Christmas Eve 2003******************************
A few years ago Time magazine in
all its shallow and superficial glory quite by accident asked a profound
question: "Are the stories of the Bible true?" I say accidentally
because I have no doubt that they did not know what they were asking, let alone
what they were talking about. I suppose it sold some copy but of course it
didn't really answer the question because it didn't know what the question was
asking. The article inside was inconclusive of course but it made me think
again about true stories and just what is a true story and what makes a story
true anyway? This night we have heard what may well be the most beautiful story
ever told. Some think so, others may not. Beauty, like truth is not so simple as we might wish. Oddly enough there is a direct
connection between beauty and truth if only we were able to say what it is.
What makes this story true is not so much that it happened exactly as the story tells it. There is some, but not much evidence, certainly nothing conclusive, that it did happen this way, as a matter of fact, if it is evidence that you want. The stories in Matthew and Luke do not even agree on the facts. Does it matter? Why are we afraid to acknowledge these things? Is it because we are afraid that without certain facts our faith will crumble or become meaningless never mind that faith has never been about certainty or facts. Certainty does not require faith. Faith is not a mindless confirmation of what we already know, it is believing and trusting what we can't possibly know for certain. If you think that the truth is simply the sum total of the facts then Time magazine is all you need though you may need to check their facts. I am not making this up. Someone once said that the truth is more than the facts and it certainly is. That's why Time magazine is probably out of its depth asking such questions in the first place. They have enough problems just getting the facts right. I would suggest to you that whether it happened or not this story is true not because it happened once but because it is happening still. The story is true because it is the story of who God is and what God means to us. It is not about the existence of God but the nature of God. It is not about whether there is a God or not but why and how? William Placher wrote: the truth of a statement or a book (or a story, I might add) depends on what it means. So what is true?
The question is profound because something is true but it is not as simple as carefully arranging the facts as we know them. If we decide that something is true that is not, or that something is not true that is, we may never know what is true. Ironically to know the truth we have to not be so sure about the truth we think we know. At the same time we cannot afford to simply abandon the idea that something is true, that we are not just making it up as we go, that there is more to the story than mere words can tell, and that it is important to seek the truth. Indeed there may be more truth found in the seeking of it than in the finding of it. As one wag said quite seriously once, If you meet someone who knows the truth, beware, if you meet someone who seeks the truth, follow her.
Why is this so important? James
Carroll writing in the Globe yesterday: In
the early 21st century, religious fundamentalism has shown itself to be a
danger to peace. In the West, it is commonly assumed that Islam is the problem,
with many Muslims at the mercy of an intolerant rigidity of belief. But most Christians
are effectively fundamentalist in their beliefs, with little capacity for
critical thought about sources, doctrines, and theology. Church leaders and
scholars have kept it this way for the sake of their own power (but I would
also add the rest of us have gone along because having the answers is always
easier than asking questions) but in a
new era of inflamed religious conflict, childish passivity by a broad
population in matters of faith is irresponsible.
What is true does matter. It is a
question of life and death. Jesus is
said to have said something that certainly has the ring of truth when he said
that you cannot love God and hate your brother. In a world separated
by religious beliefs that cause us to hate each other we have to wonder where
the truth was lost. And yet our failure to live God's truth is also part of the
truth. Buechner said, A particular truth
can be stated in words - today is Wednesday, we are here now, 2+2 =4, in
our world tonight there are countless children homeless and hungry and
frightened and cold because of our decision to use violence. Truth itself, he continues, cannot be stated. Truth simply is, and is
what is, the good with the bad, the joy with the despair, the presence and the
absence of God . . . Life is truth, the life of the world, your own life, and
the life inside the world you are. The truth is who we are and who God is
and it is the story of what it all means, of where we have been and where we
are going. Christmas is true because it comes whether we want it to or not,
whether we call it Christmas or not, whether we care or not. Like the truth, it
cannot be denied. Kemp Harris is a performer, composer and storyteller from
Some
will win and some will lose
That's
the way it goes
When
looking for the only joy in town
To
all the joy we've lost
To
all the joy we've found
It's
Christmas in
It's
Christmas in
It's
Christmas in
Anyhow
Yes, Time Magazine, this story is true. It is the story of the hope in human hearts, the story of the longing for a love that never ends, a love that is at the center of all things, and at the beginning and at the end, a love that gives meaning to everything else, a love that draws us onward into life. It is the story of life. It is the story of the meaning of life. It is the story of what love can do. It is the story of a God who is big enough to make a universe and create life and give it breath, and small enough to be born a child in a lonely, forsaken place and to walk among us as a servant and a teacher and a healer, with the poor and the common, as well as the rich and powerful. To walk without flinching even to death and, in dying to show us, strangely enough, how to live. Oh, this story is true, all right.
In
the places where we are broken, in the (great dark gaps) where something is missing, in the silence of unanswered questions,
the wondrous gift is given. (Harriet Richie, CC)
It is true because it comes where we are, it always comes right where we are and finds us there and even in the worst of times when we say that we will not believe this anymore, when we refuse to be moved again, when we say, "enough, I can't bear to dream or to hope anymore", this story comes and will not be denied and we are left to wonder, wanting to believe it all and knowing without knowing somewhere deep within our very souls that it really is true; it is true because it breaks our heart and we can't really turn away not really, not ever and, because it is true, it changes everything.
