Readings:
Isaiah 9, 1-6, The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Psalm 96, Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Titus 2, 11-14, The Grace of God has appeared.
Luke, 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar August. The Nativity narrative.
Merry Christmas, Nora, your first one. How was it being Jesus in the Nativity Play?
Isaiah: author, date, subject, today’s selection–
Author: This is probably my most favorite book in the Old Testament. Isaiah is one of the Big Three OT prophets along with Jeremiah & Ezekiel. This is because of the size of the work, 66 chapters, but even more so because Isaiah is so beautiful and influential in the Christian story.
There are really three Isaiahs, chapters 1-39, 40-55, & 56-66. How do we know? Simple. Different styles of writing, different vocabularies, different slants to the message, references to places.
Merry Christmas to all you Quinns and thanks for bringing up the Offertory.
Date: 1 Isaiah, our selection is put together ca. 700 before Christ. 2 Isaiah, ca. 500 before Christ; 3 Isaiah, ca. 400 before Christ.
Subject: As always, there have been predictions of doom & destruction because of the badness of the people.
Today’s selection: This passage, however, is the flip of this. Listen for words like rejoicing, making merry, joy, peace, a God-hero Child is born.
Source: Good News Bible, Bishop John Shelby Spong
The littlest Quinn, Vivienne.
Christmas Eve Homily
This afternoon I would like to tell you a Christmas story. It is about a kid and his grandmother at Christmas.
I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.
I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
J.J. and The Smile.
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight up with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted…."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."
And Merry Christmas to you, too, Charlotte.
"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
Our Angels.
I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.
For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.
The Best, Wendy, Shonda, & Ray.
I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter.
His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
Meals on Wheels food pick up.
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."
The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
A beautiful Christmas morning for delivering Meals on Wheels.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.
Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.
Our Drivers, Ro & Aviana, ready to go. This is a big operation.
Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."
I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.
The Great Shepherds, Jake & Leo.
Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were — ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.
Merry Christmas Rosemary, Mike, and Geri.
I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.
May you always believe in the magic of kindness and caring of Santa Claus!
