Cross and Stable, Path and Table
Christmas Eve Communion – 2009

Let us pray: O God, this night is one that calls us to reflect on your presence in our lives, particularly in the form of a vulnerable child. May we be open to the peace that your presence brings and the journey it calls us to. Amen.

There's a curious thing that happens with regard to Christmas and Christmas Eve. I was involved in a conversation the other day which highlights this curiosity. Someone had heard that it is quite unlikely that December 25 was the actual birth day of Jesus of Nazareth and thought that I might have some insight to shed on the subject. I'm not an expert by any means but I thought it quite likely that their information is correct. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that our celebration of Christmas is one that has its roots elsewhere.

The fact is that all we know about Christmas is as a result of flashbacks. The gospels of Luke and Matthew – the only ones to actually contain details about the birth of Jesus were likely written sometime in the 80's and near 70 respectively, so that even the earliest of these dates mean they were written at least forty years after the crucifixion of Jesus.

Because Jesus' significance could only be known as a result of his time of healing, teaching and journeying around Galilee we can say with an amount of certainty that the stories of his birth were written to add substance and depth to the story that the gospels wanted to tell. Two of the gospel writers say nothing of the actual circumstances of Jesus' birth. Mark says nothing at all, and as we heard this evening, John's gospel account of Jesus' birth says nothing about the place and time but rather chooses to offer a metaphorical exposition as the coming of the Word and Light.

Now I hopefully have not burst any bubbles with this! I hope you realise that it doesn't matter. Christmas is Christmas. Jesus was born, and as we know, his birth is one that changed the world forever. It is also incredibly significant to explore the birth narratives as examples of the power Jesus had to change the world. These gospel stories tell us lots of just what Jesus was about and the message he shared with us about our relationship with God.

But we would not have stories of a manger in a stable if it weren't for the path that Jesus walked as an adult and we would not be celebrating at table tonight if it had not been for the cross that was both a symbol of torturous death and miraculous new life. We must always keep these things in mind: cross and stable, path and table. And here's why...

If we were to sum up the purpose of Jesus message and life it would go something like this. He said: God is always with you, in ways you never imagine, and you must open your eyes and ears and hearts and minds to that and then he lived his life in a fashion which demonstrated exactly what he tried to say. He told stories of upside-down understandings and of lowly people being lifted to exalted status by virtue of their faith. He played witty but also deeply meaningful and important games of repartee with the so-called learned people of his time, and he held up sham demonstrations of faithfulness by religious authorities for what they were. That got him into trouble. He also talked about the kingdom of God which also got him into trouble with political authorities because it sounded like some kind of revolution or rebellion. This wasn't minor trouble either. It was life-threatening trouble and the result was the cross – not only execution but a public statement to others to be careful in case they were about to engage in the same kind of faith-filled but dangerous trouble. But Jesus was not about to be stopped by the cross – for something incredible happened after the cross – resurrection – and the beginnings of a movement of people who were stirred and inspired by his walk and his talk called The Way came into being.

Out of those early communities came some people who wanted to tell the story for generations to follow. They wanted to write it down before the story got lost. And so they told the story of Jesus, which in the case of Matthew and Luke also included stories about how this Jesus was born. And of course it is not surprise that their stories of his birth echoed some of what they learned from Jesus and his message about the kingdom of God.

Is it surprising that the birth of Jesus would lead to political trouble? The magi visited Jesus and then were warned in a dream to travel home by a different route so that Herod who feared for his political life would not know where to look for this supposed new leader. We all know that this was a different kind of leadership and that Jesus' kingdom had little to do with an earthly kingdom except that it had the power to change people's lives which might change the way they lived as subjects of an earthly ruler. So Matthew told the story of how Mary and Joseph had to become refugees in order to avoid the royal decree that sentenced all young male children to death.

Is it surprising that the story of Jesus' birth as told by Luke would echo the words and world view of Jesus himself. In Luke's story of Jesus' life, Jesus continually impresses his followers and his disciples with examples of how unexpected people can be counted on to show amazing acts of faith and Jesus tells stories that hold up the outcast, the outsider as people who are most closely following the way that he says is God's way. So we should not be surprised when Luke has shepherds being the first ones to hear of Jesus' birth. That is totally in keeping with the message that Jesus would have us hear. And it should be no surprise that Jesus would be born in a manger – outside of the expected, apart from the kind of circumstances that we would normally attribute to the birth of a royal leader.

And so we gather this evening at the same table that Jesus sat at – God's table – a table where we gather as a community to hear again the story which began in a stable and ends at the table, which was a path that took Jesus along a path that stalled for a time at the cross, but which ultimately did not end there. Luke and Matthew made sure that the story would continue. They made sure that we would not forget. And John put it all in transcendent terms – reminding us that this is all about God – in us and God who transcends all our knowledge and understanding as Word and Light.

We too are people of the Way – may we tell the story and live the story sustained and empowered by the meal we share this night. Amen.