Pastor Aaron's Christmas Poem

’Twas Christmas program evening
for my youngest son
my boys’ shoes, coats, and gloves were on–
A victory hard won

Program started at seven
That’s what I thought
According to the paper
from school Kyle brought

As we piled in my car
at six forty-five
In my pocket I felt
my phone come alive

The screen flashed a message
My eyes playing tricks?
Kyle’s teacher wrote me, saying:
“We started at six…

“Are you all still coming?”
the message concluded.
“What the heck” I thought, glumly
I was deluded.

“Yes” I quickly responded
“We’ll be there ASAP”
I felt so embarrassed
I wanted to nap.

By the time we arrived there
the program was over
Kyle asked me, “When do I sing?”
My heart sank even lower.

His teacher greeted us saying,
“You forgot I said six?
Yes, the sheet said seven but
I told you to fix.”

I couldn't remember her
ever saying that.
But she probably had
I forget stuff. That’s a fact.

The families waited for us
for nearly an hour.
Some parents looked at us with
expressions quite sour.

And so it happened once again
I was that guy
Who had’t remembered.
Had I even tried?

My mistake made us miss out
on a Christmas memory
I was completely bummed out
for days…at least three

My family forgave me
but I felt like a dunce
Can’t I do anything right…
Even just this once?

Add it to the list of things
that seem to go wrong.
My list of mistakes
is getting quite long.

Add that to the pile of junk
with which we’re dealing
Our world is angry, unequal,
so many need healing.

This Christmas I’ve been haunted
by feelings of pain
Celebrate Christ’s birth?
That sounds insane.

How can I be joyful
in a season like this?
I make so many mistakes
What else have I missed?

I am imperfect and trite,
forgetful, needy;
obtuse, self-absorbed,
and don’t forget greedy.

What is the good news
for people like me?
That God is one of us?
How can that even be?

I need so much more in a
divine being to worship.
God must be better than me
and certainly more hip.

I want to worship a God
with incredible powers
And yet is as beautiful
as fields of wildflowers.

But at Christmas we gather
and remember the day
that God was born among us
and lain in the hay.

The stench of the animals
Mary’s screams during birth
The darkness of the night…
few knew the babe’s worth.

The scene easily overlooked
by those seeking fame,
power and glory –
those who play the world’s game.

Mary was a pregnant
unmarried teenager.
Shunned and insulted
I’m willing to wager.

She’d said yes to the angel
but had much to lose.
“You’re pregnant!?!?” said Joe, adding
“The baby is whose?”

It is really quite strange
if you think about it.
The good news of Jesus
doesn’t seem to fit.

If God’s a king, a ruler,
omnipotent even.
Why, then, would God be born
behind an old inn?

To an unwed mother,
perfect though she be,
It’s still a scandal like what
you’d find on TV.

And yet on this Christmas
we gather once more
to admit our shortcomings
and beg for more…

More peace for this weary world,
more love to be shared
more forgiveness to take root
in hearts that are scared.

I guess Christmas is not about
gifts or perfection
or Santa Claus or cookies
or other confections.

Christmas means being honest
about our needs
for grace, truth, and love.
It’s a time to say please…

Please reveal yourself to us
again and once more,
In the places least expected
where none are adored;

Among the poor and forgotten
the weak and the lame
the outcast, neglected,
despised and ashamed.

In the times when I feel like
I can’t do much right
I give thanks and remember
the story of that night;

When you gave us your son
in a place unexpected.
He’d grow up only to find
that he’d be rejected.

When we feel lost and alone
Again show us grace
The grace that we find when we
gaze on Jesus’ face

Be it the baby in the manger
or the man on the cross,
Both remind us of your presence
when we feel lost.

Once more on this silent night
forgive us our sins
Remind us that life’s more
than competing for wins.

It’s a journey long and arduous,
paved with humble admissions
That we can’t do it alone
much less make good decisions.

If there’s a moral in this
  I guess it would be
Christmas is only good news
   for people like me
Who need Jesus’ forgiveness
  to be truly free.

Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Anticipating that the end of his life was near, John the Baptist sat in his prison cell and wondered if he had gotten it all wrong. Had he wasted his life? All those years spent announcing that the Messiah was coming…that the world would be turned on its head…that salvation was at hand; and what did he have to show for it?

John was convinced that in his lifetime he would witness the Messiah come and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. And it would look something like this: There would be trumpets blazing, the evil occupying government powers would be brought to their knees, the righteous and religious would inherit the earthly blessings, and God would walk on the earth, ruling with justice.

Sitting in the cold, dark prison cell, John’s attention turned to Jesus. He had put so much hope, faith and trust in Jesus of Nazareth. He recalled the day he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When Jesus came up out of the water hadn’t he heard the voice of the Lord say, “This is my Son, whom I love.” Maybe he misheard something that day, because as far as he could tell, Jesus was no Messiah.

After all, Jesus spent more time challenging the Hebrew people than the Roman government. Jesus was plain, ordinary, and physically unimpressive. He didn’t throw lightening bolts from his hands, he couldn’t fly, and he never even lifted a finger against anyone. Rather than lead God’s people in a fight against the oppressive, godless forces of oppression, he spent all his time eating and drinking with sinners, adulterers, lepers, tax collectors, and prostitutes.

John was aware of the healings and so-called “miracles” which Jesus performed. But even that was too mundane for John. He expected something more spectacular from God.

As a desperate measure at a desperate time, John sent his followers to ask, once and for all, if Jesus was actually the Messiah. Jesus’ reply was poignant. According to Jesus, John needed to stretch his imagination of what the presence and power of God looks like, because he was missing out on something important.

Here, today, two thousand years later, we too must stretch our imagination of what the presence and power of God looks like. Many of us, like John the Baptist, have a narrow understanding of who God is, what God does, and where we can experience God. In this season of Advent many of us are caught waiting for a God who fits nicely into our preconceived notions – a God who lives confined within a particular church building or a particular set of scripture passages.

In January of 2007, The Washington Post videotaped the reactions of commuters to the music of a violinist at a D.C. Metro (subway) stop. The overwhelming majority of the 1000+ commuters were too busy to stop. A few did, briefly, and some of those threw a couple of bills into the violin case of the street performer. No big deal, just an ordinary day on the Metro. Except it wasn't an ordinary day. The violinist wasn't just another street performer; he was Joshua Bell, one of the world's finest concert violinists, playing his multi-million dollar Stradivarius. Three days earlier he had filled Boston's Symphony Hall with people paying $100 for the cheap seats to hear him play similar pieces.

The question the Post author (Gene Weingarten) asks is: “If we can’t take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?”*

Just as how many of us have lost our ability to recognize great music anywhere outside of a concert hall; I also fear we have largely lost our ability to recognize God at work outside of the church.

Can we imagine that God is using us in our various roles as employee, parent, spouse, friend, citizen, and volunteer, to extend God's love, blessing, and steadfast care of all creation?

The possibility of missing out on God’s presence and activity might sound dire; but truthfully, it’s more of an invitation to recognize God’s presence so that we can share in the joy that surrounds it. Here’s how the Washington Post journalist captured this joy from in the Joshua Bell subway experiment. He writes,

“As it happens, exactly one person recognized Joshua Bell, and she didn't arrive until near the very end. For Stacy Furukawa, there was no doubt. She doesn't know much about classical music, but she had been in the audience three weeks earlier, at Bell's concert at the Library of Congress. And here he was, the international virtuoso, sawing away, begging for money. She had no idea what the heck was going on, but whatever it was, she wasn't about to miss it.

“Furukawa positioned herself 10 feet away from Bell, front row, center. She had a huge grin on her face. The grin, and Furukawa, remained planted in that spot until the end.”

John was driven to doubt and despair because he didn’t know what to look for. In order to see God at work within your family, job, friends, and community, you need to know what you’re looking for. On Sunday mornings we gather hopeful to experience Christ in a way that would help you identify God throughout the week. So that when you least expect it, you may see God at work in strange ways and in strange places, and that you would feel compelled drop everything, sit down, and smile until the end.

Jesus tells John that every Christian disciple is greater than John. Why? Because we have perceived in Jesus' "ordinary" actions of restoration the very hand of God at work to heal, redeem, and save –– something John almost missed completely.

I wish to leave you with a quote from poet W.H. Davies:

“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare. ”

Amen

* Read the original Washington Post article by clicking here.

11pm Christmas Eve – Luke 2:15-20

"Stop and Hear the Music" – Matthew 11:2-11