[Propertalk] Christmas Eve

Fri Dec 23 19:56:06 EST 2011

This is still being edited. Although it's presentation is but a little 
more than 24 hours away, there's still time for lots of thoughts!

We'll see what review brings. I'll post my first draft of the Christmas 
Day sermon separately.

God's Peace!

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY       	         THE EVE OF THE 
NATIVITY OF CHRIST
ISAIAH 9:2-7	 	           		          	             	                24h 
DECEMBER, 2011
TITUS 2:11-14						           	                 PSALM 96
LUKE 2:1-20		

	“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of 
cloth and lying in a manger.”

	Familiar words – to us at any rate. The shepherds needed something to 
help them identify the child. They weren’t given a name of the baby. All 
they’d been told was that a Saviour had been born; that they shouldn’t 
fear anything; and that a sign would be given them to help them see this 
Saviour. On that basis these farm workers went in to the village – and 
found what they were looking for,

	In our own time and in our own way we too are looking for a sign – a 
sign that we’re not alone; a sign that nothing that distresses us will 
ultimately overwhelm us; a sign that we’re loved and respected. Yes, 
Jesus WAS born two thousand years ago. We believe that He was – and IS – 
God’s Messiah of forgiveness and renewal. We still need signs, though. 
We need reassurance that God cares about us.

	Most of you probably read the Democrat Herald’s article about the snowy 
owl which has been visiting us from Alaska. 1   I was lucky enough to 
spend about half an hour or so with him on a Monday morning two weeks 
ago, then some more last Monday.

	When I sent a photo to my priest friend in Fairbanks, his reply to me 
was interesting. He has a wonderful way with words and is usually very 
astute. He replied: “Geeemany. Stand close, but not too close, and say, 
‘Excuse me. Thank you for coming to visit us. What message do you bring 
from Our Father?’ (or words to that effect) But dont ask if you're not 
prepared to hear.” 2

	“Owls and the Myths and Legends surrounding them are fascinating, 
especially in the Native American and Alaskan Native beliefs. …

	“It is believed that when you find an owl feather, it is a gift from 
the Creator. To honor the Creator, … these feathers are used in prayers, 
and the spirit of these birds carry your prayers high to the heavens. 
Owl feathers are considered to be very strong medicine as the owl is a 
messenger and symbolizes both death and wisdom.

	“The use of owl feathers on a Dream catcher allows good dreams and 
thoughts to be carried to the Creator (to Heaven), while the bad ones 
disintegrate in the morning light.” 3

	The appearance of that owl midway through Advent brings a lot of 
symbolism for us to consider.

	First, no one was expecting it. It’s not unknown that a snowy owl shows 
up here, of course. A birder commented to me that it happens every four 
or five years. Still, this is unusual enough to stop to take note – and 
although I haven’t spent a lot of time on the east end of 47th, I’d bet 
that there’s be a steady procession of folk out there looking for it, 
then looking at it.

	Which leads to the second symbolic point. Folk pay attention. If 
something untoward happens, some people actually DO seem to mind, and to 
ask questions – about owls in general and visits of snowy owls in 
particular.

	Then there’s the point that snowy owls in particular have a connection 
with religious mythology, being right up there with Raven, somehow being 
associated with bringing a word from God to whomever has the sense and 
the patience to seek them out.

	Fourthly, there’s the whole aspect of being in awe of what’s happening 
in that particular field at this particular time. All the folk who 
assemble, with binoculars, and spotting scopes, and cameras, and so on, 
let their cars glide to a
quiet halt at the end of the street. Doors aren’t slammed. People talk 
in somewhat hushed tones, I suspect not just because they don’t want to 
scare or stress the owl. Something about that bird, that sign from God, 
speaks to us about the mystery of creation, and the way in which we’re 
drawn in to think about what’s going on and how we’ve been invited to be 
a part of it.

	And it’s amazing that all this should happen in the few days before 
Christmas, while we were singing, “O come, O come Emmanuel …” God still 
listens! And responds!

	Overseas – even 20 years ago – g-mail and Skype weren’t there for the 
various people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it’s common. My 
youngest daughter Elisabeth and her husband Charlie talked to each other 
what seemed like just about every day while he served in Iraq. I found 
this incredible. First because of what I assumed might be issues of 
secrecy and security, but secondly just because of the technology. Here 
were two people – among hundreds of thousands – supposedly torn apart, 
yet able to talk, occasionally even see one another, as if they were in 
the next room.

	I’ve never tried to pry about what may have sounded like somewhat 
mundane conversations. No doubt what Charlie and Elisabeth dealt with 
DID involve everyday things – what needed to be done by one or the 
other; what was troubling either or both of them; what excited them; 
when they might see each other again. I sure there were expressions of 
love … all of which were important to them.

	Multiply this by hundreds of thousands and you may begin to get an idea 
of what it’s like to feel separated and what folk do to try to eradicate 
or alleviate this isolation, to keep love, and hope, and trust alive – 
especially when newspaper and TV reports talk of all the ways in 
people’s lives are being twisted, and distorted, and torn apart – 
sometimes by apparently random acts, sometimes by other humans’ 
stupidity or cruelty.

	We humans NEED communication. We need to know what we can do for 
someone else, especially someone we love. Even if we can’t see that 
special other, we like to imagine what she or he is doing, or reading, 
or listening to. And we need a response – as often as possible – to know 
that we haven’t misunderstood what the other said, or wanted, or needed.

	That’s the way we’ve developed. God knows how much we need this, and 
God has ALWAYS understood us, especially when we’ve been lonely, or 
unappreciated, or when we’ve taken a certain route, made a particular 
choice in life, that’s dangerous. God knows just as surely that we need 
this contact, this conversation, when we’re happy too, when we need to 
share when things seem so incredibly right and filled with joy.

	The good news – the wonderful news – is that God still listens! And God 
still responds!

	If we couch this in religious or spiritual terms this conversation is 
prayer – sometimes the most intimate, heart-wrenching discussions 
between humans, AND between humans and God.

	And God still hears; God still answers!

	This is what ALL of us need to hear once again. No matter how often we 
may have heard it in the past; no matter how seldom or how often we 
participate in religious gatherings, every last one of us longs to hear 
the story of how God came to earth in historical memory to demonstrate 
love, to renew our hope. God became so vulnerable – born to a poor, 
teenage mother. God embraced the cold, and the hunger and everything 
which would make Him appear weak. He entered an occupied country where 
people could follow their dreams only with great difficulty. God became 
human when God could have stood far away – and possibly sent a couple of 
messengers to take care of the problems and the dangers people faced.

	God drew even shepherds from the bottom of the social pecking order, 
and spoke to everyone without exception, talking about love, and honour, 
and compassion. Author and magazine editor Jim Wallis remarked, “In 
Jesus Christ, God hits the streets.”

	The joy we share this Christmas season is that God came for 100% of the 
human race. Now the message that we have to take is that God still gives 
is signs of this love which we have to share so that all may find 
something about which to have hope.

	Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire wrote that “Every year, this is 
my Christmas present to myself: to spend Christmas Eve with the women of 
New Hampshire State Prison for Women.” 4

	Three days after his election he received a letter from an inmate, 
describing how his being chosen to be the next Episcopal Bishop of the 
State that made her “believe that there is a community ‘out there’ who 
might love me, despite what I’ve done.”

	Gene Robinson met that woman, and many more, in his return to the 
facility. He said that part of the reason he’s drawn there, and looks 
forward to going there, is because in being there he feels 
extraordinarily close to Jesus, behaving as Jesus did, and, he said, the 
women feel drawn to understand God’s love in action through one of 
Jesus’ followers.

	“Most of these women will not know which of their relatives or friends 
are caring for their children that night. They will not be putting toys 
under the tree, or tucking their children into bed in eager anticipation 
of Santa’s visit. .. So when the tender story of a Mother and Child is 
read, they begin to weep. … The prayers are not recitations of beautiful 
words, but … mothers’ pleas to watch over their children, especially on 
this night. … They are human pleas to the God of all that is.”

	To the shepherds in the fields, and the folk gathered around that 
village, God gave a sign of love that renewed their hope, that told them 
that they weren’t forgotten and called everyone to accept the 
responsibility of being compassionate towards one another.

		The Good News – the wonderful news – is that God still listens! God 
still responds! That’s probably why each of us is drawn here tonight. 
The Good News is that God has never stopped sending us signs of the Love 
made human in Jesus. And that snowy owl, sitting out in a grassy field, 
surrounded by sheep, may well be another sign. So maybe my friend Scott 
is right. Maybe we should only come close to the manger, close to that 
owl, maybe we should only ask what message they bring from Our Father if 
we’re prepared to hear once again that the message is intensely personal 
– not only that God sends love to each of us; but also that God looks 
for a similar response from us.

	Jesus is here – look for Him.

NOTES:

1 	 
http://democratherald.com/news/local/snowy-owl-visits-valley/article_85efb66c-1f9c-11e1-b631-0019bb2963f4.html 
Tuesday, December 6, 2011

2	The Rev’d. Scott Fisher: The Episcopal Parish of St. Matthew, 
Fairbanks, Alaska.

3	Owls are Messengers in Native American and Alaskan Native Beliefs 
http://www.squidoo.com/owls-facts-myths-and-superstitions

Robert P Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban
PO Box 1556
Albany OR  97321   541-921-1076 (cell)