“Divine Prepositions”

Lessons & Carols

 

Grace and peace to you from the Prince of Peace.  Amen.

 

Tonight we hear once again the ancient story of the birth of Jesus.  We try to ‘word’ the living Word; we try to put into language the mystery of God becoming one of us. 

 

Our attempts at wording God are not futile. However, our language only creates glimpses – flares shooting up that for a moment reveal a piece of the mystery of God hidden in the darkness. 

 

So tonight during the darkest days in the Northern Hemisphere we bring in evergreens and light them.  Christmas trees are a reminder of the evergreen Creator and their lights tell us that we are not abandoned to the darkness.  We are not alone.

 

We light candles and sing ‘Silent Night’ because we stand in wonder of the Word made flesh and our response is silence.  How do we put into words God’s love?

 

For your reflection tonight we hear both the Biblical witness and the poetry of our Christmas hymns which touch the divine mystery of God among us.

 

One way we can talk about God that is simple, yet profound is through prepositions.  Tonight’s reflection is “Divine Prepositions.”

 

Preposition:  A preposition is a connecting word showing the relation of a noun to some other word in the sentence.  Prepositions connect words and show a relationship.

 

For, With, In – three prepositions that describe our relationship to God.

God For Us:

 

The universe is hostile.  Our small pale blue dot supports life that so far seems unique and a once chance happening. 

 

However, God’s story tells us that God-creator offered an original blessing by calling life out of the chaos. 

Holy Writ tells us that we are not alone – that we are made in God’s image and bear God’s likeness.  That God is on the side of life – human life.  That God is for us.

 

The ‘God For Us’ is the God who created the universe and us, who set Israel free from slavery, and now makes a universal commitment in the Christ.

 

A voice will sing tonight - the mystery of the ‘God For Us’ echoing off the Appalachian hills: 

 

“I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,

why Jesus the Savior did come forth to die,

for poor ordinary people like you and like I,

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.”

 

Divine Prepositions – “God With Us”

 

‘Emmanuel’ – O Come, O Come Emmanuel is what we sang this past Advent Season.  Emmanuel means God with us.  We are not talking about a distant deity or a disembodied spirit.  No, the ‘God with us’ became embodied in Christ. 

 

I can’t explain it – I can only bear witness to it. 

 

Jesus is the decisive revelation

of what a life full of God looks like.

 

Imagine the “God With Us”:

 

God with us in all our birthing,

God with us in all our joy.

 

God with us in all our suffering,

God with us in that infant boy.

 

God with us in all our confessing,

God with is in all our blessing.

 

God with us in all our crosses, 

God with us in all our losses.

 

God with us in all our crying,

God with us death defying.

 

Divine Prepositions:  “God In Us”

 

The mystery of God’s presence is not confined to a one time birthing in Mary.  But through the promised Spirit a re-birthing in each of us.  Yes, you heard me correctly – this Christ is being born again in you. 

 

I cannot explain it – I can only bear witness to it – the birthing of Christ in us through:

 

-        The cup of cool water given to a thirsty stranger,

-        Silent Night echoing across a battle field during World War I and enemies laying down their arms crossing no man’s land to remember the birth of the Prince of Peace,

-        the persistent advocate who refuses to live in a world where people go hungry,

-        the spouse faithfully caring for the sick or dying loved one.

 

‘God in Us’ – I cannot explain it.

I can only bear witness to it.

 

For the first several centuries of the Christian movement – the Holy Spirit was referred to with feminine pronouns – ‘She.’ The church imagined the Spirit re-birthing Christ in each believer!

 

Meister Eckhart, a 13^th century Dominican monk and mystic, known for his philosophical writings and mystical revelations, wrote: “What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart?”

 

We do far too much celebrating of Christmas as a past event. I believe in God, but do I believe in God-in-me? I believe in God in heaven, but do I believe in God-on-earth? I believe in God out there, but do I believe in God-with-us?

 

Yet, tonight we will sing and give voice to the ‘God In Us’ when we sing ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

 

“O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.”

 

The Christ-child is – a divine preposition – connecting us with God, showing us our relationship with the Divine.

 

Christmas Eve – “Divine Prepositions”

 

God FOR Us / God WITH Us / God IN Us

 

Amen.