Are we still enjoying the holidays?
Of course we are: for we’re right in the middle of the season of Christmas, a time when we are absolutely surrounded by feasts and festivals.
And I don’t just mean the abundance of food on many of our tables or the snacking in between.
Since we were here on Wednesday morning celebrating the Nativity of Our Lord,
We’ve also had the feast of St Stephen (yes, when the hymnody of Good King Wenceslas took place)
The patronal feast of St. John the Evangelist –
And The feast of the Holy Innocents – honouring all the children who suffered at the hands of Herod
…and now today.
(The abundance of festivals continues this coming week, with the Commemoration of John West, the Naming of Jesus, the memorials of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus… all before we celebrate the Epiphany next Sunday.)
Oh, and New Year’s Eve, too. Because why not.
There is MUCH to celebrate. There is much to be thankful for.
…and not unlike our own celebrations at Christmas – our traditions, our decorations, our gatherings, our feasts… they can come with their own distractions, and stress, and general confusion. What day is it? Whose party are we going to? Do we need to dress up for today?
The scriptures today make it very relatable. That combination of joy and of anxious moments; of enthusiasm and of tiredness.
It can be a challenge for us to keep our focus on God’s nativity when we’re balanced in the interim period of times of year.
Yet the texts today remind us that it’s okay to feel kind of in-between.
We start with Samuel: a boy for whom his mother prayed and prayed; to the point that she said if she conceived that she would dedicate her child’s life to God.
And she conceived. And she followed through on her commitment: an act of service and love.
But also an act of heartbreak: because for Samuel to be serving alongside Eli at the temple, it meant that Hannah only got to see him once a year. He wore simple clothes designating his ministry – and his mother made him a simple cloak each year to keep him warm.
And Samuel grew strong in the Lord; and his parents’ faith did not waver.
For they knew where he was: they always knew where to find him: at home with the Lord.
Loving God, serving others. Celebrating his faith.
Our psalm evokes a hymn of praise, drawing from us that reminder of the opportunity to praise at all times:
For God will be found at all times and in all places: and all of creation gives praise.
And all of creation reminds us that we are at home with God, when we recognise and celebrate that all things are God’s creation.
And so we are invited, like the psalmist, to embrace the opportunity to love God and serve others: to sing praises as we celebrate our faith.
The Epistle carries us further into these celebrations: embracing the result of offering and praise. We’re reminded that these works are not a to-do list, but a head-space and heart-space for living.
Be compassionate. kind. Humble. Patient. Let your character demonstrate the love of Christ – let the indwelling word of Christ – which we are assured dwells in us RICHLY! – let that guide and inspire all our actions.
It is in that holy space where we know what it is to praise, to be at home in the Lord. Because we know that sometimes the world isn’t always practicing these qualities; but that we can choose to do so.
To act in ways that help one another, and build up the community of the faithful; constructing a home for the heart where we can all come together to celebrate the best of humanity; rooted in the best of our faith.
The Gospel of course takes us back to the heart of the matter: to be reminded that with all the hustle and bustle, distractions happen: yet God is always waiting for us to come back home.
The passage of course sounds like the plotline for a seasonal film: 12 year old boy, separated from his parents, frantic multi-day search… and peaceful reunion at the end.
But this passage is also, we know, so much more than a simple screenplay script.
Because here we get Jesus:
Not just hanging out with some kind adults –
But fully engaging in faithful conversation. He is confident in his knowledge, he is strong in his faith. He is determined in his expressions of loving service.
And thus, his parents find him: celebrating his faith.
Within the community.
In a place he calls home.
The first words we hear Jesus speaking in any of the Gospels: is a celebration of faith.
A faith that shines through the imperfections of the world.
That overshadows the doubts of society.
That is not diminished by the expectations of others.
A simple, genuine, beautiful faith.
That puts God first.
In times of stress and in times of celebration;
And everywhere in between.
So what joy we have this morning: as we sit in that in-between time.
Still in Christmas; with eyes to the future.
Still in celebration; but focusing on realistic
Still journeying onward; while confident in knowing where home is.
If there’s nothing else we take from this Christmas, may we never forget where we belong; and how we are privileged to come together in love and in service.
For this is home: for us, for those we love, for those we pray for, for those we haven’t even met.
The house of the Lord is the house of Love:
And we are welcomed here; now and always.
A prayer from the World in Prayer ministry in Lodi California embraces finding our holy home the in-between:
Pause, my children, in this space
between Christmas parties, and those of the New Year,
between gift unwrapping and cleaning up,
between longing and thanksgiving,
between endings and beginnings,
between dismay and joy,
between Sacred and ordinary…
Pause and remember
Whose you are, and Whose you will always be.
Pause and remember
in Whose name you pray,
and Whose love you seek, and hold, and give away.
Pause and pray
that all may see the world with the eyes of wonder of the newborn Christ,
with the loving heart of God’s act of self-giving.
Pause and pray
that we may all treat one another
with the honor and adoration Mary and Joseph,
shepherds and wise ones,
angels and all the heavenly choir
showed to the tiny child.
In the name of Christ, we pray
for every person, living now, gone before, or yet to come,
in every nation on earth:
In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.
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