Download Secret to Bearing Fruit

RECEIVE THE LIGHT
By Nancy S. Cushman
Luke 1:26-28, 2:1-19, Matthew1:18-25, 2:1-11
December 25, 2016 North Scottsdale UMC
So many people were called to play a part in the Christmas story. If Mary had
said, “no thank you,” the story would have been very different. If Joseph had said, “I
won't marry her;” the story would have been very different. God called each person in a
special way and each answered with his or her own special “yes”. I once read that
Christians are called to the inward task of putting the manger scene in their
hearts and the outward task of putting the manger scene in the streets. Each
person in saying “yes” to God contributed their light as God brings the Light of the World
into our presence.
Mary was the first in the scene to be called. Our Scripture lesson shared her
experience with the angel. Even though the calling was perplexing and risky, Mary said,
“yes.” Mary exemplifies for me radical trust in God. She was called to an extremely
difficult task, pregnancy out-of-wedlock meant shaming herself and her family and
putting in jeopardy her engagement to Joseph. Yet, she trusted God with her life and
she allowed God to use her in a miraculous way. Mary’s light shines colored with the
radical trust in God needed to allow ourselves to be bearers of God's love in our
world.
Joseph also faced a different but also very difficult task. He risked disgrace for
accepting a "tainted" woman as his wife. She had some incredible story about an angel
that surely was hard to believe. We read of Joseph's struggles and God’s message to
him. Joseph took the risk of appearing the fool and answered God's call to marry his
pregnant fiancé. Joseph’s light illuminates for us that sometimes we have to set
aside our pride and risk appearing the fool, if we are to bear the light of God's
love.
Then the Light of the World, Jesus was born. His light carried the colors of God
and the colors of humanity interwoven; a bridge and a guide overcoming the separation
caused by sin. This gift of Light is not forced upon us; patiently Christ waits for us to
receive the light, the life and the love of God he brings. Christ, the Gift, shows me the
generosity of God. May our offerings to God and to each other be as freely given.
The next characters in this great Christmas story react to the Gift that God gave
to the world, Jesus. An angel interrupted the shepherds’ work that sacred night. How
easy it would have been to dismiss the angels’ song or to be too frightened to take the
next step, but they went quickly to see for themselves what they had been told. The
light of the shepherds and angels remind us that sometimes we must allow our
lives to be interrupted by God's messengers, so we can respond to God's call.
When we do respond the results can be awe-inspiring. It is truly a wonder-full event
when you experience the Divine Presence working through you.
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The wise men were the last to arrive on the scene. The light of the wise men
illuminates for me diligence in responding to God's call. They had to cross a vast
desert with all of its dangers and challenges to come to the manger. Some people think
it may have taken the wise men two years to make the journey. Sometimes we must be
diligent in our own journeys to the manger. Sometimes we may even have to cross our
own deserts and wastelands, but if we make the journey we will come to the manger
and our lives will be changed forever.
The Christmas story shows us different people are called by God in
different ways to risk different things to draw close to God-with-us. Each light
contributes to the light spreading. Each of us are uniquely shaped and colored by God
and called by God to contribute our light as the continuation of this great love story. We
all have different life journeys, yet here we are this morning, gathered together at the
manger. In a moment, we will light candles as signs and symbols of the Light of Christ
we bear in the world. And the light will spread. When we leave, we take that light to
everywhere we go and everyone we meet. My prayer for all of us today is that we might
take in the spirit of the nativity and carry it with us when we continue on our way. My
prayer is that like Mary and Joseph, we have a radical trust in God and that we can set
aside our pride, if that will allow us to serve God in a particular situation. I pray that like
the shepherds, we will be open to being interrupted in our routines, so we can allow the
Divine Presence to work through us. And finally like the spirit of the wise men, I pray for
each of us the diligence to make the journey to Christ. Deserts and wastelands may
make the going slow, but may we always persevere in following the Light of Christ. This
is our inward task of putting the manger scene into our hearts.
Our outward task is to put the manger scene into the streets of our world,
to receive the Gift of Christmas, the Light of the World and reflect his light where
it is so needed. I think Dr. Howard Thurman described this beautifully when he wrote:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart.... i
And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and
in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins.
May bearing His Light be both our inward and outward task. Have a blessed Christmas!
Amen.
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Howard Thurman. “The Work of Christmas.” https://progressivechristianity.org/resources/the-work-ofchristmas-by-howard-thurman/
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