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December 24, 2010

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Denver, Colorado
Pastor Dena Williams
Christmas Eve

The Holy gospel according to St. Luke in the 2nd Chapter

Glory to you, O Lord

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.
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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.

Many Mangers

I didn’t start out intending to have a collection.

I really didn’t.
I just like them . . . a lot.
For years now,
I have been accumulating nativity sets, creches, manger
scenes.
It seems, however,
that I now have so many that I have run out of flat surfaces
on which to place them.
Usually, this time of year, the coffee tables, end tables,
mantle, stereo speakers, window sills, shelves are all
inhabited by sheep, cows, and camels.
I have to stop!
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Part of the problem is that I don’t just bunch everyone

together inside the stable.
Mary and Joseph and the donkey have to begin Advent at
some distance from the stable,
and then move gradually closer across the month of
December.
The wise men and camels are not allowed anywhere in the
vicinity of the stable until January 6, the feast of the
Epiphany.
Not only are there several scenes,
they are spread all over the place.

There is the carved wooden set from Germany.

Driven by the draft of lighted candles on a sort of paddle
wheel apparatus,
the poor wise men are fated to spin round and round in
endless circles.
I get dizzy watching them.

There is the gold and white set from Mexico.

It has a shepherd boy and a shepherd girl.
The figures are all dark haired and the stable is made of
clear glass and brass.
It is beautiful in the light from the Advent candles.

Then there is the one that was my children’s favorite when

they were small.
It is really a wooden puzzle with blocky looking figures that
fit neatly into a stable shaped frame.
Several of the sheep have teething marks.
In this one the baby Jesus is reduced to two small, drilled
dots representing his eyes.

There’s the one from Nepal with a yak as the stable animal.
There’s one from Vietnam.
There’s the Sioux Indian one with a tee pee for a stable that
sits on a white rabbit skin.
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Many Mangers

There are other kinds of manger scenes, too.

There are the ones acted out by children in bath robes with
towels on their heads,
in bed sheets with shiny tree garland in their hair.
I remember being in the angel choir.
In the congregation where I spent my childhood
there was a girl named Sarah Trapkus
who always got to be Mary.
I have not seen or heard of Sarah Trapkus in 40 years,
but I recalled her name this week without any difficulty.
Envy does that . . .
The grown ups always chose Sarah because she had long
blond hair.
It was with some satisfaction that I learned later in life that
Mary
was mid-Eastern and was most certainly a brunette.

Many Mangers

You have memories of the many mangers in your life:

the nativity set from your childhood in your family’s living
room,
the Christmas pageant in which you were a shepherd or a
wise man,
the times your children or grandchildren got to be Mary or
Joseph,
an angel of the Lord, or even the Baby Jesus.
What is it about this simple scene that calls us to reenact it
every year,
to carve it out of wood,
to cast it in porcelain?
These few short verses from the Bible
are restaged.
This tiny piece of ancient history called to mind over and
over again.
What is the fascination?
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Why is our life not complete without the presence of this

scene?
What calls us to the manger?

Perhaps it is the simplicity of the story

in a season cluttered with glitter and excitement.
Perhaps it is the mystery of the holy night,
in a world often busy with plastic and pretend.
Perhaps it is the reality of a mother, a child, a birth
when it seems sometimes we are surrounded by illusion and
façade.

Many Mangers

The most realistic manger I ever experienced was in Juarez,

Mexico
many years ago.
A young couple was expecting their first baby at any time.
They lived in the city dump with 2000 other families.
At that time the families made their living by pulling
recyclable material from the garbage trucks as they came
down the road to the dump.
This couple’s house was typical.
It was a shack made of plywood with a dirt floor.
I heard later of the night the child was born.
Doctora Mendoza who donates her time to the families at the
dump told me the story.
The mother went into labor as the sun went down.
Doctora Mendoza had already gone back to the city for the
night.
Neighbors heard the mother’s cries and came with haste to
help.
The child was born.
The father had saved soft rags that he found in the garbage
heaps.
The mother had washed the rags.
Now she used them to clean the baby.
She used some to diaper her new son.
They had no crib.
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The father had salvaged an orange crate and an old soft

blanket from the dump.
They tenderly laid the baby into this makeshift bed.
They slept the exhausted but anxious sleep of all new
parents.
The next day the neighbors came, bearing gifts,
food for the parents,
a pail of boiled water.
Doctora Mendoza brought medical attention,
a tiny gown and diapers, a baby blanket,
well worn but saved to be used over and over.

And so, 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 room for them.

Many Mangers

We are called to the manger

to celebrate the birth of Jesus, God’s only Son, our Lord.

We are called to the manger

to offer our thanks and praise in word and song.

We answer the call to the manger by reenacting that scene,

by including at least one Nativity in our Christmas
decorations,
by reading and telling the story to our children,
by coming to church on Christmas eve to sing and celebrate.

We are, however, not only called to the manger,

we are called by the manger.

We are called by the manger

to remember the needs of others.
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The tiny gowns and diapers and blankets for the babies of
the Juarez city dump are provided by many congregations
from our Rocky Mountain Synod.
Many congregations and individuals
provide funds for scholarships, uniforms, and books so that
the children of the dump can go to school,
can break the cycle of poverty that binds them to the dump.
I take medicine and children’s books in Spanish when I go to
the border.

Why?
Because we are called by the child in the manger.
We are called to remember the needs of others,
those in far away places,
those in and around our community as well.
We are called to remember the children and spouses of
soldiers who are not at home for Christmas.
We are called to remember the families of Afghanistan and
Korea and Africa who face an uncertain future in a harsh
environment.

We are called by the child in the manger

to care for our families as well.
Our love begins at home,
in our manger,
where we care for one another with the love of the Christ
Child.

Many Mangers

We are called by the child in the manger.

What if we don’t respond?
What if we come only to see, not to serve?
What then?

That is why the child came.

The child came to bring us the unconditional love of God.
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The child came to forgive us even when we fail to answer the

call of the manger.

As we visit the manger this Christmas Eve,

we give thanks to God,
for sending the holy child to the manger,
to bring grace and love and forgiveness
into our lives.

Many Mangers
One Lord of all.
Amen.