Rector's Message - December 2008
Thus
every beast by some good spell
In the stable dark was glad to tell
Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,
The gifts they gave Emmanuel.
Dear Friends,
The Chancel Opera that Susan Bingham has written, which will be performed at our 4:00 service on Christmas Eve, has various animals talking about Jesus' birth. Its theme reminds me of the old carol, "The Friendly Beasts," in which all the animals talk about their gifts they gave "Jesus our brother, kind and good." The donkey gave his mother a ride to Bethlehem, the cow gave the manger and the hay to pillow his head, the sheep gave his wool for a blanket warm, and the dove a lullaby.
The fanciful verses of this carol can perhaps call us to approach Christmas differently this year. First, although there are no animals mentioned in the story of Jesus' birth in Luke's gospel (aside from the sheep being watched by the shepherds), there are a number of places in the New Testament where Jesus Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection are seen to be for the transformation of the whole of creation, not just human beings. While it may be trendy to have a "green" Christmas this year, it may also be a way of being faithful to the message of the gospel that Christ was born to save the whole world - animals, nature, and us.
Second, the animals in the carol give what they have. They do not rush around shopping like mad, driving themselves crazy. Perhaps this is the year to use our unsettled economy as an impetus to keep Christmas simple. We can give what we have by making simple gifts, regifting, or offering a service we can do for someone else. When we do shop, perhaps we can support a local craftsperson, give a Sudanese handicraft, or "give" one of the gifts from the New Hope "12 Days of Christmas."
Third, the carol reminds us that whimsy and fun are an integral part of Christmas. It's completely absurd that our transcendent God should become an infant in a manager. Yes, we can dress it in theology and mystery, but at the heart, don't you think that God smiled with joy at the incarnation?
The day before she was baptized, seven year old Nevada Scott was standing in the empty church singing "Christus natus est! Christus natus est!" She was singing her lines as the rooster in the chancel opera, with great glee. I asked her if she knew what she was saying. She didn't but was just happy to sing the words. I told her that it meant "Christ is born!" The rooster and the child may not know Latin but they know the joy. May we too share our gifts and our joy at Christmas, for Christus natus est!
Joyfully,
Maria