Re-Imagining Christmas

December 24, 2009

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see —  I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

NRSV 

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? There are many to choose from. It’s a Wonderful Life. A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Story. Miracle on 34^th Street. How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Here’s one, though, I bet you didn’t think about.

What a popular movie. There have been three installments in the Shrek series. A fourth, Shrek, Forever After, is due out next summer. If this keeps that up, Shrek will be as popular as Rocky [and, like Rocky, Shrek will end up dying his hair, getting facelifts, etc.].

Why is it so popular? There have been similar themes before in movies—the ugly guy gets the beautiful girl theme—that haven’t had a fraction of the success. But there’s something special about this one.

What makes it so catchy is that, from top to bottom, it turns our assumptions about things upside down.

The green ogre wins the princess.

The beautiful princess takes love’s true form ... a green ogre.

The lowly donkey is the hero.

The fiery dragon is the lady.

The fairy tale outcasts are invited to the wedding celebration.

The wedding takes place in a swamp.

The smelly onion becomes the glorious coach.

Whenever we’re surprised like this, we like it. We get caught up in the story. We like to be swept away into a new world.

This is a reason we like Christmas.

Christmas is all about changing the way we perceive things. Like Shrek, Christmas turns our assumptions upside down.

The invisible God takes on human flesh.

The King is a baby.

The All-Powerful survives only by a mother’s milk.

The Lord of Lords needs a mother to change him.

The birthing room is an animal shed.

The attendants are smelly shepherds.

If God became flesh in the way we expected, then we’d take it all in stride. You know. Descend from heaven. Sit on a throne. Knock off our enemies. Give us what we want. The typical stuff a typical Messiah should deliver.

But we get none of that in Luke 2.

And because of that, we’re enthralled.

What’s going on?

What does God have up God’s sleeve?

What’s going to happen next?

Who is this child going to turn out to be? What’s he going to say and do?

It’s all a mystery to us. And the greatest question of all, as we take in this world-turned-upside-down scene is this:

WHY?

Why? Because the Christmas story is God’s shy invitation to us to see and relate to Him in a totally different way.

We think of God as the Unmoved Mover, the “Ancient of Days.” The nativity shows us that God is…a baby!

We think of God as the Judge. The nativity shows us that God is Love.

We think of God as aloof. The nativity shows that God wants to be with us so much that he lives among us.

We think of God as untouchable. The nativity shows that God wants to be handled and hugged.

We think of God as humorless. The nativity shows that God smiles and giggles.

We think of God as all-business, all-action. The nativity shows that God simply enjoys being in the cradle and looking at us through human eyes.

The Nativity points us to God as we’ve never seen God before.

Why, in a few years from tonight, guess what God’s going to be doing? Playing in mud puddles, feeling the cool, delightful squishiness of mud in his hands and between his toes. God will be staring with jaw-dropping awe as a beetle ambles its way across a dusty path. He will smell the aroma of fresh-baked bread, feel the grumbling in his stomach, and hungrily devour every crumb. He’ll skin a knee, cry, and feel how good it is to be held by a momma who says everything’s going to be all right. He’ll play in the streets with his buddies, pushing and shoving and jumping and laughing. He’ll sit with reverent awe in the synagogue and temple. He’ll marvel at how his body is changing. He’ll feel the stirrings in his heart for that mysterious segment of the human population called girls, and glance their way every so often.

Tonight begins God’s experiencing life fully, totally, completely.

Tonight begins us seeing God in a new way.

In the book, The Shack, God says, “I am more attuned to verbs than nouns.” That’s true. From now on, just as soon as he can, God is walking, running, dancing, laughing, crying, singing, whispering, eating and drinking among us. We can never go anywhere that God’s not already been. And that means we can never see anything the same way, any more.

Shrek is a cartoon. A fairy tale about fairy tales.

But the Nativity is reality.

Something has happened that has changed things forever. Let the mystery of this upside-down story capture you. You don’t have to understand it—just enjoy it, and let it warm your heart.

These words from one of the fathers of the early church express it best:

Once more darkness is dispersed; once more the light is created…He who has no mother in heaven is now born without father on earth… He who is without flesh becomes incarnate; the Word puts on a body; the Invisible is seen; he whom no hand can touch is handled; the Timeless has a beginning; the Son of God becomes Son of Man--Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever.

--Gregory of Nazianzus

How appropriate, then, that we do something “upside down,” to honor the birth of the immortal God into mortal flesh.

The bread—the “body” of God… The juice—the “blood” of God.