Christmas Meditation

12/30/01

   Also on Christmas Eve, 2002 

Tonight I would like for you to focus your attention on some of the beautiful things in our sanctuary…items which are pointers to things we believe in and hold dear.

First, look at the stained glass windows.

The back four depict the life of Christ…his teaching…his healing…his resurrection….and the story of his ultimate ascension.

Now look at the four windows on the walls at the front of the sanctuary…two on each side.

These are the gospel writer windows…they represent the four individuals who recorded the events in the life of Christ.

There are so many meaningful things which are an integral part of our Christmas season…but the one we call the Savior, the Christ is the center of it all…and our windows point us to this one.

Now, if you will focus with me on the various plants which you see here at the front of the sanctuary.

The Christmas tree…the poinsettias…the garlands…remind us of a gift that’s easy to take for granted…the sheer gift of life itself.

For some mysterious, incomprehensible reason, you and I are.

We live and move.

We are conscious.

We have a heart beat. (feel your pulse)

We have emotions. We laugh, we cry, we love.

We have been given this gift of life by the Creator.

The living plants in our sanctuary, remind us of the gift of life.

Furthermore, all the greens and reds remind us of the new life we have experienced in following Christ.

And the new life we have received  time and time again when our own resources have become exhausted.

There’s life all around us here in our sanctuary tonight.

Now, let’s look at the beautiful candles which are gracing the front of the sanctuary.

They remind us of so many important parts of our faith.

First they remind us of the love and warmth we need and which many of us experience in our families.

The love and warmth we need and which many of us receive from friends.

The candles remind us of the Star of Bethlehem.

And of course, the candles remind us of the babe in the manger, the one who was ultimately called the “Light of the world.”

One final word about the candles….they remind us of the unavoidable challenge given to us by Jesus when he said:

You are the light of the world.

 Let your light shine before others.

The candles remind us that we are to carry on Jesus work and ministry in the world.

There are lights all around us in here in the sanctuary tonight.

And of course, in the midst of all the greenery and lights, central here at the front of the sanctuary, stands the cross here on the communion table.

Among other things the cross reminds us that the babe in the manger ultimately drank deeply from the cup of pain and suffering.

And as we look at the cross we not only think of Christ and his pain…we’re also reminded of the pain and suffering which exist in our world today.

The pain we see in the faces of the homeless who wander our streets and stay in our shelters.

The pain we see in the faces of the families who lost loved ones down at Ground Zero.

The pain we see in the faces of the men, women and children in Afghanistan, in Israel and Palestine, in Iraq in central Africa and in so many parts of our world.

And the cross reminds us of our own pain and brokenness.

But the cross doesn’t just remind us about all the pain around us and within us.

In our Christian faith, it proclaims to us there is one who walks with us, who knows and understands, one who bore everything that we bear.

Look at the cross of Christ here on our communion table and think about its meaning.

And of course the symbols which actually capture the meaning of Christmas as much as anything else in our sanctuary, are the words and pictures on the Christmas banner gracing the wall behind me.

First, we look at the banner at the top left, and we are reminded of FAITH.

Look at the tree, the fruit and the roots.

Think about the roots which our FAITH provides us.

What would we do without FAITH.

And now to the next banner to the right…What would we do without HOPE?

That hope that burns within us when we run out of answers.

When we come to our dead ends.

That hope which is a spark within us when our hearts and souls have grown hard and cold.

Next, how could we live without LOVE?

We see that love in Mary and then we see it comprehensively in Jesus….love lived completely.

How could we possibly live without it?

Finally, as we look at the banner, we’re reminded of JOY.

What would we do without God-given JOY?

(Smiles…minister’s smiling…false smiles…real smiles…there’s another kind of smile…it’s a very deep one…it’s the smile that God has given to each of us…the smile, the JOY  on the face of our souls)

What would we do without that JOY?

So, let us bask in the glow of this season. It is beautiful and miraculous.

May we not deny the pain which exists around us and within us.

May each of us commit a part of our lives to try to do something about it.

And now and in the New Year, may we experience the  Faith, the Hope, the Love and the Joy as we never have before.

And the people said…AMEN