“BHA STMAg,) VISTON ANB REALTY BETHANY #RESBYTERTIAN CHURCH
MATTHEW 2:12-20 LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
December 31, 1972 JOHN M. BUCHANAN

In his Christmas oratorio, “For the Time Being", W. H. Auden has the wise men explain
why they followed the star to Bethlehem.

The first wise man says:

"To discover how to be truthful now
is the reason I fallow this star."

The second says,

"To discover how to be living now
jis the reason I follow this star.”

The third says,

"To discover how to be loving now
ts the reason I follow this star."

And then all three say together,

"Ta discover how to be human now
Is the reason we follow this star."

The wise men had a vision, that is to say; a viston of human life in terms of its
potential, a vision of life filled with integrity, authenticity and love. And in pursuit
of that vision they were willing to ride hundreds of miles across the desert following a
strange and new star.

One has wonder, however, what happened to their noble vision when they confronted the
reality of the stable. They fell down and worshipped him, Matthew reports. They gave him
gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to be sure. But I wonder what happened to the vision
afterward as they thought about it - as they addied up their camels and rode back across
the dessert to their life as kings or astrologers or whatever they were.

The manger was a bit humble, to say the very least. We've decorated and romanticized
it for the purposes of our Christmas traditions. But in reality it would have been a dark,
cold, dank place, probably very dirty. I would guess that it didn't smell very good either;
and that, our tidy nativities notwithstanding, it wasn’t at. all comfortable or pretty or
pleasant.

It would have been quite a come-down from their noble vision of humanity to that. Not
to mention the fact that théir pursuit of the vision had already put them in a tight spot
with Herod, and that they were forced to sneak out of Judea by another route in order to
avoid the King.

The same kind of issue can be raised about the shepherds. They had a vision too. Out

~2-
on the hillside they had heard a voice, and beautiful music; and they had come running down
from the hills to Bethlehem to see the thing which the mysterious hillside experience had
revealed to them. One has to wonder what happened to their vision afterward. Did it mean
anything to them as they went back to tending their sheep? Or was it, rather, a one-time
experience, that seemed exciting and terribly important as it was happening, but which re-
ceeded in importance with the passing of time?

The same kinds of questions can, of course, be asked of ourselves - which is what I
Propose to do this morning. We have gone to Bethlehem too - it's a yearly pilgrimage for us.
We have dene in ritual and custom and memory and celebration exactly what the wisemen and
shepherds did. And what about our vision? It's one of God as loving father: it's one of
humanity in terms of love and affection and generosity: it is a vision of peace and good will
among men in the world. what happens to our vision? Can it stand the test of reality? Does
it have anything to do with our world as it commenced in earnest on December 26?

Vistons have a way of evaporating into thin air when confronted by reality. "The trouble
with idealists", someone has observed, “is that they don’t often Tike the places their
ideals take them or the things their ideals ask them to da." I would guess that everyone of
us has had personal experience with that: we've had a vision of what we wanted to do or
accomplish in life, but when we discovered the places our vision was taking us and the things
we would have to do, we gave it up. In the world of personal visions there are plenty of
concert musicians, brain surgeons, and All-American athletes. But those visions demand long
days of rehearsal, or years of study, or hours of practice. And most of us get them aside.

Life is full of illustrations. A whole generation of young people, born after the
Second World War, emerged several years ago with a vision of peace and justice and tove.

With idealistic and burning zeal they attacked the social ills of our society. They pro-
tested and marched and went to jail. They dropped out of school to work for candidates for
political office. But many are now disallusioned. Many nave dropped out ~ given up - the
vision has evaporated. Because the reality to which that kind of vision inevitably Teads
is the rather unspectacular world of local politics ~ electing precinct committeemen, and
county chairmen, and delegates to state conventions. The reality to which the noble vision

of a peaceful and just society leads is defeat and disappointment, going at it again, being

| w§e
defeated and disappointed again.

Many have concluded that the-system doesn't work - because they tried it once and were
not able to see the immediate results of their effort. Many have concluded that the vision
isn't worth it because of the places the vision leads and the kind of persistance and
commitment it demands.

The same kind of thing occurred in the last decade when Civil Rights became the subject
of a lot of people's vision. Millions of Americans shared Martin Luther King's dream of men
of all races standing shoulder to shoulder building a better tomorrow. But when the vision’
didn't materialize overnight; when it became apparent that the vision meant someone had to
force the issue legally and get arrested; when it becanie apparent that a lot of Black people
didn't believe the vision and weren't all that excited about integration, the cause faltered.

Young ministers emerge from seminary with a burning vision of the Church as the Body of
Christ, advocate of the poor, protector of the weak, fellowship of love and reconciliation.
Armed with a lofty theology of the word they preach scholarly sermons and initiate
innovative programs to serve humanity in their own locale. But reality is confronted in
the form of the struggling rural parish to which they are called, where paying the gas
bill next month is considerably more important then advocating the case of the poor and
arranging the Christmas bazaar has a much higher priority than reconciling the world.
Reality confronts the vision in the form of an entrenched church bureaucracy that appears
to be more interested in perpetuating itself than serving mankind. Reality, in our system, .
confronts the vision in the form of the Presbytery where real authority lies, and where a
man has to learn to be honest but fair, commited but flexible, and above all skilled in the
art of negotiation. Well, many aren't willing to go to the places and do the things which
thé vision dictates. And so young ministers turn cynical and quit ~ all too frequently.

It even happens to Taymen as they are elected and ordained as Elders. Ordinarily a
person brings idealism and enthusiasm to his very first term on the Session of Presbyterian
Church. He has a kind of developing vision of what his congregation can be - say, a place
where Christians grow and learn, for instance. So he works toward that end, and is instru-
mental in setting up @ first-rate adult education program. But nobody comes - and it is

very tempting fo set the vision aside, and settle for the business-as~usual matters of

-4-
simply paying the bills and seeing that no. one gets too unhappy.

Dr. Ernest Campbell of New York's Riverside Church observes that "The fatality rate
for visions in our time is very high". The young have a phrase for it: it's called
“Copping out". It means simply what I've been talking about - giving up on the lofty,
inspiring goals one has set, setting the noble vision aside, settiing for less, because the
reality which the vision must confront sooner or later is just too difficult.

As we come to the end of one year and the beginning of another I am convinced that
we need a renewal of vision. I sense that perople have given up on our nation and system:
I sense a deepening cynicism about our national goals, about responsiveness and integrity
in government at all levels. I see a whole counter-culture, consisting mainly of young
people, dropping out conspicuously and rather ostentatiously; but I regard as even more
tragic - and potentially dangerous - the genteel cop-out which comes in the phrase, "What's
the use?"

"Without vision the people perish” Proverbs advises (29:18) Without a noble goal, an
tnspiring vision of what the world could be and what I can accomplish life becomes flat
and stale and ultimately quite boring. The story is told of a tourist who was visiting
a coal mine, who watched a miner for a long time doing his job, and who finally expressed
sympatay to the man for having to stand in a damp tunnel all day performing a rote and
boring task. The miner was taken aback: he picked up a lump of coal and said: “I don't
think you quite understand. This is not just a lump of coal. THis is light and heat and
power. Perhaps it will light a city street, or it may warm a home or run a train. I'm
not just a miner for this company I'm the helper of peaple who never heard of me." {E.
Campbell, The Protestant Hour, Fall, 1969, P. 23) That's vision: that's vision and reality
in perfect tension: not too much of one or the other.

Beginning with the birth of Christ, the Christian faith has always kept its lofty
vistons in healthy tension with reality. Professor Richard Shaull of Princeton Seminary
puts it this way: "Biblical faith, contrary to most ancient religions, does not set us
within an eternal metaphysical order, but rather focuses our attention on man's life within
histery. There, in the midst af the common experiences of daily life in family, community

and nation, God meets and cails his people." (Ibid P.20)

Bu

In our Old Testament lesson this morning we read together about a lofty vision, spelled
out in the language of poetry: people dwelling in the land of deep darkness: God's Tight
penetrating that darkness. Reality there is the actual history of Israel - the painful,
sometimes almost hapeless, struggle of a people to survive. And their survival to this day
is the result of keeping the vision alive, but always within the framework of history -
whether that be Babylon,dudea or the Warsaw Ghetto.

The life of Jesus himself reveals the ame tension between the vision and reality. No
sooner had Mary given birth than the Holy Family had to nick up and travel te Egypt in order
to excabe the brutal wrath of a jJeaious king. The Sermon the Mount is recognized as one
of the greatest instances of religious and moral teaching the world has ever known. It'
contains a beautiful vision of what Gnd created men to be. But the teacher, Jesus himself,
came down from the mountain to deal with the reality of common life, tax collectors, pra-
stitutes, sinners, rude fishermen. The Last Supper, a magnificent vision of love and
brotherhood, contained something as real as an argument, terminated with a betrayal and was
foliowed by a public execution.

The word Bethlehem itself, Iwas intcrested to discover has been used in a way that
illustrates both tne vision and reality. In the fifteenth century an order of nuns in Lon-
don established the BethTchem hospital for tha insane: an expression certainly of the vision
of Christmas charity and love. But over the years the word Bethlehem was corrupted and
became “Bedlam”. The name stuck - and the word ‘came to define the kind of behavior
associated with the patients in the hospital. From Bethichem to Bedlam: from the manger
to the flight to Egyot: from the vision to reality.

Christmas is a vistonary experience for us. As we make our preparations our hearts
warm, our generosity is Timited only by the funds wo have, we are kinder, more cheerful,
more affectionate. Christmas is the vision of human life as it could be. And we've seen
it again. We've been to Bethlehem. We've experienced ithat wonderful once-a-year happiness:
we've given and received: we've laughed and cried. And now it's over,

Every day can't be Christmas. And yet if there was any authenticity to what we
celebrated here last Sunday night - that vision needs badly to be kept alive: to be kept

in strong and healthy tension with our daily lives.

~G-

We don't know what the Wise Men did when they returned to their homes, hut we can
speculate that life was different for them: that having seen God's bve incarnate in that
humble setting, even the most common, ordinary activities of their lives became the
vehicies for that same Tove.

He have been to Bethlehem, and new we must return: this week ~ to school, work,
problems, income taxes, to life in earnest. Won't you take the vision of Christmas with
you? Whatever reality is for you Tuesday Morning at 8:00 A.M, won't you keep it in tension
with the vision of peace and affection and joy that you celebrated last week?

Harold Blake Walker, writing in the Chicago Tribune,said it elaquentty:

"Unless our spirits are jaded and lacking in spiritual sensitivity, Christmas can
renew our lives with faith, hope and new meaning so that, like the shepherds, wo can
return to the common round of our days with beth joy and gratitude. The gleeful Taughter
of the children, the love and devotion of thase who are dearest to us, and the kindly
affection of friends compose a gentle conspiracy of Gud to remind us that life and toil
are worthwhile."

May the vision of Christmas stay alive in your heart in the coming yoar. And may God's

gentle conspiracy break in on you~ in each of its days. AMEN

Father, we are grateful for the season of Christmas - and for its vision of peace and
love. Help us now to keep that vision alive as we return from Bethlehem. Through Jesus

Christ our Lord. AMEN