St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen & Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
December 25, 2018
Christmas Day
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-4
John 1:1-14
Christmas Light
Merry
Christmas, everyone!
Thanks
to the hard work and dedication and talent of many of our parishioners, we had
beautiful Christmas celebrations last night – a moving pageant presented by our
kids, and an over-the-top spectacular “Midnight” Mass, (at the more reasonable
hour of 10:00, of course!)
And,
now we’re back here this morning for out simpler but no less beautiful or
important Christmas Day service.
Merry
Christmas!
As
usual, I’m trying hard to stay in the
moment, but I’ll admit I’m looking forward to some slower and quieter days
ahead – and I hope you’ll get some time for peace and rest, too.
One
of the things I’ve been thinking about doing is catching a movie or two this
week – something I almost never get to do.
I
don’t even get to watch too many movies at home, partly because I tend to fall
asleep somewhere in the middle of the story!
But,
a couple of months ago, Sue and I finally got around to watching the
documentary called Won’t You Be My
Neighbor?
Have
any of you seen it?
You
can know for sure that it was really good because I was wide-awake through the
whole thing!
As
you may know, the movie is about Fred Rogers – better known to kids and parents
from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s as television’s “Mister Rogers.”
For
years, Mister Rogers and his small band of actors and puppets entertained kids
(and, probably at least some parents, too) with the simplest of ingredients.
They included a
very basic living room set, walking through a door, putting on a sweater,
lacing a pair of sneakers, singing songs, and, of course, what really captured
my imagination as a kid: a trolley that took us to the “Neighborhood of
Make-Believe” ruled by King Friday XIII.
I remember very
clearly the trolley and I remember the miniature model of Mister Rogers’ neighborhood
that we saw at the start of each show, but I can’t say that I consciously
remember the specific lessons that he taught on his program, though I bet they
sank into my head and the heads of lots of other kids back then.
Watching the
documentary I learned a lot more about Fred Rogers and his work.
I had known that
he was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, but I hadn’t realized
that he really saw his television work as his ministry – he never had a church
of his own – just the fake living room, the trolley, and the puppets.
I also learned that,
like all saints, he was not quite perfect.
He was a little
bit vain about his weight – proud that he maintained exactly the same weight
his entire adult life.
He also wasn’t
completely satisfied to be seen as only a TV personality for kids. Later on, he
tried to present programming for adults but it never really took off.
And, it’s true
that towards the end of his life he had trouble grappling with – making sense
of - some of the great tragedies of our time.
But, although I
hadn’t realized it when I was a kid, on his deceptively simple show Mister
Rogers was addressing some of the most difficult issues that any of us, young
or old, ever have to face, things like divorce, disaster, and death.
And, even after
his death, the kindness, the example, and the wisdom of Fred Rogers live on.
For example, when
disaster strikes, people often post on social media what he said to help kids
cope with tragedy: “My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will
always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of
disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing
that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in the world.”
In today’s Gospel
lesson, we heard the story of the first Christmas as told by John the
Evangelist.
The way John tells
the story, there’s no Mary and Joseph, no angels or shepherds, not even a
newborn baby placed in a feeding trough meant for animals.
No, John offers us
a cosmic Christmas – going all the way back to the beginning – to the Word that
was with God, the Word that was God.
And, because God
loves us so much, the Word entered the world in and through Jesus – the Word entered
the world as light – light shining in a deeply shadowed world – light that shines
far brighter than any shadow.
As I mentioned in
my sermon last night, I’ve been thinking a lot lately how hard life was for the
people we hear about in the gospels – living in a brutal empire with hazards
and hardship all around – and yet even in their time of deep shadows at least
some of these suffering people we hear about in the Bible saw the Light – and
then they spread that Light to others through their words and actions.
Christmas Light.
And, the truth is
that we also find ourselves living in a time of deep shadows, our own personal
shadows and the shadows covering our country and world – and, yet the Light of
Christ is still shining - I saw it
bright and clear last night and I see it this morning - and the Light of Christ
cannot be overcome, can never be extinguished.
But, as Teresa of
Avila said, today Christ has no body in the world but ours.
So you and I are
meant to shine that Christmas Light not just on December 24th and 25th, but all
year long.
In ways large and
small, we are meant to shine that Christmas Light into the deepest shadows of
life – to be the messengers of peace praised by the Prophet Isaiah – to be the
helpers looked for by Mister Rogers and his mother.
Yes, the Christmas
Light has been shining so bright last night and today in this beautiful place.
And, my Christmas prayer
is that, with God’s help, we’ll be like Fred Rogers, and use our simple gifts
of love and kindness all year long - to shine the Light of Christ into all of our
neighborhoods.
Merry Christmas, to
you all!
Amen.
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