Readings for Christmas Eve (Section I):
This sermon was preached at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in San Rafael CA on Sunday December 24, 2017
“We come, as people have come all through the ages, to bring our own gifts to this Child, God’s gift to us.”
“This Child, God’s gift to us.” This Christ Child is God’s gift to us because he reveals most clearly that God is not some remote and judgmental deity waiting for us to make a mistake so that he can execute his harsh punishment. Rather, the Christ Child reveals God as someone who finds his deepest joy and delight in you and your beauty and your gifts. Let’s let that soak in for a moment. Christ reveals God as someone who finds his deepest joy and delight in you and your beauty and your gifts.
I love the song we just sang “Little Drummer Boy” because of the last few lines: “I played my drum for him / I played my best for him / Then he smiled at me / Pa rum pum pum pum / Me and my drum.” The gift of the Christ Child is the revelation that God is smiling right now because of you and your gifts. And God loves it when you play your drum, whatever that might be. When you play it for him, when you play your best for him, you bring tears of joy to God’s face.
The mystery that we celebrate on Christmas is what theologians call the “Incarnation,” this idea that God has become incarnate, en-fleshed, embodied as a human being to be more fully with us and among us. The Incarnation is God’s way of saying, “I love you so much. I want to be physically in your presence. I want to watch you discover the gifts I have given you. And I want to be in the front row to watch you play your drum.”
If you read the Gospels, you will notice Jesus doing this: finding his deepest joy and delight in people like you and me. After he heals someone, he doesn’t say, “Good thing I was here to save the day” which he would be totally justified in saying. Instead, he smiles and says to the people whom he heals, “Wow! You are amazing! Your faith has made you well!” And when Jesus sees a crowd of hungry people, it is a gift from a young boy, carrying some barley loaves and fish, that ends up miraculously feeding the multitude. Jesus says, “You are the amazing ones! The kingdom of God is within you!” To all of his students and disciples and friends, he says, “You are the ones who are blessed! You are the light of the world! I want to be in your radiant presence.” When people bring Jesus gifts in the form of questions and even confrontations, he is overjoyed and in awe of their audacity and courage and authenticity. [I will admit that he had some pretty challenging things to say to people like me (the religious leaders of the day who were and still are very prone to misrepresenting God), but when it comes to everyone else, he is enamored.] Even when it comes to the Roman soldiers who nail him to the cross, he sees through their fear and confusion and beholds the beauty within them, so that even while he is being crucified, he prays, “Father, forgive them, they’re confused; they don’t know what they’re doing. These beautiful people don’t know what they’re doing.” And even when his closest friends betray him, deny him numerous times, leave him stranded to die, he comes back from the grave and says, “I still find my deepest joy in being with you. We have some work to do, but I still want to be with you. I want to help you unlock your gifts. I want to hear you play your drum and I want our friendship to continue and to grow. Do you want to be with me?” This is the disarming love of God revealed in Christ. This is the gift of the Christ Child: the revelation and the realization that God is smiling at us right now.
During this season of gift giving and receiving, remember God’s gift to you in the Christ Child, a gift that takes a lifetime or even an eternity to fully unwrap. Remember that God finds his deepest joy in you and your beauty and your gifts. And as you bask in your belovedness, ask yourself, what gifts will you bring to Christ this Christmas? What is the ‘drum’ upon which you will play?
Maybe it is serving the poor or standing up for the oppressed or feeding the hungry (as this church will do in January when we pack 10,000 meals with Rise Against Hunger). Maybe it is organizing a Toy Drive for low-income families. Maybe it is writing poetry or painting or dancing or cooking or gardening or farming or studying or singing or reading Scripture aloud as a lector in church or serving on the Altar Guild or the Bishop’s Committee. Maybe your way of playing your drum is literally playing a drum. We could use a drummer in our worship band.
Part of the reason this church exists is to provide a safe space for people like you and me to discover and share our unique, God-given gifts, to play our drum. Our gifts don’t have to be as shiny as gold or as aromatic as frankincense or as soothing as myrrh. As long as they are honest and grounded in love, God will smile at us.
So again, I ask, what gifts will you bring to Christ this Christmas season and this new year? What is the ‘drum’ upon which you will play? The Incarnation is about God going to great lengths to be with you, to play with you, to help you unlock your gifts and to sit in the front row, beaming with pride and joy as you play your drum. Whatever that might be, please know that you are bringing tears of joy to God’s face. Amen.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 