The Whole Story

Here he is; such a little one, with his parents tenderly caring for him, exotic visitors, angel chorus, and all...a greeting card scene, from long ago and far away...and not having much of anything to do with us at all, it seems to some.

And despite feeble protestations, that is the way lots of folks would like to keep it.

Some are at home yelling at kids to go to bed so that they might finish wrapping presents.

Others are having a too-loud party with too much alcohol involved.

Others are simply lonely at home, not willing or able to do something positive about it.

And some have come to the best party in town, right here in this gathering, having laid aside all of the preparations and presents, knowing that the best antidote for loneliness of all sorts is to be in this company, for some very particular reasons.

We have in front of us this evening a modern print that I brought back from Israel several years ago.

In gorgeous colors and designs, it details the days of creation, from the organizing breath of the Spirit over the waters to the creation of mankind, male and female in marriage.

I invite you to come and look at it closely.

It is the 7^th and final panel in this print that intrigues me the most.

The Sabbath, the 7^th day, the day when everything is completed, is shown as a table set with dishes ready and candles lit, ready for a feast.

All it needs are for the guests to come and sit down and enjoy it.

The completion of God's creative work has often been described in this way, notably by the prophet Isaiah:

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for his people a feast of rich food, of well-aged wines.

And the vision of Revelation reminds us: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

For some people, the end of things is oblivion, nothingness, and they might as well just get it over with as soon as possible. Nothing is worth the trouble: if you suffer, that is too bad, but I'm not going to bother with you or your trouble.

But the difference for us is that we know because of God-come-in-the-flesh at Christmas

that God does for a fact care about things human,

that God does care about what we're doing and how we use all that he has entrusted to us,

and that the destiny for us and for creation is not oblivion but a feast,

where there is enough and more than enough,

where there is room for all who will hear and receive the invitation,

where we live out fully the sharing and helpfulness that we only know in partial measure now.

The message from the 7^th panel of the print is that this has been God's intention from the very beginning.

1. God provided an abundance in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve messed up the situation and had to leave, but God would be with them as they journeyed and provide for them out of that abundance.

2. Noah and a few members of his family saw all that had gone wrong in the earth and withdrew to the ark to ride out the storm,

and God made covenant with them, assuring them that he would be with him wherever they went, and give them enough.

3. Abram went as the Lord had commanded him,

And the Lord God made covenant with him, saying that he was to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

4. Moses is commanded by God to do the things that will help to free God's people from bondage in Egypt.

And a meal, the Passover, is the sign of the promise and future of this people with God.

This time the covenant is one of obligation, where we learn that honoring God and caring for a hungry neighbor are inseparable.

5. The prophets point the way for people who are straying, forgetful, or willfully disobedient,

and a little meal of barley-cake is a sign through Elijah that the famine will not last forever.

6. John the Baptizer, the last of the prophets before Christ, has a strange diet of locusts, as part of the sign that he is not Messiah, but points to the one who is to come, with whom the feast begins.

7. Meal-time is a big deal for Jesus with his disciples. Blessed be God who brings forth bread from the earth.

This basic mealtime blessing must have echoed again and again in their company, culminating in the Lord's Supper, where Jesus declares bread and wine to be his very presence continuing with his people.

8. And in Jesus' resurrection appearances, he gives little samples of the banquet now already beginning.

So why is Christmas so special?

Because here God's intention from the beginning and its fulfillment in Christ Jesus begin to be made clear to us.

It is not just a baby, but the Son of God that lies in the manger.

It is not just a tender story from the past, but a sign of God's determination to get down to us for the sake of the future.

It is not just for someone, somewhere else, it is for us, today, right now.

For you, Jesus says at the Last Supper.

See, the home of God is among mortals,says the heavenly voice in Revelation.

To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior sing the angels to the shepherds.

We're used to hearing the Bible in little bits and pieces, sometimes forgetting that it is all one story, the greatest story in the world, and by the grace of Holy Baptism, it is a story that now includes us;

our past and present are tied together in Jesus' future.

To us, for us, with us is the destiny he chooses.

And that is the whole story!

Glory to God in the highest! Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.