Christmas
Message
December 2013
Welcoming Our Angels
The Rev. Peter J. Miano
What is it about this season
of Advent and the approach to Christmas that sets it apart from the rest of
the Christian year? Why is it so enchanting? The day of Pentecost produces
barely a ripple of interest compared to Advent and Christmas. Easter is far
more important than Christmas—after all if it were not for Jesus’
resurrection, we would hardly remember Jesus birth—but it does not generate
nearly as much excitement. How is it that of all the unlikely seasons, when
the days grow shorter and the nights deeper, when the frosty grip of winter
tightens over the earth, the calendar year erupts in a celebration featuring
not only depth spirituality, upifting sentiment and sobering theology, but
also, and perhaps most prominently, fantastic characters, dramatic stories,
stirring carols and pure fun. Farm animals in church? How sober is that? At
times Advent and Christmastide appear to be a Church sponsored orgy of frivolity.
And make no mistake about it, churches are not passive bystanders. It is as
if once a year, we collectively conspire against our calculating intelligence
and devote ourselves to the power of story, to the unbridled imagination—an
inventive, irresistible feast of the fanciful. And it is just plain enjoyable
.
Certainly, there are those, inside and outside the Church, who resist and
even inveigh against the sentimentality and the obvious hedonistic and commercial
excesses. More than a few invite us in sermons and pastoral letters to remember
the underlying spiritual drama. Theologize all you want about the incarnate
God and the in breaking of the new age. When all is said and done, the big
story is that during Advent, we yield to our fascination with the unlikely,
the incredible, the nostalgic and the sentimental. Trees and homes are decorated
with elves and reindeer and Santas in various costumes, who also make their
way into a lot of churches. Angels in multitudes populate our stories, appear
on our greeting cards and in our carols. Sparkling balls and glowing lights
are everywhere. Even when we manage to put the most biblical spin on the incredible
stories, even then, it is the spectacles conjured in our imaginations that
stir us and captivate us most—exotic visitors from the east, the ironic
image of royal figures mingling with humble shepherds beside a manger in a
crude cave, angelic voices erupting in song and not just a little royal intrigue
and danger.
I don’t think it is because of our theology that we are annually captivated
in this way. Not many are moved by systematic theology. But whatever our theology,
it is no accident that we clothe it in story. Truths as profound as those
proclaimed at Christmas time cannot be captured in formulas or treatises.
They must be told in story. It is as if our adult, disciplined minds need
a break and get one in the form of uninhibited, unapologetic story telling.
And we listen with childlike curiosity. Advent satisfies our craving for release
of a human spirit too often forced into wearying, intellectual sobriety, too
often dulled by mundane pressures and anxieties. What’s more, nothing
communicates deep meaning better than story.
Advent is as welcome as it is wonderful, not only because we are reminded
again of the power of God to break into human life, not only because it is
a season when many begin to believe in themselves and a better world again,
but also because we allow ourselves to be fascinated by the contents of our
imaginations and to revel in fantasy. Dr. Seuss once said, “I like nonsense,
it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living…”
Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
And again, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”
cont'd
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I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living…
Dr. Seuss