ja-tS-7y Lert ¥> Peay — CHOIR -LrFt YP
Oolrraight, Elta | Rhee, rman Maun alusrenye Called apamn yee aut of th
Geyuhs MLA . Je tae gf trouble ~ia shians e stekwuses + troge 44 m= fe
dimes oe per pleri 4 + dovet - men Ware always prance s and ta thr
ery) Seneed were greeence , So ow Lae, UA ais ou of ove uced: vo
we Com % Yow Wha we \wed 5 where ue awk understands: whe our live s
$ceum \ pe rity Oima\e es» Brut faklur iw Mes seasw, we ear Whws
yuwsie tis Avs Aivee oF Adven + vw Suse agen, ALY you haw Cow to vi
Sisk ~ ‘before ove waa. - Wes yew Naw Crn aun Us ds share aur
Muwan @eperionre ~ Aw laugh + Cry wats, We, Ts Se Sete oe lear ayrin
ve ike — Qs) sees pws, “Ae > yivr \ove ve us is Ge alienate and
eee ee Me pie HR of 6« «6uCekkla. Awd 50, oe Fatt. 1 he goo ge:
Wwe vA spr: 4 & fiduus - ue tow -e ee - in deco apatidvie : Wurdle and
ye* EW of 4 x smq + \angvter .

Kode wa are qreretu | for tha pra News YW esck co vs is importa hb
we! {ak whe vse feel a SE we mw Cares, WA Wy dame kui det pov
Core ty GA per Sm us" re eros Farr, for “he diqwly ¥ work
yov yan \beskowed mvs nd qi. Wire wS alwonus Comirtelle ucla AAs
wh Gecoekomd + s\n postin albovt osselus, os because uf \Kt
\y WwW. poss hive, eiveout each Xba. “real Nhrouqh

£ deprecartims - Breale Porough uate apace awk
love . Wel p vs qo See agin AW ate birth & if.

Wu re
wu are Ore yore le

\ale vs» reyoiee 1! yevr

Our Loder, we bring loeSore xy ovr CWWLErus for ets) ur share Uth Cou
our Ceeern Gr hese wha are stele Loe ~ degicesed - Brie y Nealon | Cue unt
love Meek brings te Siewk wil Vase wel graves Os pray, fa, fos or close
Yoved ras - Aecoe un ofl Srraet WB whan we ae beim Thequifyl eabioul Wand
ase whe veisk seme his endure of pettress. Bless Aen TAb. la pray, alse, for
wile ve tered eis cedure + Te beach us hu love Compe sy , Wrest: teock us
Me. A:Fferunre \be {ween gels lo leromer of pes $ aua acceg tin love.

ToNer wa bring beGre Yov gersmrl Carteres - geovd Whi Wr worry, but
Sse wwe ome. ov kwaw wed an | arc. We wld lum ve pe fn ev

Plog Gud, Wov Vous call d ws de lee ro adl pory le we ~\Q tuo ld,
Se TA Sor & wore Aut spewlirens lo oles army we dia i. Un Pray
: word \eesders - Ser ow prev alr advisers - YW. Ye we i persist
“~ seck-) peace a atice ae "Aes for Wn se less Ser fui Ww UA
mw AW wR and aw, 3: Gi ew Vase ie + widst of

ee oye

Avigeit: Youd Ns over Fedlur For Wout ose weer beter at eerd term Cane
Arremce Yun vei prowlews, Male us Lneratwe lle e+ push os LR Ay

Wor\i - @> aye specks\ Pergre.
A 4 \"s “GL. Ga. Yes FH CS goue Sean ae \be ~ your

e wwlwd uty each ct 1 ope vs ceo Me Wey wos
rela Lives lee. Audet walk wi,

Clue

_ Yee @ roma wer love wi ovr

wes rw of dans aluel oo Ue ego Wu tlcywee (ECE seer Her
Weer 4s how 6 WA Brey stn. gryer ow lei qaqa Ws

Q.$ so —

2%
The title of this sermon comes from a line in W.H.Auden's "Christmas

Oratorio", For the Time Being;

"yell, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree /
Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes =
Some have got broken - and carrying them up to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe, must be taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school.

There are enough leftovers to do, warmed-up, for the
rest of the week -

Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,

Stayed up so late, attempted - quite unsuccessfully -

To love all of our relatives, and in general

Grossly overestimated our Semmees powers.

Once again as in previous years we have seen

the actual Vision and failed

To do more than entertain it as an agreeable
Possibility, once again we have sent him away

Begging though to remain his disobedient servant..." ‘

TY
The title of the sermon comes from that line and the point is very simple: pv’ rl

namely, that the baby whose pirth we celebrated last Wednesday was Jesus Christ.
gross +L. jssue a weit:
It's intent, frankly, is to pashetebbbedkerre . (To borrow from the poem, to prevent

the (rscoin the actual Vision and failing to do more than entertain it as an

agreeable possibility."
The ofd Testament? Jessen his Pharning sets Phe scene.

Centuries before the birth the prophet had warned that men_would not always

accept, or even welcome, God's servant when He sppeared.|(n has believed what we
ees ed ee — Ss

have heard?"jhe asked. | tn appropriate question for the first Sunday after Christmas.

The prophet saw that the servant would not always be appealing, and that the
=e [ae

eT

preconceptions of men regarding God's man well might prevent them from
ee | inital ie

recognizing Him,

"he grew up before him like a young plant, and like

a dry root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness
that we should lock at him, And no beauty that we should
desire him", (Isaiah 53:2)

Suddenly we are removed from the lovely simplicity of the nativity to the
cee Fe a) wh
6 mestion Wo S0ese

disturbing complexity of a man who didn't fit dem the pattern
LICR sel

|e Vlee @ ae
‘ dase Suddenly we are jerked ews ‘from SM the sentiment of a baby in a manger

to © the uncomfortable ambiguity of a man who always ended up loving the wrong kind

of people and irritating the right kind of people,

And the prophet wouldn't let it go ac shat | wor only won't men be able to

eerie

recognize Him: not only will God's Servant have to deal with men who don't like His

Looks; but violence and hatred will be directed toward uin.\ suddendy we're hegiciens Lacing

=—

Ԥ the distinct possibility of a cross thirty years down the road,
eel *

"He was despised and rejected..

a man of sorrows acquainted with grief:

4
And as one from whom men hide their faces a

he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:3) Ws me i we

Or take it from the New Testament - from the birth narrative itself. [2 wonder se
Seal ar enh OI v4

if St. Luke had any idea of the allegorical significance contained in his little Gi

vignette about there being no room in the inn?] That, of course, is a precious and
ed, a trite el

important part of the story./But let's remove the varnish for a moment: |Let's take
rT = erCcicmniiay miei

it out of plastic and ceramic and music,
a =_—_-, aaa:

Let's contemplate for a moment a dirty barn, a feeding trough used in haste

for a crib. | but deal very judiciously with the inn-keeper,
- wea bi el Sa ni ny

He did what men have been doing ever since:| what the prophet said they

ey aie,

would do) vhat cur culture, in fact, is in the process of doing this norning | He

had other things on his mind:| making money, for instance, from this year-end

ai al

bonanza of cash customers,\We can't very well fault bim for chat s| it was his
Lal

Livelthood. | and besides, a full-blown party was in process: |the wine was flowing:
ee, Sd eerie ‘cin ano

laughter filled the air. \jho had time to waste on Galilean peasants?| The girl was
very pregnant - unmarried, someone said \ very simply - there was uo room.|But, of
—_—m, a —_— il —

course, the inn keeper didn't know who it was he was inviting to spend the night

=,

in the barn: |and even his ignorance points toward the road ahead For men_have never
Sain, a Dy |

been very good at recognizing God at work in their nidge | That, remember, was the
Sa) Laeeihiditen | oe ek ee

essence of the prophetic warning \ that is stiil a problen 1 the New Testament

is te be trusted God is at work in the world whef people are Loved and accepted and
—— be sitar | Led a

fed and healed.| If God becomes incarnate in the middle of history it is when:
— a == —_ Samad

justice is equal; when dignity is defended} when people are no longer used | yee it
— meine t niaadl

ig no easier, no more acceptable, no more popular to advocate those ideas today
than it was to interrupt a good party by dragging in a couple of rvagstag

Galilean peasants, 2
ae aminidiend

Several years ago there was a much-promoted campaign to put Christ back into

piienate

F - 3 _ :
f christnas. \nue that's not the problem and never has been the problem, jour culture

doesn't have any trouble with baby Jesus | any man can smile beneyolently at the de
—— ee i er
ce + Chr cotonan Re see te leuisl special Greaqged Win i at yh end | Bud Ayers ee a atedae,
infant? \It's the man whe gives us trouble.\Someone recently observed that an an Aw wih ou
Fenske, on

American Christmas is a little like holding a birthday party and not inviting the Brikon
peetienecpnam A Cael speoto '

\ honored suest.

‘CORee ts yo easier Aw see Ged at weed a bk wird deny Ahan it
Wiss be TeCUR wee ion ~ et shabby SCene ta Awe learn pelind
“~We ian,

56

Who, in fact, has believed what we have heard? ., Fveryone ib would Seem,
heavy we
Our culture has always included heawiag religious overtones.| the New York , ©
Ss So,

yw od
Times Magazine last Sunday carried a major article on prayer |me cover article an. o- WW

in this week's Time is on the Bible.\Religion not only remains a topic of rather oe »
i ss, eh ve
wide taterest, but most Americans feel religious \ana the majority of those feel ZX, ¢.
religious in a Christian sense.\whether or not Jesus Christ has anything to do with vs =
« {
our cultural feeling of religiosity, however, is another question altogether the wb
a ry
dilemma could be addressed in a lot of ways and it is a major issue for the church, a no
sci ill pi eee fr 0 of
" 4
This morning I should like to document it by reading an excerpt from Gatch 22, o i" , lt
= 3 ae pene
cen
one of the most popular novels to come out of the Second World war Chaplain to |
oe ee [as \
a bomb in Italy is bei t on th et by h Lonel. (
omber group in Italy is being put on the carp y his Colone AW
vA eo
"We were speaking about conducting religious services in ye

the briefing room before each Atssion| 1s there any

reason why we can't?"

"No, sir'', the Chaplain mumbled.

"Then we'll begin with this afternoon's mission") The

Colonel's hostility softened gradually as he applied

himself to details,

"Now I want you to give a lot of thought to the kind of
prayers we're going _to say.\1 don't want anything heavy or sad.|r'4 like you to
keep it light and snappy, something that will send the boys out feeling pretty

good.| Do you know what T near? 1 don't want any of this Kingdom of God or Valley

of Death stuff.\That's all too negative.\What are you making such a sour face for?"

""T'm sorry, sir," the chaplain stamered. ("7 happened to be thinking of the
Twenty-third Psalm just as you said that."

"How does that go?"

"That's the one you were just referring to, sir.| "the Lord is my

fi
shepherd, »=jm—
"That's the one I-was just referring to.|re4g out. ..tiaven's you got_anything
humorous that stays away fxom waters and valleys and goat ra like to keep away

—_—

from the subject of religion altogether if we can,"

inn |

The chaplain was apologetic,("I'm sorry, sir, bet just about all _the prayers
esl —-

I know are rather somber in tone and make at least some passing reference to God."

a

“Then let's get some new ones .|the men already are doing enough aroroiwioos, Gr RS,

Tiel

about the missions I send them on without rubbing it in with any sermons about God
eer hinia naar

ree, el

er death or Paradise,.\Why can't we take a more positive approach? couldn't we pray
7 eel

fee EE

for a tighter bomb pattern?"
"Well, yes, sir, I suppose so,"\the chaplain answered hesitantly.| "you

shouldn't even need me if that's all you wanted to do.\You could do that yourself."

a

"Tl know I could," the colonel responded tartly,|"But what do you think

rT,

you're here for?...}Your job is to lead us in prayer, and from now on you're going
J ¥
Fae linen:

to lead us in a prayer for a tighter bomb pattern before every migsion. \rs that

clear?\I think a tighter pattern is something really worth praying for.\rt will be
a Sn ana

-—

a feather in all our caps with General peckem. |General Peckem feels that it makes
Enel Cael

a much nicer aerial photograph when the bombs explode close together"...
ewes

Colonel Cathcart began tramping back and forth reflectively.
bl puppemecommaniryprteiinte he

seooe'l suppose we'll have to keep you waiting outside until the briefing is

[se tetie etenemaemmaal
ite

iit

over, because all that information is classified, \we can slip you in while Major Danby
Ce el
is synchronizing the watches .\1 don't think there is anything secret about the
right time.\We'11 allocate about a minute and a half for you in the schedule, [Will
a minute and a half be cxought |
"tyes sir, TE it doesn't include the time necessary to excuse_the atheists from
a eee i

i“

the room, dadmedniinhemiiibineiadaernpin

76

Colonel Cathcart stopped in his czacka. una atheists?" he bellowed

—— ee

defensively, his whole manner changing in a flash to one of virtuous and
inal

belligerent denial.4'There are no atheists in my outfit! | athetom is against the
eee Cn al

law, isn't it?"

"No, sir.!!

Feil

"Te isn't?" the colonel was surprised \rhen it's un-American, isn't it?"

ie

"I'm not sure, sir", answered the chaplain.
a lial ed

cee

"Well, I am!" the colonel declared.|"r'n not going to disrupt _our religious

—a a!

services just to accommodate a buuch of lousy atheists .\they're getting no special

ee

Lens sede

privileges from ne-| they can stay right where they are and pray with the rest

of us,!

é The greatest challenge to the Gospel in this culture is the vague religiosity
Lesahimedimeemime ree ——

of a lot of well-meaning people,| ror it is a religiosity amorphous enough to feel
a —

good about the birth of a child without giving a second thought to the man the baby

ceievs Witle
becane,| tere is, that is to say, mp room for the specific claims, the teachings,

—

the ethical imperatives and moral standards which surround Christian reith \re is
een enamel meme eine

not a problem of atheism and never has been,\The late Bishop James Pike in his book

A Time for Christian Candor points out that an authentic atheist is very zare:| even
eee,

an honest agnostic is hard to come by, But the worid is filled with the indifferent:
penal ——

chose, in his words, [whose diffidence is about like that of most people toward

Cee er

wegetarianism:]it's nothing they've ever been involved in or particularly thought

ae

about." (P, 15)

That's the issue that presents itself on the Sunday after grrtotuas | and it

seems to me that it is drawn more sharply on this day than on any other. \the claim
Fal =_—

baie

that the infant's bixth was an act of God coming into human history is true or it
a i in _—_—eh are Cael
ore Daan

is falseMIJf it is true: ie, in fact, the lovely story is the tale of God's love for

men, it is the most astounding thing that ever happened.

—

LL Oa mh ir mie y”

is
If it true that Almighty God has lived among us, then the world is a new .
and different place, full of hope and grace because of it \re it is true that \. a
x ;
the child was Jesus the Christ then what He did when He became a man ought to w es
— Cem Ce ey y
A
instruct and judge everything we ao.\re it is true that God gave that life - » \ yr
his life - to us as light in the darkness, as the promise of eternal life, then X
our lives - quite simply - ought to be given to following Him in happy gratitude. Q \
If it is not true, then the whole thing - the Christmas story - the Church - x!
= =a SSeS She

the faith - ought to be opposed by men of good will as the cruelést hoax and most

fantastic lie ever told. Qu
ene rd
e)
He is our tora.\ox He is a most pathetic joke. ( \

So the trees will be discanded:\ the decorations put away in the cardboard

hn

boxes, the children got ready for school \ that is that - Or is it? of
Slee =>, fs
D ‘
We have seen the actual Vision.\we have entertained it as an agreeable ie
is"

possibility as has our entire culture,| Let us not, this year, send Him away claiming \
aa —_— ee

lamely no room.

———

Amen.

Almighty God, our Father, we are grateful for the good and lovely celebration
of Your Son's birth. It has warmed our hearts, It has brought us closer to each
other. Now - as we return to normality, give us faith to be disciples of

Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.