12/21/58

Scripture: Luke 2: 8-14

Man’s predicament has been underlined in the Holy Land. That which is a shrine to Christians and Moslems alike has been a place of suspicion, hatred and fear.

We read, in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, about shepherds on the hills outside of Bethlehem, who heard angelic voices saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased.” But the peace at Bethlehem today is an uneasy one.

If one could ride directly from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, it would be a trip of only about six miles. But one can not travel so directly! In order not to cross over the borders of Israel, one must travel twice that far. For there is still deep hostility between Arab and Jew on those nationalistic borders. Twenty centuries ago there was hostility between Samaritans and Jews. What exists today is deeper and more pronounced than the tension of Jesus’ time.

Near Bethlehem have lived hosts of refugees who fled from their homes ten years ago during warfare between Israel and Jordan. Some 900,000 people left their villages and farms during that war, and since they have had no chance to reclaim their places. When the line was drawn at armistice time, it was like a wall erected between them and their homes. Many of them could look across the barbed wire to where others till the soil that was their own livelihood and which belonged to them. Their suffering is an indictment on all who would rather sing than face the cruel facts.

A traveler goes into Bethlehem looking for the birthplace of Jesus. He approaches the church of the Nativity, built so many centuries ago. The original Basilica was erected over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth by the Emperor Constantine in 330 AD. His mother, Helena, had appealed to him, and this was his dramatic way of declaring that he had become a Christian. The present Church of the Nativity there is said to be the oldest one in the Christian world which is still used for worship. It has survived the many invasions (Christian and Moslem) of the Holy Land.

It is marked by no spire or tower, being a low building symbolic of the humble birth of our Lord. Entrance is through a low narrow door, only 4 feet in height. Guides now remind the visitor that no one, therefore, can enter without bowing in adoration. But the place bears evidences of the division even of Christianity! Three groups control it -- the Latin, the Greek, and the Armenian Christians. Constant irritations and disagreements arise among them.

Some years ago, the Greeks were celebrating their Easter. The Latins, who celebrate Easter on a different day, came just then to hang a picture in the Church of the Nativity. Neither group was willing to surrender any right to a rival sect. And so a “free-for-all” followed. Among those pitched out of the church was a gray-haired Bishop. The fears and hatreds of the world are symbolized in that little village in a land that is so holy, and so unholy. The “hopes and fears of all the years” are still met there.

In the early chapters of the Bible, we may read the story of the beginnings of man in the creation of Adam. The story relates that Adam was created in the image of God, and that he bore the breath of life. But he rebelled against the Creator in open disobedience. And then, in his fear, he hid in the garden when the Lord came by looking for him. The Lord said: “Where are you, Adam?” and Adam replied: “I was afraid and I hid.”

There is still a lot of Adam in our natures. We, too, are made in the image of God, and bear the breath of life. And the same question comes to us: “Where are you?” And it is discovered that we are afraid, and we hide from the Lord. The fears are evident on every side. There is fear and mistrust in the Holy Land. There is also blindness to the stars of hope, and deafness to the songs of angels. From the fears of 19th century living, we hide in the vast details of earning and spending, of activity and bustle. We also plan “important things,” like more effective missile bases and giant bombers to carry more and more devastating nuclear bombs.

We worry about Communism. We are disturbed about the grave danger to India and to Indonesia, the acute crisis in Vietnam, and about the ferment of unrest in Africa. And our fears are not al all unfounded! We may find our world using the weapons that could bring about the end of ourselves and nearly everything we know on the planet.

We are near success in planning some kind of space station to orbit around the earth. For these things appear to us to have more power than does the song of angels. We hide in our fears.

We try to be religious! We get the Christmas carols into the air by means of records, heard all over our cities in the pre-Christmas rush. It is said that we have the Ten Commandments on soap -- a different commandment for each of ten cakes! We “put Christ back into Christmas” by parades in some places. But the floats do not take the place of the angelic voices. And occasionally we ask ourselves if Christmas really has a place in our modern scientific society. Is it an annual diversion, an excuse for emotionalism, a scheme for stimulating sales and exchange, a “made” occasion for convivial fellowship?

We sing of angels, and in our fear we play with another kind of power. We can’t see an angel. Neither can we see an atom. Yet we are convinced of its power, especially for destruction.

Why can we not see the power of an angel for good? Do we have to see love, or sacrifice or truth to be convinced of their reality?

No. As a matter of fact we can see power for good, and we do see it if we look! In the same newspapers which bring fearful news of evil, one can find stories like that of the boy who went to Pakistan to distribute thousands of gifts from the school boys and girls of San Francisco. The “angels” are still at work.

The papers narrate the dangers of highway traffic and the tragedies of carelessness on the roads. But they also carry editorials and feature articles on understanding, on concerns and courtesy behind the wheel, sobriety, and safety on the highways.

We are informed of the patient, persistent struggle of our representatives for just and durable solutions to the world’s problems. Even though the song may be distorted through man’s blindness or misunderstanding, the angels of good are still at work.

The church to which we belong may have our own imperfections reflected in its set-up. We may have problems of adjustment to the needs of the times. But for all that, the church still struggles to bring the angels’ message to fearful and anxious mankind. And this message is the most important one in our lives. Through our lives it is the most important message to other lives.

Are we hiding in the corners of our fears, clutching at the means of destruction? Nursing our hatreds and jealousies?

Break through your frustrations and your fears! Listen again to the angels’ song! “Be not afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great -- for unto you is born -- a Savior.”

The threats to self and society are real. But there were evil threats in the Holy Land of 1958 years ago when the Savior was born! It took a crucifixion and a resurrection to conquer the threats; but they were conquered. Let each one lay hold upon the peace that passes understanding; upon the strength that comes from quietness and confidence. Let each rely more firmly upon the gifts of love and understanding and acceptance that we experience with family and friends; and let us spread it out into the world in which we live. Put to practice some of the assurance and confidence in God and life, and let the inner frenzy of fear be replaced by creative confidence which not even death can destroy.

“Unto you is born a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” A Savior as (1) powerful as the water brought at long last to those dying of thirst; as (2) saving as food parachuted to those isolated and starving; as (3) necessary for life as the air we breathe, which is so precious to those rescued from drowning; as (4) necessary for fulfillment as the God who first gave you and me the opportunity of life.

By the power of the Savior, the spirit of understanding can be given a place in your life. By his power, the precious bonds of love can be made strong. From Him you can receive forgiveness of your sins and courage to live. To the Savior, the young and those who are helpless and the needy come for strength. Before Him the greatest worldly power must bow. His is the power to draw together the scattered fragments of our lives and give them meaning.

His presence can bring a great surge of joy and gladness to your soul; calmness in time of tragic need; confidence in moments of high tension. By His power we can be led through the mystery of death.

O that men, cowering in fear, or blinded by hatred, or living in reliance upon force, or just heedless, could heed the word of the angels and find the true meaning of life in the faith, and hope and joy of which we sing.

Bind yourselves more closely to the church wherein you receive the very food of spiritual life. And, by your own efforts, strengthen the life and message of the church. Dare to join the millions of Christians in singing our greatest and most majestic anthem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men.” In that good will, we are sure that we are not forlorn nor forgotten.

There can be peace, and you and I can help to make it! God is alive! His hand is mightier than any other power we have discovered.

We repeat of a poet [Robert Crashaw]:

“The Babe looked up and showed his face;

In spite of darkness it was day.”

Because God is as good as His best creature, we eagerly commit ourselves to the one who came as His Christ. In that Savior we find unity in love, strength for character, power in divine purpose, and the friendship of a Father-God. Because God is like His Son, the Christ, he will never fail us.

“Be not afraid.” At Bethlehem with all its fears, but with its hopes, we can find peace even in 1958 [1965] -- peace and power.

Let every faithful soul prepare to sing lustily and confidently and excitedly, “Glory to God --- Good will toward men.”

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[The section below, on pages a through d, may have been added for the 1965 version; the only dates are actually in my mother’s hand and my own, rather than Dad’s]

[These, then, are some of the assurances that come to us in the Advent season. It is a time for re-hearing of the Good News. The prophet Isaiah sang, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good.” [Isaiah 52: 7].

That kind of assurance contributed, for generations, to a sense of expectancy that found its fulfillment at Bethlehem. It was outside the little city that shepherds were reported to have heard an angelic proclamation: “Don’t be afraid, for see, I bring you good news of great joy. And this is for all people.” The message is the same at each Christmas tide.

And not only at Christmas time, but for that matter at any time of the year. In the early 19th century, several companies of missionaries went out from New England to the Sandwich Islands (now the state of Hawaii) to carry the good news to Polynesian people and any others who resided there. It was not Christmas when they first landed in the Islands. But the first sermon preached by the Reverend Hiram Bingham to Hawaiians was from the text: “I bring you good tidings of great joy.”

Let the good news be heard here among us again during the preparation of this advent season. A minister in another state has told of his acquaintance with a couple of people who were married and desired greatly to raise a family, but who were forced by circumstances to wait several years for the arrival of their first child. The time did arrive when they could look forward to welcoming their first baby, and they made great preparations for the event. (1) They set up a rigid monthly savings program. They read numerous books together on the subject. (3) They fixed up a nursery and furnished it with tender care and great joy. (4) Various pieces of infant clothing were purchased or knitted, and blankets were provided. (5) They listened to great music together and avoided all undue strain. (6) They frequently prayed together to be led to do those things and make those decisions that would give the best chance in life to the baby that was coming. One could scarcely imagine a more careful and concerned preparation for an event than the one which that couple made for the birth of their first child.

We might well consider advent as a time of such careful preparation for the coming of Christ into our world of need. Obviously he is not reborn, physically, each year at Christmas. And he comes daily to each of us, spiritually. But Advent calls us to remember that, as he came to earth in the flesh centuries ago, he still seeks entrance to our hearts for the birth of his ideals and his way of life. Let there be some special preparation for that re-birth in our hearts at this Christmastide.

Let us give some priority to spiritual values, remembering that he said, during his ministry, “seek first [not exclusively, but first] the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” [Matthew 6: 33].

The story is told of a father who left in his will to his son a most unusual request. He asked that his son put on his best suit and sit alone in the best room of his home for 30 minutes each day. The son felt foolish and reluctant about it. But his affection, and his great respect for his father, led him to fulfill the request. In time, his feeling of foolishness gave way to a feeling of expectation as he came to that time each day. He looked forward to it. Gradually, he found some wisdom in it. Slowly he learned to shut out the distractions and tensions, to compose himself in a mental pattern, to put himself together. He offered hospitality to the things that strengthened his spirit. He began to acquire the ability to face the world with new perspective and greater power adequate to the testing of his time. He learned that as Christ comes in, there are things to keep out.

Whatever be the method each of us uses during this advent season, let it be a time of preparation for the good news and the reality of Christ’s birth.]

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, December 21, 1958

[and again on December 5, 1965]