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December 24, 2005

Fred Heard - Dec. 24-25

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Sermon 2005
Holy Trinity, Menlo Park

Father Fred Heard

I was at a holiday luncheon this week and one of those present asked us what our favorite Christmas present was of all time. One person said, “Oh that is really hard.” Others mentioned a bicycle or a special toy. It is funny that a particular incident will mark our memory and tag a gift as our all time favorite or a particular Christmas will bring memories back like, “Oh that was the Christmas that ---- someone died or that was the Christmas that someone was born or two people were married or engaged. Consensus was that probably the “all time favorite gift” would be something from childhood…unless perhaps someone can remember an engagement ring or something of that caliber. I was drawn back to the sixth grade when my folks had placed all the presents under the tree and when they weren’t around I opened every single one of them and re-wrapped them. Needless to say, I learned that part of Christmas is the mystery. On Christmas, I had to fake surprise—about every single present. Strange, though I remember almost every present to this day. When I was in government, I used to tell my staff that I wanted to know what was going on and that I only liked surprises at Christmas or on my birthday.

Christmas is a really big deal. I was reminded of that as I did chapel with our wee ones at Trinity school. I tried to talk about Advent and asked if they knew what season we were in. Several excitedly raised their hands and told me it was Christmas. I then talked about the seasons of the year and soon we would be in winter and then I told them the church had seasons and that Advent was the first season of the church year. I even covered the altar with a purple cloth. We talked about the colors of the church. We talked about gifts and that Jesus Christ was the great gift that God gives to each of us…and that Christmas awaits us after we plan and prepare during Advent. Last week, I went back and one little child remembered that it was Advent. I told them that this would be their last chapel before Christmas vacation and that we could now talk about Christmas. I suggested we sing “Away in a Manger.” We did that well and then they—by consensus—wanted to sing “Jingle Bells” and so we did. Then the head teacher suggested we close with “This Little Light of Mine.” The children told me they made gifts out of recycled materials and then they sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to me and then, one by one, they came up and wished me a Merry Christmas. That was a very special 2005 Christmas gift. Another came when I saw a little boy that morning walking across campus on his way to school. He was holding his Dad’s hand and he quite spontaneously reached up and took my hand too and we walked to the front door—the three of us—hand in hand …and then in chapel he made sure he sat next to me and our knees touched. That was special

I have a lot of very special Christmas memories as I know you do. I also think after living for more than 60 years—that I have reached a perspective about Christmas. There was a time when Christmas meant everything to me and there was always that awful let down after all the excitement and then nothing but the prospect of a very long and cold January. Well certainly, the birth of a son on December 30 and our daughters on January 14 and now a son-in-law on January 8 and the addition of Martin Luther King’s Birthday weekend have helped change my thoughts about January. But not far behind Christmas and our Epiphany season, comes Lent and Easter. And so you see, I have come to believe that the birth of our Savior is a beginning of a life that will lead to resurrection and God’s great gift to us of eternal life. That is really what Christmas is all about…and yet this is the most dangerous time of the year for suicides and domestic violence. And still we read on the greeting cards: “Peace on earth and good will to all.” There is war, there is sexual violence, there is hunger, there are homeless people, and there is corruption. Peace on earth? The story of Jesus’ birth is beautiful and it is sweet. It is also very simple and plain—no royal purple, no palace. In fact, taxes have displaced a family from their home. A poor family has to take shelter in a barn because there is no room in the inn. Common people have a great celebration. There is a murder plot to protect power. A family flees to protect their child. Many children are murdered. Gifts are offered by people who don’t know each other but they bring gifts because of a shared sense of hope. This is Christmas. This is Christmas in the real world. This is also the story of Jesus’ birth and it is how God chose to come to earth. God chose to anchor with humans as a human…without pomp.

This Christmas, let us remember that Jesus searched for peace by becoming a part of a world without peace. The headlines we read in 2005 are the same headlines Jesus lived. Our Christmas music is truly beautiful and often sentimental. Christmas however, is more than a sentimental journey. It is a reminder that God came with human skin to face human challenge so we might find peace in him.

God sent his son. He gave us scripture. He does not want us to tear ourselves apart over his teachings. God wants us to respect the value of other faiths. I believe God wants us to serve the poor and protect our environment. Scripture belongs to all and it must not be ceded to one over another…and what is important this Christmas is not whether one store says Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas but what is truly in your heart.

God’s blessing to his troubled children is “Peace on earth, goodwill to all.” Don’t just look for God’s grace in the twinkling lights and the sweet smiles of the children at Christmas. December 26 is coming…and so are March 1 and July 16 and October 20. Hear the bad news of the headlines and be reminded of His grace because he has lived with those same headlines…so that we will not be bound to them.

And so my brothers and sisters—what is the greatest gift of all? God has graciously accepted us as living members of his Son our Savior Jesus Christ…and that is the gift for all seasons and all ages. The Messiah has come! Merry Christmas.