Sermon
January 1, 2006
First Sunday after Christmas
The Rev. Valerie Ann Hart
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Brentwood
Imagine what it would be like to always be winter.
Always winter, no spring, no summer, no autumn. Just winter all the time. Imagine
what that would be like.
Now living in California that might not sound so
bad, after all the hills are green in the winter, but if you grew up in the
Midwest or east coast you know what a “real” winter can be like, with snow and
sleet and ice and minus degree weather. But imagine even a California winter
that never ended. Day after day after day of clouds and rain and grey sky.
Think what it would be like if every day the sun came up late and set early.
All the time having it get up in the dark and have the sun set before you get
home from work. Always winter. All the time. No change. Always winter with no
hope of spring.
This probably sounds familiar for those of you who
have seen the movie Narnia or read the book it is based on, The Lion the
Witch and the Wardrobe. For those of you who are not familiar with the
story, let me give you a quick introduction.
In the story a family of children find themselves in
a land called Narnia. When they arrive it is winter. Not a California winter,
but a winter of cold and snow. They are told that in Narnia it is always winter
and never Christmas.
Always winter and never Christmas! Can you imagine
that! How horrible, especially for the children, and the child within each of
us. Always winter but never Christmas! Somehow that resonates in each of us as
something terrible.
But early in the narrative we are told, “Aslan is on
the move.” Aslan is the true king of Narnia. He is described as the son of the
Emperor Over the Sea. He is the spiritual foundation of Narnia. He is the
Christ of that world. When the children hear that Aslan is on the move, even
though they don’t yet know who he is, they feel a special thrill inside.
Once Aslan is on the move Christmas finally comes to
Narnia. Christmas brings hope to the land. The trees begin to bloom, the ice
melts, the sun comes out and the world warms. It is a time of joy. Light has
come into a dark world. It brings hope to the beings of that world who have
been enslaved by an evil witch.
But Christmas is not the end of the story; rather it
represents the beginning of a journey and a struggle to overcome the forces of
darkness. As the children travel this road and accept their part in the
struggle they become stronger and discover who they really are.
We are in the season of Christmas. For most people
Christmas day is an ending. It is the ending of a month of frantic activity.
Presents are bought and wrapped. Cookies are baked. Houses are decorated. Cards
are sent. Parties are attended. Carols are sung. People greet one another with “Merry
Christmas” and talk about the spirit of the holidays. Finally the culmination
of all this activity comes on December 25 with great celebrations. On December
26 the party is over. Everyone waits for Christmas next year.
But for us, for the church, Christmas day is just a
beginning. For us the season of Christmas is the 12 days following Christmas,
not the month before. Today we sing Christmas carols. Today we celebrate the
incarnation of Christ. Today we assert that it is still Christmas, even though our
neighbors have taken down their decorations this weekend. For us the season of
Christmas lasts until Epiphany, January 6, 12 days after Christmas. That’s
where the song The Twelve Days of Christmas comes from.
So, Christmas is a beginning just as it was a
beginning for the beings of Narnia. It is a beckon of hope in a dreary world.
It is a light in the darkness. It represents the beginning of the end of
winter.
We have all known times in our lives that were
filled with darkness, where it would seem that the darkness would overcome the
light. We have known times that we could call the “winters” of our lives.
Perhaps your life right now feels like you are caught in an endless winter. Our
times of darkness may be due to illness, or grief, or broken relationships, or
addiction, or job loss, or loneliness or just a feeling of darkness shrouding
our days. Sometimes things can feel hopeless, as if this difficult time, this
dark time, will go on forever.
Those are the times when we most need Christmas.
Christmas is the hope for a world in darkness. Christmas is the hope for a
person in darkness. In the Gospel today when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the
temple Simeon comes to them and says:
Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
According to your word;
For my eyes have seen
your salvation,
Which you have prepared in the presence of
all peoples,
A light for revelation
to the Gentiles
And for
glory to your people Israel.
For Simeon the encounter with Christ, even the baby in
his mother’s arms, is a source of hope. He can now rest at peace knowing that
salvation has come into the world. For us, the encounter with Christ is the
coming of Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of God making Godself know
through Christ – Emmanuel - God with us.
That is the gift of Christmas, that God is with us.
Just as Narnia began the healing process when Aslan came, so our lives begin
the healing, transforming process when Christ comes to us. Christ brings hope
and the promise that He walks with us.
But, as I said before, Christmas is a beginning, not
an end. Remember that for the children in Narnia Christmas was the beginning of
a struggle.
If you have struggled with addiction you may know
that moment when you reached bottom, when you realized that you couldn’t continue
living the life you were leading. Such a moment is a gift of grace; it is the
coming of Christmas; it is a coming of hope into a winter of hopelessness. It
is also the beginning of a long and often difficult journey toward health. But
looking back one realizes how much one has grown through that journey. One
realizes how much there was to learn about oneself. One realizes that they are
stronger now then they were before the journey began, just as it was for the
children in Narnia who could become strong and mature only by facing the
struggle at hand.
For me, Christmas came this past August. Most of you
know that I was quite ill this summer. Although it was summer, it felt like a
dark and long winter. But in August I was graced to be introduced to a doctor
who knew how to correctly diagnose and treat my illness. That was the beginning
of hope. That was the answer to prayer. That was Christmas to me. It was not an
end but a new beginning. It took time and hard work to heal, but in the process
I learned a great deal about myself and in many ways became even stronger than
before the journey began.
Now some of you may struggle with chronic diseases.
Where is the hope there? But Christmas can come into the winter of chronic
disease as well. It is that time, or times, when the Christ spirit visits you.
When you are touched by something that brings you hope. The hope is not
necessarily for physical healing, but a
hope for spiritual healing. It brings a sense of peace, regardless of one’s
circumstances, just like it brought peace to Simeon, an old man approaching
death who is given hope by his encounter with the baby Jesus.
Are you ready to step out of your personal winter?
Are you ready to begin an adventure that leads to spring and new life? It won’t
be easy. There will be inner battles to fight, there will be difficulties to
overcome, but there is also the opportunity to discover who you really are and
to become wiser and stronger than you ever imagined. Are you ready? Do you want
to start anew? Do you want the hope and joy that is possible? Are you ready to
step out into the unknown and leave the endless darkness of winter behind?
Christmas comes into our lives when we open our
hearts to receive Christ. It is that moment, or moments, when we think there is
no room in us, when we believe that our hearts have grown cold, yet a little
sliver of light sneaks in. We may be talking with someone and we feel cared
about and things do not look quite so dark. It may be when we have reached a
state of utter darkness and we cry out for help because realize that we have
totally failed on our own, and a peace steals its way into our hearts. It may
be when someone speaks to you of God, of hope, of new life. It may be when you
see a sunrise and suddenly feel hope again. It may be when you are graced to
find the right doctor to help you.
Like the sunrise that gradually brings light into
the world, like the melting snow that reveals the plants ready to sprout, like
the candle lit in a dark room, like the gentle movement of love in our hearts,
Christmas changes everything.
In our culture we see today, the first of January as
the beginning of a new year. We make resolutions and plans for the coming year
to be different. But we cannot make things different on our own. There is nothing
different about today than yesterday except a number on a calendar.
No, the time of change, the time of hope, is not the
New Year, but Christmas. It is the grace of Christmas, of Christ’s presence
with us, and within us, that brings the hope that things will be different,
that we are starting anew, that it will not always be winter.
May this New Year be one in which you carry
Christmas in your heart all year long. May it be a time where the light of
Christ fills you and gives you peace.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
