St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church

AKA St. Elsewhere

December 18, 2009

A Christmas Message from your Rector

Dear Parish Family and Friends,

Soon it will be time once again to gaze upon the mystery of the Holy Nativity and the shining face of God who, coming in the form of a child himself, would lead us to our truest selves. How intimate is our connection to the Creator that on the night of the nativity we are reminded that God, the ground of all being, is continually reaching out to us, never really allowing us to get too far from His embrace. Christmas comes upon us and creates a sense of awe and wonder, our psyche resonates to this: the coming of the divine into the world, leading us back to our eternal source. In just a matter of days, we will gather by candlelight to welcome the birth of our Lord, the holiest person to ever walk the face of this earth, God’s ultimate revelation.

Life is riddled with many twists and turns, it is a mystery beyond our human comprehension, but one thing we can say with certainty, the divine is ever present, surrounding us, and within us. The birth of Jesus is a reminder of this, although we may not have all the answers, he gives us a glimpse and points us in the direction of heaven. The child we celebrate will grow up to be a wisdom teacher who stood on the side of the marginalized and disenfranchised. His teachings on the reign of God would break to pieces all status quo thinking that resists the will of God.

We humans are a stubborn species capable of creating extreme chaos yet resistant to the Way of the Master, Jesus. I was recently asked to do a photography exhibition on the theme of Epiphany. As I pondered the events leading up to the Epiphany--the journey of the Magi in darkness guided by the glimmer of a single star--it occurred to me that theirs was a journey that could only be made in darkness. The brightness of a beautiful sun-filled day would not have drawn them nearer to the place of the holy nativity. How paradoxical, I thought: only in darkness could they see the light of revelation, drawing them closer to the One they were seeking, the incarnation of light in the world. In a sense we are all like the Magi, walking in darkness towards the light of his birth.

On Christmas Eve we join the holy family and the shepherds who were the first on the scene, to gaze upon the holy birth. Christmas will be upon us, and with each passing Christmas we come closer to the mystery. We gather in community to share this wondrous moment, and yet our contact is intimate. Christmas reminds us that we are all on a journey, all seeking to unfold the mystery of life. We gaze at the Christ child because there in the manger we get a glimpse, a wonder-filled glimpse into our truest nature.

A poem by Hafiz reminds me of this seeking:

It was beautiful,
It was so beautiful one night

We all began expecting to hear
God speak

In the waves reaching toward
The millet fields,

From the mouths of the hanging sky-ornaments
Crooning in lights intimate codes,

From the glances of plants and children
Playing with effulgent love.

Existence was so beautiful one night
We all began to expect
Our Beloved would
Speak

At the height of our wing’s senses
That were stunned
Trying to comprehend the divine
Through the tiny organic
Filters,

That were stunned in glimpsing the reality
Of the thousand miraculous components
Of each moment
And step.

But we can’t
We can’t yet hear God whistling inside
So we weep.

We all weep in some way
Until we
Do.