired too, and worried I think. He talked the owner of a small inn into letting us stay in his stable. It is not exactly clean. In fact it really smells. But it is very warm, from the animals, and it is shelter. And it is our little home these days.
I’ll never forget this place. I ended up having the baby in this warm and stinky stable the day after we arrived. I am so glad I was with you when John was born. The things I learned from your midwife helped me a lot. I didn’t have a midwife, just Joseph and some curious cattle. Joseph is a good carpenter, but he is no midwife. He tried to be strong and comforting, you know how he is, but I think he was making it up as he went along. He admitted later that he has never been so scared in his whole life. But I was lucky and the labor was not as long as some women have. We have a beautiful little boy. We don’t have a real bed here, in the stable, so I have him lying in a manger. His name is Jesus. He is so wonderful, Elizabeth. He has lots of beautiful curly black hair and he has bright eyes, like your little John. I know they will be friends when they get older. His hands are big. He will make a good carpenter like his father; that’s what Joseph says. I just can’t describe how much I love him. But you have a baby, so you understand what I mean. I want his life to be long and happy. I never want any harm to come to him.
The local people have been really nice to us. Last week a group of shepherds came through town. We shared the stable with them for a night. The women were very helpful with the baby and they say Jesus looks fine and healthy. And they gave us some skins to keep him warm. We spent the evening telling stories and singing songs. It was comforting to make friends so far from home. It has been so lonely for me going through all this without you and Joseph’s family.
But we are going to have to leave the country in the morning. Some important men from the east were in Bethlehem last night. There were traveling in this area watching some strange movements in the stars. They told us that King Herod has sent out a decree to have all the Jewish baby boys killed. Herod must really be afraid of us to do such a terrible thing. The men from the east warned us to leave the country with Jesus as soon as we can travel. They gave us some gold, frankincense and myrrh for the trip because we are out of money. I really don’t know what we would have done without their help. Joseph says we should try to get to Egypt and stay there until it is safe to come home.
This has all been too much to deal with sometimes. Joseph and I have had it so hard, having to leave Nazareth and having the baby in a stable and now threats from the king. And yet some things have been so lucky, with Jesus being so healthy, and the kindness’ we have had from people here. I don’t know what is in our future. But I have to think about Jesus. Taking care of him my first priority, even if it means having to run away to Egypt. You know, when I was pregnant with Jesus I had these dreams. I saw angels in my dreams telling me that my baby was special and would change the world. I thought they were just the crazy dreams of a pregnant woman, but I can’t seem to forget them. When I feel too frightened and think I just can’t go on, I try to think of these dreams and I think that raising this boy is a great responsibility that I have been given. Somehow, that gives me strength.
Take care of your son too, Elizabeth. I can’t wait for the day when we can be together again. Our little boys can play and we can walk and talk, just like we always have. Until then I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us in yours.
Love, Mary
I think about Mary a lot at Christmas time. Not the Mary that you see in the cathedral statues, the queen of heaven with a crown and flowing robes. I think about the young Jewish girl, having a baby. Young as she likely was, I think that Mary must have been quite a woman. After all, Jesus was a great man and great men don’t come from just anywhere. Great men often credit great mothers with helping make them who they are. One of my classmates at Marylhurst did her thesis on how Jesus and his teachings of love and justice were undoubtedly influenced by the presence of a strong and loving mother in his life.
But Mary, looking down at that tiny person in her arms so long ago…what must she have felt? The feelings we all feel when looking into the face of a new baby perhaps. Astonishment at just how tiny those fingers can be. Wondering if they can see us with their new little eyes. Cooing as a huge yawn fills their small face. We are in awe of the newborn, so very small and full of so much potential. We want desperately to keep them safe from all harm and yet know that is not in our power. These tiny people are so fragile and so powerful at the same time. They determine when and how long their parents sleep and no one dare make a loud noise when they are taking a nap.
I believe that all parents, including that young girl named Mary and her partner Joseph, have the very important opportunity to create great people. People who can save the world. We see those glimmers of promise in our children and we do our best to nurture their gifts. We encourage when we can and get out of the way when we should. We hear a child singing, and we expose them to music. We see a child’s wonderment in nature and we show them new plants and animals. We find a child crying and help them make sense out of a loss. Please know that when I talk about nurturing a child’s natural gifts, I am not talking about early career training. I am not talking about their future 9:00-5:00 occupation. I am talking about the making of messiahs. Helping create people who can heal an ailing world. The word messiah doesn’t mean son of God. It really means someone who has come to make things better.
And you know, it takes more than just mothers and fathers to make messiahs. At the risk of sounding cliché…it takes a village. Could you be that aunt or uncle who patiently sits through the beginning violin recital to nurture the spirit of music? Are you perhaps that grandparent who tells stories of the olden days to give children a sense of their place in history? Could you be the nice lady at coffee hour who always has a warm smile for each child, helping foster a feeling of love and acceptance in their religious home? Could you even be the oh–so important model of forgiveness when the new teenage driver next-door backs over your rosebushes while trying to navigate the driveway?
Mary looked down at her tiny child and saw the makings of a great man. With her love and care, and the love and care of others, she raised a messiah. She raised a man who brought words and deeds of love and justice to an ailing people. We, like Mary, can look at the children in our midst and see the future salvation of the world. All of us, we are all called upon to look into the eyes of the children in our community, to see the spark of the messiah inside of them. For in the making of a messiah we are also doing our part to save an ailing world.
The ancient story says that, an angel came to Mary to tell her she is pregnant with Jesus. Mary didn’t know what to make of this news but the angle said to her, "Fear not, for you have the grace of God". Mary had a tremendous job to do, to raise her messiah. May we experience grace as well, as we raise the messiahs all around us. As we help create people who can help to save the world.