Offered at Tualatin Presbyterian Church on December 1, 2024 (First Sunday of Advent)
So today I’m offering a brief reflection on the creche –
the scene we place before us during Advent to remind us
who is coming into our world, yet again – the Christ child.
The way we display it is often cute or tender –
I mean look at those little sheep?
Sometimes we even have a live baby we place in the manger –
which is really cool because that child can grow up
and put “played Baby Jesus” on their resume someday –
and who wouldn’t want to hire that person?
But let’s really take a look at the creche –
what it truly depicts if we’re being honest.
Our Savior was born to an unwed teenage mother
who’d been riding a donkey in the cold
led by a man who wasn’t, at least not officially, his dad.
Furthermore, said dad, or maybe it was mom,
forgot to make reservations ahead of time
so when they reached their destination
there was no room for them in the Inn.
Now maybe it was the Innkeeper’s fault –
it’s possible they guy overbooked himself,
… but being a decent human being,
and seeing a very pregnant young woman,
he shuffled his animals out of the way
so the blessed couple could rest for a while
out of the harsh night-time elements.
Now you don’t think the animals liked that very much, do you?
Animals generally don’t like it when a human baby comes into the mix.
I mean they’re first fiddle, or were, you know?
And then the adult humans have the audacity to place this ‘thing’
in their manger, their food trough?!
“What do you want us to do … eat the blessed child or what?!”
Alright, I hope your start in life was a little smoother than this.
For most of you it probably was.
But if you’ve lived long enough,
you may have had a Christmas like this one.
Probably it showed up a little different.
Probably there were no smelly animals,
maybe no unanticipated baby, or poorly planned road trip,
but undoubtedly, if you’ve lived through much life at all,
you’ve had a Christmas that didn’t quite live up to your expectations.
If this is so – and maybe especially if you’re currently
experiencing one of those occasions,
please take heart and know that you’re not alone.
It happened to the best of us, as in Jesus Christ
… and he lived through it.
What I’d like to point out, as a means of offering some hope,
is that there were a lot of miracles happening in this story we just read.
Obviously, the birth of the Christ Child, but all around him as well.
Like that Mother Mary said: “Let it be”
when she was told she was going to have a baby …
and for the life of her she probably couldn’t figure out
how that happened?!
And Joseph said “Yes” too.
I don’t think he knew how they’d gotten themselves
into this predicament either …
but nonetheless he agreed to take this pregnant young woman
all the way to Bethlehem and register them with the authorities
as husband and wife.
The miracles keep coming.
In angels who appear in the heavenly sky;
on earth as shepherds watching over sheep;
and even in domesticated animals (slightly domesticated)
who don’t eat the blessed child and thus give him
at least a small head’s start in this crazy world of ours.
That’s a lot of Good News!
Your personal world has a lot of good news as well.
If it’s easy for you to see that – fantastic.
Embrace it with thanksgiving and joy.
Appreciate it. Really notice it. Savor it.
If you are not seeing the blessings around you …
maybe because there truly aren’t very many this year,
then quiet yourself, dig deep within,
and ask the sweet Baby Jesus to show you the way,
to light your way so that you can at least
find a little bread for the next few steps of your journey.
Most of you know that I drove a 26-foot rental truck
full of all my worldly belongings
from San Francisco to Portland last week.
It was a journey.
I could regale you with stories for hours,
but this isn’t the ‘Lisa Show’ – thanks be to God.
I will tell you one, as a means of illustration:
When I filled the truck with gas for the first time,
I had trouble getting the gas to flow
so I went in and spoke with a woman
who was working inside the truck stop.
She was happy to come take a look,
and of course had no trouble getting it to work.
I smiled at her and said,
“See, I guess I just needed to call in an expert.”
She smiled broadly, blew the tip of her finger
(with her hand making the symbol of a gun),
and with a great flourish put it back in it’s fake holster on her hip.
We shared a great laugh.
I loved this so much that while I stood in the cold pumping my gas,
I decided to go buy a coffee from her to thank her one last time
(this says an extra lot as there was a good national brand coffee shop right next door).
She continued her good-naturedness by poking fun
at how much hair spray she’d put on that morning
and so the fun between us continued.
As I left to start the rest of my journey north,
I felt such a sweet sense of gratitude for the presence of angels on earth.
There are so many of them, … so many of us.
I invite you to take notice of this as much as you can.
Offer a simple kindness and they will appear in such a vast multitude.
This is a simple way to lift your spirits, while lifting others …
and even if it only holds its magic for a few moments,
it will still have been completely worth your efforts.
You know who holds us in the midst of all of this, don’t you?!
A little baby boy, who was blessed enough that
his mom said yes and
his dad said yes and
even the animals said, okay we won’t eat him.
That’s some good news indeed.
May this Advent season start off for each of you
with blessing upon blessing.
And just remember … if you’re not feeling it this year …
ask the little guy, ask the Christ Child for some help seeing His Way.
Amen.
