by Bishop Bill Gohl
The Christmas message fills the airwaves and bookstores. The Christmas message is a gospel of salvation: salvation by good will, by family tradition, by Baby Jesus. Salvation by good will is the gospel of Santa Claus, Scrooge, the Grinch and countless others. Salvation by family tradition shows up in magazine stories and on TV specials: characters who are sad, lonely or exhausted as the holiday approaches, and are tempted to skip the whole business, suddenly find the resources or the inspiration to decorate, bake and wrap. Joy returns. Or a family whose holiday is nearly ruined by some disaster manages to celebrate after all and finds new meaning in the experience. Salvation by Baby Jesus is a specialty of Sunday school stories and Christmas pageant scripts, in which a lost and lonely individual (angel, star, shepherd boy or little animal) feels left out and worthless until, through an encounter with the Christ Child, the character's self-esteem is wondrously restored and the whole world flooded with radiant blessing.
This week, I find myself praying for each of our rostered ministers who will mount the pulpit, surrounded by the familiar story, "In those days a decree went out," and "The Word became flesh and lived among us full of grace and truth;" supported by the ancient noels of generations; bathed in hopeful candlelight. I pray that each will find their voice to tell the Gospel, the good news, for a time such as this:
By the mystery of the Incarnation, united with God’s whole creation, Jesus comes revealing the truth about who God is – God is Love. In the manger, God reveals that every human being has dignity, value and worth; including the stranger, the refugee, the poor, the outcast, the imprisoned, the suffering, and the dying. In God’s humanity, Jesus delivers us from sin and death; he came to make all things new; to bring about the new creation. In sending the Son, God gives us the power to become children of God!
When we gather in our communities of faith in just a few days, we will contradict the values of the world once again. We will not gather around a powerful emperor or a mighty army; we will stoop low and worship the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, the One announced by the angel as the Savior, who is Christ and Lord. We worship Jesus who gives meaning to our lives, who offers new life and salvation.
In becoming human, Jesus has brought eternity to us and so we live as a people of hope. In the midst of so much anxiety and despair in our world, may we be witnesses of such a hope; and rise again to our high calling to embody and share such a hope with the world.
They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. – Luke 2:16-20