Many Voices

One of the blessings of the Christmas Eve service is the singing of carols by so many voices.  But in another way, too, it takes a lot of voices to celebrate Christmas …

Many Voices

Luke 2:1-20  Matthew 2:1-12 

If we opened up my family’s mental scrapbook of memories and looked at the pages for Christmas of 1956, here’s what we might find:

• My grandmother Johnson would recall that it was my grandfather’s last Christmas, and that he loved the portable TV we all got him;
• My aunt Ginger would remember the Christmas episode of the TV program “Dragnet,” where the little Hispanic boy borrows the Baby Jesus from church to give him a ride in his new red wagon;
• My mom would remember the 3 long narrow packages leaned up against the fireplace which did, indeed, turn out to be three umbrellas;
• My dad would remember getting the most recent volume of The History of Naval Operations in World War II, by Samuel Eliot Morison, to add to his bookshelf;
• And I would remember getting several dolls, which I played with all day.

You couldn’t really catch the flavor of that December 25^th morning at 2509 Hastings without hearing all of those versions: it takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

The same thing is true in the Bible, of course.

• Matthew recalls the star in the East and the visit of the Magi; his telling of the story rests on signs and dreams – Joseph’s dream that tells him to take Mary as his wife, the Magi’s dream that tells them to go home without returning to Herod, and Joseph’s other dream that sends the Holy Family in exile to Egypt.
• Luke is careful to tell us the “back story” of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary and her trip to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. He recounts the appearance of the angels to the shepherds, and their journey to Bethlehem to see the child.
• John brings us majestic poetry that proclaims the eternal origin of Christ, and promises a light that the darkness shall not overcome.
• Mark is silent about the nativity; one has the sense that he was in such a rush to proclaim the Good News that he didn’t pause for any preliminaries. It takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

Around us in our own community, we hear greetings in many languages and many styles: Merry Christmas, God Jul (Swedish & Norwegian), Feliz Navidad (Spanish), Joyeaux Noel (French), Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian). We hear music that ranges from Bach to “Santa Baby” to “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Percy the Puny Poinsettia.” (I am not making these up!) Some of these tunes are to our taste, some are favorites, and some make us cringe and push another button on the car radio. But like the family album and the Bible stories, It takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

Because the Biblical accounts are relatively brief, writers, composers, and artists have long taken the opportunity to fill in the spaces – to create characters, events, and supporting narratives that broaden and deepen the familiar story. So every year we welcome Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, the Polar Express, and numerous elves, reindeer, snow people, and other extras into our homes and hearts. : It takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

Earlier this week we acknowledged the Longest Night of the year, and with it, the sorrows, disillusionment, and longings that many of us feel at some point during the holidays, and that some of us feel during the whole season. In the midst of cheerful songs, sentimental stories, parties, and gifts, it is often hard to make space for sadness and disappointment. It is well to remember that Christ came into the world to live as a human among us, and that gray moods are as much a part of human life as happy ones are. The voices of loneliness and suffering are as authentic a part of Christmas as are the voices of laughter. It takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

Every family, every community of faith, has language and traditions for celebrating Christmas, and it is easy to fall into thinking that one particular way is the only right one. But the truth is that the beauty and power of Christmas are only revealed when we expand our hearts and listen to the language and traditions used by our neighbors all around the world, and all around our own neighborhoods. The beauty and power of Christmas become alive in the world because we each add our own distinctive story to the family album and our own distinctive voice to the great chorus of praise. . It takes many voices to celebrate Christmas.

Amen.

Prayer for December 24, 2009

Almighty and everlasting God, creator of all things seen and unseen, hear now our silent prayers, as we open our hearts to you in the sacred quietness.

God of faith and hope, we bring before you our prayers for those we have named this morning – we especially remember … Bring to each of them the gifts of mercy and grace that are most needed, according to your wisdom and love.

Emmanuel – God with us – this week as we recall the story of your birth, we hear again that there was no room for your family at the Inn, and so we offer our prayer for all of your people who have been turned away because there was no room for them.

We pray, first, for those who have lost their homes to war, disaster, financial problems, or ill fortune, and who have become refugees in one way or another. We recognize their grief at what they have lost, and pray for your comfort and presence with them in their sorrow. We ask, also, for your presence with them as they build new lives and new homes, bringing them the gift of newness of life that we celebrate today.

We pray for those who are turned away because of their identity – their language, their race, their ethnic heritage, their religion, their sexual orientation, or their gender. Give us will and strength for the hard work of hospitality, for the gift of welcoming those who may discomfort and frighten us as well as those whose friendship is easily won. Open our eyes and hearts to the deeper truth of the identity we all share as your children, and let that truth prevent us from closing doors that you would hold open.

We pray for those who are turned away because of past feuds and conflicts, leaving wounds that are still raw and feelings that still run high. We ask you to bring patience and forbearance enough for small seeds of reconciliation to be planted. And then we ask for the strength and humility to nurture those seeds into words of confession, repentance, and forgiveness.

And we pray for ourselves, for all the ways that we feel there is no room for us – for our feelings, for our values, for our deepest yearnings. Refresh our self- knowledge and give us courage to use the gifts that you have bestowed upon us. And let the story of the birth in the stable remind us that our spirits can be reborn in any setting where we see your face.

All this we pray in the name of the one whose birth we celebrate tonight, and we pray together now in the words that he taught us ….