The Very Rev. William Thomas Deneke, rector> Scripture for the day
Delane, Haitian projects manager for Food for the Poor and a friend I have gotten to know on trips to Haiti, had returned to her hotel in Cap-Haitien after visiting a poor village in the middle of a swamp. The village was so poor that rather than attend school, boys spent each day combing the dirty swamp water for tiny crabs that would be added to a weak soup for their supper. Even though the sun was fading, Delane had a sense that she needed to go back to the village that evening. She and a fellow worker drove to the village and began to walk along the paths built on islands in the swamp, islands created by mounds of garbage. They came to a hut. Able to see through the stick walls, they saw a woman inside placing a frying pan over a charcoal fire. It was suppertime. Only, the frying pan was empty.
As darkness began to fall, Delane and her companion knocked on the door. The woman welcomed them and explained that she had no food. She had prayed that God would provide her with food for a meal and placed the pan on the stove in faith that God would respond. And God did. Delane made sure the woman had something to eat.
Christmas is a story of discovery. A story about discovering light in the midst of darkness. About discovering wonder, hope and love.
Here is another Christmas story. Maybe you’ve heard this one.
In 1914 on a World War I battlefield in Flanders, German, French and British troops faced one another on Christmas Eve. A young German soldier began to sing “Silent Night” and others joined in. When they had finished, the British and French responded with other Christmas carols.
Eventually, the men from both sides left their trenches and met in the middle. They shook hands, exchanged gifts, and shared pictures of their families. Informal soccer games began in what had been "no-man's-land." And a joint service was held to bury the dead of both sides.
The generals, of course, were not pleased with these events. Men who have come to know each other's names and seen each other's families are much less likely to want to kill each other. War seems to require a nameless, faceless enemy.
So, following that magical night the men on both sides spent a few days simply firing aimlessly into the sky. Then the war was back in earnest and continued for three more bloody years. Yet the story of that Christmas Eve lingered - a night when the angels really did sing of peace on earth.
There are so many wonderful Christmas stories. Stories of hope. Stories of wonder. Stories of love.
Throughout the days of Advent we were reminded of how important it is to be ready to receive the gifts of God. Be prepared; be ready. In the twelve-day season of Christmas we embrace the wonder, feast on grace and sing with joy. Then the work begins.
Listen to a Christmas prayer by Howard Thurman:
When the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people
to make music in the heart.
Preparation, celebration, and the work of thanksgiving. This is the pattern of living out Christmas.
Consider again the story of Delane in Haiti. Delane was prepared to receive God’s gifts. She had grown up in a poor family and empathized with those in need. She had chosen a vocation of service to the poor and had worked in places around the world to this end. Delane was fervent in her faith, possessed a keen mind and considerable organizational ability. She was ready to be led by God’s Spirit.
That evening in Cap-Haitian Delane was prepared to hear a call to return to the village in the swamp and she was prepared to give as a Christ bearer.
The same was true for the woman with the empty skillet. Despite her dire circumstances, she clung to hope. She trusted in God as darkness descended. She was prepared to be filled with grace.
Then came that miracle moment when these two lives touched. Both women knew the Spirit of the Lord was upon them. And the celebration began. There was joy. There was gladness.
There followed the work of giving thanks, the work of Christmas. And since that night when Delane saw the woman standing before an empty frying pan, the village built in a swamp has been transformed. New homes are being built on dry land. Boys and girls are in school. New boats enable the fisherman to catch larger fish. In the center of the village is a stone tower that stores clean drinking water. And on its sides is written, “Hope”.
All of this is about Christmas. It is about opposing troops’ singing on a battlefield, having food in a frying pan, and learning to read rather than dig for crabs in polluted water. It is about discovering reconciliation in animosity, hope in emptiness and promise in despair. Christmas is about finding compassion, meaning and gratitude.
God comes to us not only in ancient stables but also in all sorts of unlikely places and not simply on Christmas day. We are asked only to be ready to behold Christ among us, calling us to be prepared, to celebrate with joy and to do the work of Christmas.
What a night of wonder this is! Heaven and earth have kissed each other. We celebrate with our hearts full to the brim with hope.
And when gratitude fills our being, when the spirit of Christmas opens us to God’s presence, and the star in the sky is gone, and the kings and princes are home, and the shepherds are back with their flocks, we will in gladness embrace the work of Christmas:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among the people,
To make music in the heart.
That is the call of such a night as this. Our hearts are born again into the fullness of grace and the work of Christmas. Glory to God in the highest and peace to all people on earth. Amen.
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