Christmas 2009 - a meditation homily
I want to reflect with you today about the Christmas story of Jesus becoming one like us in the flesh, and how people were affected by this epic event. In doing so, I hope to illustrate how art can take us deeper and spiritually into the experience of God. To begin, I’ll invite you to close your eyes and use your inner eye: your imagination. We’re at the front of the Angel Tree at Met Museum of Art in NY, an example of Renaissance art about the Incarnation. The angels on the tree are surrounded by candle-light: it shines on faces like the work of Dutch Master painters. There are angels all over the tree, just as the Scriptures tell us. Can you see their faces, as heaven comes to you on earth? Can you feel their presence, their warmth? Can you receive their joy as YOUR joy?
The manger scene tells the story of God’s undying love for you and me: it’s about giving and receiving both being good. You see Mary, Baby Jesus, Joseph. As you see Jesus’ face, take a moment to thank Jesus coming to earth like one of us. Next you see the sheep and shepherds, just as the Scriptures tell us, and also you see kings on camels and other leaders on elephants. So far, everything looks and sounds pretty much like the story we’ve heard and told for Christmas & Epiphany.

But now move with me as we walk around the right side of the tree, and we start to pick up where the Scripture ends. And what we notice right off is LOTS of people for whom this Christmas event is important with lasting meaning: we start to see us! WE are the humanity for whom Jesus, God’s Chosen One, came to earth. First, there are families, so take a moment and see at least 1 member of your family, gathered around this beautiful angel tree. Next, there are friends and acquaintances: so picture yourself with 1 person with whom you enjoy spending time. Then there are neighbors: some are awake and some are taking a nap; some are working and some are just relaxing. Take a moment and picture yourself next to one of your neighbors, especially one whom you know honors the birth of Jesus.

And because the actual display of the manger was popularized by St. Francis of Assisi, of course the rest of the animal kingdom is there, too: you see a cat and a dog’s face lit up nicely by the angel. When we bless the animals each year here at St. Joseph, we get scores of animals of varied shapes and sizes. If you have/have had a pet in the past you loved, you can picture you and your pet together at manger. But the creator of this Angel Tree has a divine sense of humor, too. All the way around to the right, there’s a monkey playing the cymbals, and one can’t look at the monkey without breaking into a smile. &over all this, The Prayer of St. Francis seems appropriate. Here is the text we use here at St. Joseph: “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and all creation is shouting for joy. Come dance in the forest, come play in the fields, and sing, sing to the glory of the Lord.” Jesus, who is the Glory of God, whose birthday we remember today, IS the reason for our celebration, and it’s for you and me and everybody that He came to earth, and comes to earth into our hearts. Now open your eyes!

Christmas comes each year because we need a reminder as a group, church, world: God chose to send Jesus to us in human form, and in doing so, being human is changed and transformed and uplifted and upgraded. We spend so much of our time watching and listening to reports about tragedy and infidelity and the low-life events, but it’s important for our spiritual well-being to remember that to be human, to be humble, and to be holy and grateful are good things. This feast is a time for us to soak up like sponges the Good News stories that parallel God’s Good News story in Jesus the Christ, stories like Meredith’s, who took her love for fresh live wreaths and made it prosper as a priority for people in her hometown, like our own Mary Catherine does for us. Or take the story of Al Wheeler, who in seeing people stressed out in the pre-Christmas rush, hands out candy canes to calm/soothe people.

Is it better to give or to receive? Meredith and Al get a lot of satisfaction out of giving to others: they understand giving allows them to be, to do and to see the world the way God does: our God is a giving God. Other stories are about the joy of receiving: as I was told by one woman with four children that the people of St. Joseph, in sharing food and gift cards and toys, have helped her catch her breath and live with dignity among her neighbors. Receiving allows us to feel some of what Mary and Joseph felt in welcoming Jesus into their lives: what a gift! So I suggest that the answer to the question “is it better to give or to receive?” is YES: both are good for us.

And in the sights /sounds/ joy of this Christmas feast, let us soak up Jesus: let us savor our Savior and love. For we know what comes next: When the song of the angels is stilled; When the star in the sky is gone; When the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, it is then that the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost; to heal the broken; to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among siblings, and to make music in the heart. Let the Eucharist that we receive tonight remind us that we are children of both time and eternity, and that our God is very close indeed. A Merry and a Holy Christmas to one and all. Father Chris Heller