Clergy are advised each
year not to deliver Christmas sermons that require thought,
because most people in every congregation simply want to
glow mindlessly in the complex emotions of the Day. I reject
this condescending advice. You are not brain dead. I assume
that you and I are functioning with heart and mind. So, do
bask in the Day’s feelings and, as well, adjust your
thinking caps!
Earlier this month PARADE
magazine interviewed a very talented, young, wealthy actor.
He reported that after one of his major successes, he
experienced a need to find authentic purpose for his life -
a purpose deeper and more fulfilling than vocational
success, wealth and fame.
Also recently, a New York
University student commented for a publication, “I don't
believe there is a person without religion; even if you're
an atheist, you search for meaning at the end of the day.”
This remark reflects a current proposal that human beings
are genetically predisposed to seek meaning or some version
of the Sacred.
The need for meaning and
purpose is quite clear among many younger people. Some have
been so brainwashed by fundamentalisms that their quest
concludes before it ever starts. For others, their searches
take them to a smorgasbord of invented philosophical,
psychological, and religious notions. Still others just
keep busy so that their deeper needs can be put on hold. Few
thinking folks bother with churches and synagogues,
because these establishments seem not to deal with life’s
big questions in a persuasive way; they seem to focus on
ceremonies, soup kitchens, odd language, and the like.
Moreover, the young people know that, if they want it, they
can usually get a ceremony from some religious functionary.
In the early 1960s I was in
my first ordained assignment at the Cathedral of St. John
the Divine in New York City. Before the Sunday 4 o’clock
Evensong, there was a weekly half-hour organ recital of
exceptional music. I was shocked and hurt when a young
couple sitting in front of me agreed that the recital was
the only thing worth attending. The young man said, “C’mon,
let’s get out of here.”
Today we celebrate the
birth of a Jewish baby named Joshua; the Greek rendering of
“Joshua” is “Jesus.” Each year one or more of the major news
magazines includes a report on Jesus, the Nativity, or
related matters. A December issue of TIME is
headlined “Secrets of the Nativity.” I honestly found no
secrets. The ambiguities cited were those that I had studied
as a college undergraduate in the 1950s and later as a
theological student. CNN has recently telecast “The Mystery
of Jesus” and “The Two Marys.” Of course, fundamentalists
reject such scholarly research. I, for one, am delighted
that such information is being provided!
After all the scrutiny of
Jesus and his birth, beneath the nostalgia and
sentimentality, what is left for you and me? I recall a
faithful New Testament professor’s words, “Jesus is the
God-given clue to life’s meaning.” Perhaps that is
sufficient. We have enough grasp of his ministry that we can
say to the young actor, If you want significant meaning
and purpose for your life, be guided by taking a look at
Jesus: his ministry that teaches tough love and
responsibility, his faithfulness to the Creator, his equal
regard for all people of good will, and his own profound
self-acceptance. Not a mythological creation, Joshua was
born at a particular time, in a particular place. Scriptural
portraits of Jesus suggest that he grew to personify the
Creator’s purposes and intentions for all humanity. He
attempted to simplify his own Jewish heritage, just as you
and I need to simplify the accumulation of regulations,
procedures, doctrines, and rituals that we clergy of all
religions inflict on our communities. We even need to
demystify many of the words used in this morning’s worship!
Will everyone be persuaded
about life’s meaning and purpose by exploring Jesus?
Certainly not. People who have a faith that there is no God,
people who trust that they can never know enough to be
convinced, individuals needing absolute clarity and
certainty, and, men and women already committed to - and
satisfied with - their own beliefs are among those who would
probably find the deeper meanings of Christmas irrelevant.
However, for those who celebrate Christmas with depth,
the Bethlehem baby signals a corrective event in human
history. I cannot resist proposing that another remedial act
of God is very much needed in our time. So, Merry
Christmas, but also a thoughtful, perhaps provocative,
Christmas!