Christmas 1

December 30, 2007
Beth Marquart, Lay Preacher

Once upon a time in a land not so far away there was a prince who was very eager to marry a lovely maiden with whom he could share life and the future reign of his father’s kingdom.

Near his palace was a large city that the prince visited often when doing business on behalf of his father. One day, to reach a particular merchant, he had to go through a very poor part of town. As his coach made its way through the crowded, narrow streets, the prince gazed out of the carriage window and happened to catch the eye of a beautiful young woman, who smiled at him.

In the days that followed the prince found many reasons to return to that section of the city, and once he even had the good fortune to meet that young woman. Soon he began to feel that he was in love with her. But now he had a problem: how could he win her love?

Now, because he was a prince he could simply summon her to the palace, woo her, proposed marriage to her and hold the ceremony all in the same day -- But even a prince would like to know that the girl he marries loves him for who he is and not for what he is.

So, he decided to give up his royal robes and privileges, move into her neighborhood, and live as an impoverished peasant and hope to become acquainted with the beautiful young woman – he would take his time, becoming acquainted with the customs of her people, learn to speak her language, and, in due time, should good fortune be with him, he would introduce himself to the young woman in a natural way, as a member of her community.

And then, should she come to love him, he would ask for her hand in marriage – and this is what he did. And when she did come to love him, he revealed to her who he really was, the Prince of the Kingdom; the Prince of Peace.

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This loose paraphrase of the Story of the Prince was written by Sören Kierkegaard, a nineteenth century Danish theologian, to explain the meaning of the Incarnation, the word becoming flesh, that is, Christmas, to his children.

No traditional narrative here, filled with cattle, angels, sheep, shepherds and wise men. No sweet baby Jesus nestled snugly in his mother’s arms, with Joseph hovering protectively; no big star in the sky.

But it certainly sets the stage and acts as a clarion call, for the beginning of the story of the radical, life-changing, world-changing person of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the word become flesh.

This gift from God - of God’s own self - turned out to be profoundly Good News for anyone who has ever struggled in their daily life - anyone has ever encountered the darkness of their own soul - anyone who has felt a flash of anger hearing the phrase ‘collateral damage’ used to describe harm visited upon civilians - has had their heart broken at the sight of a mountain top removal site or awoke this morning with a hangover even though they promised themselves, their families that it would never happen again – Indeed, anyone who knows they are living a broken life in a broken world and has a desire to begin living with a renewed sense of hope rather than fear; forgiveness rather than judgment or is filled with a desire to confront injustice -- and turns with this awareness in relation to God and Christ; committing to a life lived within the story of the Good News in Jesus the Christ.

But what might that actually look like, living in the Good News, – our tendency being to start with what we believe God is like -- pretty much like ourselves -- and then overlaying these same beliefs on the teachings of the New Testament, onto Jesus himself.

We may believe God is basically a good guy who created a nice universe, a nice world, sending Jesus to remind us to play well with others according to the standard upheld in our kindergarten classrooms.

To do anything truly bad to one another or to the earth or to the universe; that following Jesus is an easy, natural path - we just get up in the morning and follow our instincts.

And we start with certain ideas about what God does and doesn’t like - I don’t know about you, but I find these are amazingly similar to my own points of view - and that God will smite those who are out of line and that Jesus will do the same by arguing them into a tongue-tied state.

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Well, I think that I - we - have it backward.

If Jesus is God the Son, God made flesh to dwell among us, then perhaps we shouldn’t start with ideas about what God is doing in the world and assign them to Jesus. --- Perhaps we need to start with what Jesus does in the world and understand that this is what God is doing.

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Jesus fed people who were hungry without checking into their backgrounds or spraying air freshener in their paths because they hadn’t bathed recently.

Jesus taught and healed without prejudice, although in the case of the Samaritan woman he had to be convinced to save her child.

He washes the feet of those he knew would betray him and spoke words of forgiveness and invitation with his last breaths; not qualifying those invitations with a “promise me you won’t do it again” or an “as long as you mean it this time.”

And he challenges, invites us, people like you and me, to mature into the fullness of his love by respecting and caring for all who come to the table armed with their own fears and foibles; welcoming them as our own flesh and blood; God’s flesh and blood -- full of grace and truth.

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Now if Jesus had limited himself to these sorts of truths, he probably wouldn’t have been much of a threat to anyone - many people are indiscriminate about the company they keep and there truly are those who treat their enemies in pretty much the same way they treat their families and friends -- they are probably among the Dennis Kucinich’s of the presidential candidates - or perhaps our own Mountain Party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2000 -- not necessarily elect able but raising their voices, calling attention to the ills of our world and offering alternatives: they make right decisions by the standards many of us uphold; hanging out with those who are somehow marginalized, in one way or another, by society.

And Jesus would have fit right in and he did even more: He insisted that God, the creator of the universe, behaved toward humanity just as he, Jesus, did. Jesus, acting with God’s power and might, was committed to bringing those from the margins to the center as the beloved children of God.

And this, this is what made Jesus a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

And God, well God in all mercy entrusted us – us! - with his beloved son. What was he thinking -our track record wasn’t great, it still isn’t; wars have always been fought that needn’t be; neighbor squabbles with neighbor;
the dismissive, ornery ways we treat family and friends --- interspersed by those elegant moments of light, truth and grace where we experience resurrection and the world is never the same –

And the power of God took shape in a single, extraordinary, human being and very creation itself found its purpose and meaning:

God arrived in God’s world in the form of he beloved, Jesus the Christ, who has been present among us ever since.

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God lit that star that attracted the wise men who happened to ask King Herod for directions. Fear was sparked; the word was made flesh full of grace and truth -- Jesus bearing that dangerously Good News of love and inclusion.

And if there was a postscript to Kierkegaard’s Story of the Prince, maybe it would go something like this:

The bride bore many children to the Prince, and they bore many, many more. The entire family, in the face of many great dangers, traveled the world as the King’s representatives. They welcomed one and all, spreading the news of their great love for one another and for all whom they met, gathering in the poor in body, mind and spirit even as they grappled with the tragic events in their own lives, including the death of the Prince.

And the bride, well, she never forgot who she was or the community from which she came. She struggled to know right from wrong, good from evil.

She grappled with soul-clutching doubt and tried to understand the circumstances of her life. She experienced dark nights, took some wrong turns and faithfully found her way back again and again to live gracefully in the forgiving love of the King and under the continuing protection of his son: her hope, her bridegroom, the Prince of Peace. Amen.