Christmas Day 2005: Open for Business

“Christmas day is different" people are fond of saying. It is certainly an important day in the life of most children who live in homes that have enough to buy presents to put under the tree. It is a day in which adults can allow themselves a moment to remember the traditions that have formed our experience of this day. There are many Christmas customs in this vast country -- a country that is populated by native peoples, those whose families settled in New England in the 1600’s, children of Africa whose ancestors came to this country against their will, and immigrants from every part of the world. In today’s America, Christmas is very much shaped by the cultural influences of our heritage.

The practice of my family, a mix of Polish and English ancestry, was to open presents on Christmas morning. We always gathered at my grandparents house, who though they had lived through and been formed by the Great Depression, went over-the-top with newly acquired wealth and bought more presents than were certainly necessary and more presents than I could ever match as a parent myself. Mine was an embarrassing wonderful bonanza of a Christmas morning experience and I recall those memories every year.

In time, a child’s perspective grows into seeing the other side of this day and is not so reliant on buying and gifting. There is a strong pull and awareness of thinking about and praying for those that work on this day, who have to be away from home, or who are in the hospital, in nursing homes, or who are serving in the military abroad in times of war. Regardless of where one stands on the current war in Iraq, our church has a tradition of praying for those who serve in the military and who are a world away from their families and children. We can offer up our thoughts of and prayers for the thousands of survivors of the gulf hurricanes who find themselves uprooted in other cities and separated from their homes.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with an Anglican bishop from Tanzania. We shared stories about our traditions at Christmas. He told me that Christmas Eve services in his country are sparcely attended, while Christmas Day services are flooded with people. The reason being is that out in the countryside and even in the sprawling cities, many people are too frightened to travel far from their homes at night. They wait for the light of day to venture outside to walk to church.

An anonymous writer wrote the following words that for me capture the "otherness" of this day. “This day is an island of calm in our stormy year. The pursuits and squabbles of every day yield to the good cheer of this day. Even nations at war have managed to call a halt to the deadly dealings for this day. Today is Christmas day. On this one day of the year, heaven and earth are one.”

There has been a lot written in the press over these weeks about how some of the largest so-called mega-churches in America are closed for worship today. With all the talk in some church circles about whether stores should be boycotted if they wish their customers “Happy Holidays” in lieu of “Merry Christmas” it is somewhat surprising that so many are canceling Christmas Day services because for the first time in eleven years it falls on a Sunday. Professor Ben Witherington III of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky was quoted in a newspaper saying: "If Christianity is an evangelistic religion, then what kind of message is this sending to the larger culture? That worship is an optional extra?" It is certainly good to know that the Episcopal Church is clearly open for business on this Christmas Day.

Not only are we open to do God’s business, we also need this church service and communion on Christmas day to reassure us that what took place last night -- the magic of the light in the darkness, the stillness -- is in fact real. Today is like waking up and finding that the dream is in fact reality. Our celebration today is the church's way of doing what we often do when we have to come to a big conclusion or grapple with a pesky problem. What is the advice we are given? Sleep on it. Well, we did. The earth took last night, heard the message of God coming among us in the person of Christ, and we slept on it. And you know that today, the promise of last night is still here.

In Robert Fulghum’s book From Beginning to End: the Rituals of Our Lives, the author makes the point that if we can think of the sacraments as something God gives us to express God's love, then the rituals we keep and practice become our response to God's invitation. The rituals we keep are our part of the bargain. A wedding. A funeral. A coronation, ordination, graduation. A dance. A parade.

Traditionally, the birth of a child has been greeted with great excitement. People hovered around the expecting mother, other men stood with the worried father, and all rejoiced at the birth of a healthy baby. Especially in times when a healthy birth was not a guarantee. I remember the African ritual acted out in the movie Roots and in cartoon version in Lion King when newborn babies were thrust into the air -- naming them and giving them back to the gods from whence they came.

Fulghum writes that there has been in recent years a change in ritual practices around birth -- a substantial change: a lack of celebration. Compared to weddings and funerals, the rituals surrounding births are being diminished. The reasons vary. Young parents often live further away from extended family. They often have limited time off from work. They may not have found a religious community since their wedding -- often in the hometown of the bride and not where they now reside. Finally, many young parents are often overwhelmed by the change a new baby brings to ever think of a celebration.

In celebrating the birth of Christ so long ago, we celebrate our own birth. And new birth always brings about change. In his Christmas message to the Anglican Communion this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, writes how Jesus Christ “ arrives on earth as a human being who will change things simply by the completeness of his love. Jesus is dedicated to the will of the one he calls Father, the divine source of his own divine life. Never for a moment does he put any obstacle in the way of that ultimate, total outpouring of love that is the wellspring of his own life. He gives himself to this transforming purpose in every moment, whatever it costs. And the world changes - even the physical world: death is overcome and the material world reveals God's glory in its depths. So we are changed.”

What we celebrate on Christmas is how we are connected to God in ways we cannot shake. The incarnation is more than God getting underneath our skin -- to urge us to be and do good – as if God is like Santa Claus concerned whether we’ve been naughty or nice. God takes on our skin, our flesh, and lives among us. This day is about much more than the warm nostalgia of the Christmases of yesterday and recalling the way things used to be. This celebration is about joy today and hope for tomorrow.