Christmas, 2010

LUKE 2:15-20
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS AFTER JOAN AND I WERE MARRIED, WE DECIDED TO SPEND WITH OUR PARENTS. MINE LIVED IN MONTANA AND HERS LIVED IN MARYLAND, SO THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS WE FLEW FROM MONTANA TO MARYLAND. JOAN'S PARENTS LET US KNOW THAT MAYBE THE NEXT YEAR WE SHOULD SPEND CHRISTMAS DAY WITH THEM. SO THE SECOND CHRISTMAS WE FLEW FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO MARYLAND WITH OUR NEW DAUGHTER, AND THEN FLEW TO MONTANA ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. MY MOTHER SAID IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT US BEING THERE. SO THE THIRD YEAR, WE DECIDED TO SPEND PART OF CHRISTMAS DAY WITH EACH SET OF PARENTS. WE LEFT MONTANA ABOUT TWO HOURS LATE, GOT INTO LAS VEGAS TO CHANGE PLANES, AND I REMEMBER RUNNING THROUGH THE AIRPORT WITH A LITTLE GIRL UNDER EACH ARM, AND JOAN RUNNING BEHIND ME WITH A LARGE BAG FULL OF DIAPERS AND BOTTLES AND TOYS. THAT WAS THE LAST CHRISTMAS WE SPENT WITH EITHER FAMILY. BABIES CHANGE LIVES.
THIS LAST YEAR GABRIEL AND JACK BECAME OUR SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH GRANDCHILDREN. GABRIEL'S FAMILY ALREADY HAD FIVE CHILDREN AND JACK'S HAD THREE, AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THERE WERE MIXED FEELINGS WHEN THEIR PARENTS LEARNED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY. TWO MORE YEARS AT LEAST, OF DIAPERS, OF GETTING UP AT NIGHT, OF VISITS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM, OF CRYING – AND AT LEAST TWO MORE YEARS BEFORE THEIR MOTHERS COULD RESUME THE PLANS THEY HAD PUT ASIDE TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN. AND OF COURSE, THE CONSTANT WORRY -- HOW ARE WE GOING TO AFFORD THIS? WHERE WILL WE PUT HIM? AND BABIES PUT STRESS ON A MARRIAGE. YOU DON'T THINK CLEARLY WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING A BABY OR WHEN YOU HAVE ONE. BABIES ALWAYS CHANGE LIVES.
TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO A TEENAGE GIRL FOUND HERSELF EXPECTING A CHILD, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES BY WHICH THAT CAME ABOUT WERE TOO UNBELIEVABLE TO TELL ANYONE. HER NEW HUSBAND WAS DEEPLY HURT, BUT BECAUSE HE LOVED HER, HE DECIDED TO DIVORCE HER AND PRETEND THAT THE CHILD WAS HIS, SO SHE WOULDN'T BE CONDEMNED. AND THEN HE HAD A DREAM. IT WASN'T EASY. THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LITTLE VILLAGE COULD SEE THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT AND SHE HADN'T EVEN MOVED OUT OF HER FATHER'S HOUSE. AND THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF OUR SAVIOUR AND HER DEVOTED HUSBAND WOULD GO THROUGH LIFE LOOKED DOWN UPON BY THEIR NEIGHBORS, WHO WOULD ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT THEIRS WAS A SHOTGUN MARRIAGE. BUT IN BETHLEHEM, IN A STABLE, A BABY WAS BORN, A BABY WHO CHANGED THEIR LIVES; AND GOD BROKE INTO OUR WORLD, AND ANGELS SANG IN THE HEAVENS AND SHEPHERDS CAME DOWN FROM THE HILLS TO WORSHIP THIS BABY; AND THE ANIMALS WHO SHARED THE STABLE LOOKED ON WITH DUMB WONDER AT THEIR CREATOR, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. AND THIS BABY CHANGED OUR LIVES, FOREVER.
IN THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, EVEN IF YOU AREN'T RELIGIOUS, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT THE WORLD IS CHANGED. THERE ARE LIGHTS EVERYWHERE – BRIGHT LIGHTS, LIGHTS ON TREES, INSIDE AND OUT; TINY LIGHTS DOING THEIR PART TO MELT AWAY THE DARKNESS. AND GREEN AND RED DOMINATE, EVEN IN THE STORES, AND EVERGREENS FILL OUR HOMES WITH A WOODSY SMELL. IN OUR HOMES WE SET UP THAT OLD MANGER SCENE THAT'S BEEN IN OUR FAMILY FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND THE ADVENT CANDLES SIT ON OUR MANTLE OR OUR DINING ROOM TABLE. AND HERE IN THE CHURCH, EVERYTHING IS CHANGED; THE SCENE IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR, THE FOREST OF FIR TREES AGAINST THE WALL, THE POINSETTIAS EVERYWHERE. AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE CELEBRATION OF A BABY'S BIRTH TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, SOME IMPULSE IN US CALLS FOR CHANGE; WE FEEL AN URGE TO CHANGE THE WORLD, BECAUSE THE BABY CHANGED THE WORLD.
BUT IT WILL SOON BE ALL OVER. A WEEK OR SO FROM NOW, EVERYTHING WILL BE PUT AWAY, THE WORLD WILL BE BACK LIKE IT WAS BEFORE, AND WE WILL SETTLE DOWN TO WAIT FOR SPRING AND MOST OF US WON'T REALLY BE CHANGED.
BUT A BABY IS MEANT TO CHANGE LIVES, AND THIS ONE IS NO EXCEPTION. HE WANTS TO DISRUPT OUR ROUTINE, HE WANTS TO SHAKE US UP. HE WANTS TO TURN A CHURCH FULL OF STRANGERS INTO A FAMILY, WHO SHARE EACH OTHERS' JOYS AND SORROWS, WHO CHEER EACH OTHER ON, WHO RUSH TO HELP FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE SUFFERING. HE WANTS YOU AND I TO BE HIS BROTHER AND SISTER, MOTHER AND FATHER; HE WANTS GENUINE AFFECTION TO FLOW FROM EACH OF US AS WE EXCHANGE SMILES AND KIND WORDS ON CHRISTMAS. BUT MOST OF ALL HE WANTS US TO GET TOGETHER EVERY WEEK TO SHARE IN THE BANQUET HE OFFERS, THE BANQUET OF HIS BODY AND BLOOD, THE FOOD HE GIVES US TO MAKE US A FAMILY, WITH A FATHER WHO LOOKS ON US WITH LOVE.
MY GRANDSON GABRIEL NOW TEN MONTHS OLD, IS THE HEART OF HIS FAMILY. HIS BROTHERS AND SISTER HOLD HIM AND PLAY WITH HIM; HIS MOTHER WATCHES HIM WITH JOY IN HER HEART AS HE DOES ALL THOSE SILLY THINGS THAT BABIES DO. HIS FATHER THROWS HIM IN THE AIR AND LAUGHS AS HE SQUEALS WITH DELIGHT. AND JACK, ONLY THREE MONTHS OLD, CAN'T DO MUCH YET, BUT HE SURE CAN SMILE, AND YOU SHOULD SEE HOW HARD HIS FAMILY WORKS TO GET THOSE SMILES. NEITHER FAMILY CAN EVEN IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT THEIR BABY. GABRIEL AND JACK CHANGED THINGS FOREVER IN THEIR FAMILIES. BABIES CHANGE LIVES.
REAL CHANGE IS HARD. NEW BABIES BRING SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND DIRTY DIAPERS AND OLDER SIBLINGS SOMETIMES SHOW A LITTLE JEALOUSY, AND EVERYONE HAS TO MAKE A LITTLE MORE ROOM AND A GIVE A LITTLE MORE TIME. BUT THE CHANGE IS SO WORTH IT. AND THIS CHRISTMAS, DON'T LET THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL. GIVE BIRTH TO THE CHRIST CHILD IN YOUR HEART AND LET HIM CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER. A BABY MAKES A FAMILY, A BABY MAKES A HOME, AND THIS CHURCH IS HIS HOME AND YOURS; THIS FAMILY IS HIS FAMILY AND YOURS.
I WATCH WHAT BABIES DO TO PEOPLE; HOW MUCH JOY THEY BRING; HOW GREAT THE REWARD FOR THE DISRUPTION IN THE LIVES OF THEIR PARENTS AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND I WONDER HOW MUCH YEAR AROUND JOY THE BABY JESUS WILL BRING TO EACH OF US IF WE LET HIM CHANGE US ON THIS CHRISTMAS DAY, CHANGE US INTO A FAMILY THAT GATHERS EVERY WEEK AROUND THE SUPPER TABLE TO BE TOGETHER FOR A SHORT TIME BEFORE GOING BACK OUT INTO THE WORLD. BECAUSE BABIES CHANGE LIVES, CHANGE THEM FOREVER.