Homily for Watchnight

I asked my folks for some bales of hay to get the 'feel' of a stable scene so we could do some
all-age, interactive worship on 4 Advent...this is what they came up with! :)

Really love the U A Fanthorpe poem - especially 'haphazard by starlight'.
Also really loved conducting Christmas worship for the first time as a shiny new minister.
Shattered, but ... wow!
And now, back to cooking Christmas dinner.  Happy Christmas folks.

Homily for Watchnight

Primary reading: John 1:1-14

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

BC/ AD - a poem by U A Fanthorpe:

This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future's
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.  ...  ...

We gather together tonight, and as we gather,

we stand on a threshold...

this is the moment,

the time of the year

when we look back and remember

another moment:

the birth of a child long ago,

in a land far away.

A longed for child -

longed for by a nation...

to rescue

and to restore them;

A child of promise and power

and yet, a prince of peace.

A child, who according to our reading from

John’s gospel, bent the dimensions

of time and space -

for this child -

the Word made flesh -

was there in the beginning...

was there before the beginning of all things...

the Word, speaking all creation into being.

This is the moment when we gather

to remember the birth

of this child...

who was - who is - the light of all people,

the light which shines in the darkness

and has never been ...

can never be    extinguished.

In this     threshold moment,

amidst tinsel, and glitter, and twinkly lights,

(pointed to stable animals in display)

not to mention a flock of sheep,

a decent herd of cows,

and possibly more camels than you can

poke a stick at, 

we remember and celebrate

the child who was,

who is,       God.

It’s a moment in time

that changes time forever:

for after the birth of this child

things can never,

will never,

be the same again.

The meanings of words will be redefined,

as the Word of God breaks into the world

and the kingdom of heaven

is established on earth

in a backwater village called Bethlehem,

in a far-flung outpost of the Roman Empire.

Real power will be seen in vulnerability,

not might...

all-powerful God

breaking into finite human time and space

as all-vulnerable:

a baby in a manger -

God, dependant on the hospitality

of the human heart to take him in.

Old systems and structures,

old ways of doing things that benefit the few,

while oppressing the least,

will be challenged by the God-child born in the humblest, the least likely of dwellings.

Moments collide:

past and present -

and future,

for this child - and all he represents,

is still longed for:

there’s still rescue and restoration that’s needed;

there are still places in the world -

places in our hearts -

where peace has yet to come,

where the light must shine more brightly

to bring hope to those who see only darkness,

and where life-sapping, dehumanising structures

need challenged.

We stand on the threshold,

and as we do

the light that was coming into the world

is one who shows all people a new way of living -

even now:

a new way of living that is life-affirming ...

life-giving,

     love-giving...

for the child we wait for

is God’s love-letter to the world:

the Word who says

‘do not be afraid’

the Word who is a comfort to the weary,

consolation to those who grieve.

God becoming one of us

knowing us completely

feeling our pain, our joy;

sorrowing, celebrating,

laughing, weeping.

Feeling the dust on his feet

breathing the air we breathe...

God becoming one of us,

God being for us

and with us

God giving us the right to be his children

his own -

his beloved.

That is the message of Christmas:

in one word -

love -

as the old hymn goes:

‘Love came down at Christmas

Love all lovely, Love Divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

star and angels gave the sign’.

As we wait, poised to welcome the Christ-child

once more into our world,

and into our hearts,

the message of Christmas

is that we are loved by God

beyond our wildest imaginings,

and called by him to live in that love,

and to love others -

to bring light into the darkness,

to live life in all its fullness

for:

‘Love shall be our token,

love be yours and love be mine,

love to God and neighbour,

love for plea and gift and sign.’

It is this love -

God’s love    for us,

and our response to that love

that has the potential and the power

to heal and transform;

to restore and renew -

ourselves

our neighbours

the world.

It is this love,

shown in the child in the manger,

that enables us, in this moment -

together, with shepherds, and wise men -

to walk, haphazard by starlight

straight into the kingdom of heaven.

Amen.