Christmas Eve
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Canton OH
Luke 2:1-20
December 24, 2015
The Rev. Barbara Bond
Peace and joy
Yesterday morning, we were awakened to the sounds of machinery. A backhoe was
driving up on our neighbor’s lawn and began digging furiously. A nearby truck bore the
name of a sewer repair company. Uh-oh, we thought. Not a very good Christmas
present for our neighbors. We hoped that the 3 and 5-year-old children would not have
their Christmas ruined by a plumbing incident. A couple of hours later, the backhoe was
gone, the dirt filled in, and straw was spread over the area. Whew! we thought. Maybe
Santa Claus can make his visit after all.
Today, I went for a walk. On our neighbor’s lawn, at the exact site of the plumbing
repair, was a small structure. I looked closer. A little shelter had been made over the
straw-strewn area, and in it was a small straw-filled manger, where lay the three-yearold child’s baby doll. This family had been taken to a humble place by the failure of their
plumbing, and yet in this humble place, they were reminded of what Christmas is really
about. Our Lord Jesus came to us in great humility, as a human child.
There are many stories at this time of year which we love to see and hear – “A
Christmas Carol,” “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Yet the best story is the one we just heard
from the Gospel. The best story takes us back to the manger.
An intriguing paraphrase of our favorite story came to me by Internet this week. In an
artful adaption by the author Alan Bales, this new telling indeed takes us back to the
manger, and gives us additional food for thought. I’d like to share some of Mr. Bales’
story with you.
It begins in Bethlehem, where a political revolutionary and his wife, Yarib and Deborah,
have come for the census. Yarib smuggles in a knife and intends to do damage to
Roman troops. He and Deborah can find no room in the inn and so they settle in a cave
on the edge of town. Yarib steals into town and inflicts damage on a solider. Frightened
and exhausted, he finds another cave and hides. Let’s pick up the story there.
“The smell of sheep was fresh, but the cave was empty. …On one side he found where
shepherds had hollowed out the limestone for a feeding trough, and opposite this [he
hid himself.] He was hardly covered when he heard voices and through a small slit [in
the rocks he saw two Roman soldiers search the cave and then depart.] Then two more
voices were heard, and a dim oil lamp … entered the hollow. The man holding the lamp
helped a young woman. The woman moaned and held her large stomach. “Oh, I need
to lie down.” “Here, Mary,” he said… “Lie here. I’ll cover you. “Thank you. I kept
wondering if we’d ever get here. I know you’re disappointed we don’t have a room, but,
Joseph, I’m so glad we arrived.”…
Yarib watched the couple briefly, then collapsed into exhausted sleep. He knew it was
near dawn when he awoke to an infant’s cry. Propping himself on his elbow, he found a
slit to look through. He saw Joseph prepare the stone manger with straw. Mary
wrapped the twitching infant in cloths, and laid him there for a bed. “Jesus,” they
agreed was his name. [Yarib was troubled in his conscience, about the Roman soldier
he had wounded. Seeing this new family, he no longer thought that violence was an
appropriate was to rid the land of Romans.] And Yarib was embarrassed, believing
himself to be witnessing something that should not be seen by anyone else.
A bustle occurred outside the cave. In came four working men. They said nothing.
“Who are you?” Joseph asked. One stepped forward. “We’re shepherds.” … “What
do you want?” Joseph asked again. “The inn keeper said anyone could use these
caves. Do you need shelter?” “No,” another man said. “We’re looking for a child.” The
third shepherd added, “We’ve seen angels tonight, lighting the sky with songs about a
savior.” Another added: “At first there was one angel and we were terrified, but he told
us not to be afraid, that he had great news for everyone about a savior, the Lord’s
Messiah born today in David’s city.” The first shepherd continued, “That is why we
came here. The angel said we’d find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
That’s when the sky split with all these angels praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in
the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.’” Yarib was
aglitter at the talk of a Messiah. But he winced at the word “peace.”
The parents brought the shepherds to the infant in the manger; and they talked more of
the peace expected through this child. “Peace” – the word struck Yarib as hard as a
sword. He was not preparing for peace, but war. Yet in the presence of this gentle
family and these joyful messengers, peace seemed so clearly to be God’s purpose.
Yarib believed what the shepherds said, and at the same time he was in turmoil over his
assault upon the soldier. He felt covered in shame for his violence. But he did not
know what to do. He wished he could grasp for a way out of his guilt…
He began to pray – for himself, for his wife Deborah, for their future children, for the
child Jesus in the manger, for the wounded trooper – that some time, some way, he
could make up for what he had done, although he had no idea how. As he prayed he
trusted the shepherd’s message, and the good news of the message grew within him –
this child, this helpless child, was to be the promised savior. He asked God to save
him, not merely save him from his guilt and the consequences of his deed, but save him
for a new life – for peace. Now, near the infant Jesus, Yarib the revolutionary slept
again. That night in his chilly crypt, he had made a new vow that wherever he went and
whatever happened, he would do everything he could to bring about God’s peace into
this world.