CREATION COMES AROUND
Genesis 1:26-31
Luke 2:25-38
Stephen A. Hamilton Wright
First Presbyterian Church, Wausau, Wisconsin December 27, 2009
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Once upon a time, God gave us life. A long, long time ago, God summoned humankind into being. We do not know exactly when, nor do we teach that it happened exactly according to the details of the two conflicting accounts in Genesis. We do know that at some point long before recorded history, human beings evolved within Divine Reality, both female and male, and we believe that the emerging human community was intended to be the crowning good of the whole creation, tending it all for beauty and for plenty. The purpose of being human is to live in community, enjoying and caring for the holy gift of all that exists around us. We are here to produce more good from our context. This is not only a mandate to make more babies; sometimes it calls for fewer, and the mission is much more than human reproduction. It is as broad as re-creation and renewal of all aspects of existence: the environment, institutions, relationships, health, and self-in-community. All of that is in the mission we are given. All of that is our purpose. From once upon a time until now, God summons that kind of life.
We stray from our purpose. We lose track of our reason for being. It starts by being confused about the way of the Divine. Sometimes we treat God as law, with certain requirements to keep us inside acceptable lines, as if human life could be filled in like a giant paint-by-number outline. Other times we reject law, as if God lets us flow free as watercolors across the fibers of space and eternity. We are confused, because Holy Being is more than law; it is the all-encompassing vortex of context within which law and grace dance their symbiotic love. We stray from that beautiful dynamic because most of us do better with a simple two-step, or four at the most, or maybe three with a polka pause to catch our balance. Our human tendency to insist on fixed patterns where we quickly get lost anyway alienates us from the harmony and color of our God-given context. So, we push things around to clear space for our preferred way of moving. We put fences around even our smallest achievements. An old movie short illustrated the origin of war by showing a cartoon caveman who stuck a flag with the number 73 outside his entrance, and then sang the first national anthem, which went, “Let ‘em all go to hell, except Cave 73.” The immediate response was a shower of rocks and spears. Do we recognize ourselves? We take all we can, fearing that it will be too little, and in so doing we push away from community and therefore fail our most holy purpose. Again and again, day after day, we wander off from holy patterns. We lose track. We stray.
So, we get a new start. We see a new beginning. Jesus comes to focus our living. For those who receive him, life is remade, and those who know their need to be remade are ready to receive him. Where our English Bible translations say that old Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms, the sense of the original Greek writing is that he “took him in” as we would receive or take in guests. Jesus comes to open eyes to a forgotten way, a way frankly never much tried throughout history. The way of Jesus is to take down walls and fences instead of building them higher. He comes to bring neighbors and nations together, not only in peace, but in active cooperation that eventually erases borders and social barriers. Of course, there are always those who oppose such change. They use divisions to build their own advantage, even making more division, often by playing on fear to increase their own power. They work to punish those who would demote them, along with all who support change to a more inclusive way. Simeon tells Mary that she will suffer because of her son; her very soul will be pierced with pain because of him. Jesus will face trouble because he tries to replace division and fear with harmony throughout creation, across every line. Simeon and Anna are brought together in praise by this scheme, to show the start of a new community of faith. They are not husband and wife, but in a way, they are a new Eve and Adam, turning to honor God at the start of a new age. They already live the way of hope. Jesus signals that their hope is not vain. When baby Jesus is carried into the Temple, creation comes around. We see how to start over.
It is up to us to respond. We see a possibility, and we decide how to respond. We choose how to live now that Jesus focuses our vision on the way of hope and community. Some do not respond at all. They might send a few cards, exchange holiday gifts, maybe even enjoy the festivities, but for the most part they put their own well being first. Others ignore the story of Jesus completely, and try to hide from even the secular part of this holiday—good luck with that! That’s too bad. If we take this story into our hearts, it can move us to renewed deeds of love, community and compassion. Last week I answered several polls on Facebook, and I was appalled to see that most of them started with questions that divide the whole world between us and them, and equate disagreement with dislike and maybe worthlessness. They came from all sides of the political and social landscape. We have to get past that kind of division, and consider instead the possibilities of generosity and mutual understanding. The experience is worked out socially more than religiously; indeed, if it does not have clear social dimensions, it is not authentic. Ebenezer Scrooge is a great example of such a transformation. His experience of going from a hard-nosed joyless miser to a generous communitarian who funds hunger relief and pays for Tiny Tim’s recovery includes no religious reference, yet such behavior is the central aim of the story of Jesus. Scrooge’s transformation was dramatic. Most of us start from a better place, yet few of us end up as well. There is room. Take the news of Jesus into your heart, and give the promise of his way back to the world. We choose how to respond.