Telling
the Story
Mike’s Sermon Preached Christmas Eve, 2001
Luke 2:1-20
We have all come here tonight because of the story. It’s a remarkable story. On the face of it, it seems so simple. We’ve heard it so many times we know it by heart. It’s so familiar that we can mouth the words along with it when someone starts to read it. It’s so familiar that it can start to become background noise. Not consciously, of course, it just sort of slips back, and we don’t catch the details quite as well as we did before.
But God has found a way around that. Because God has made this story so compelling, so gripping, we can’t help but retell it in new ways. You have heard the story read; and you have heard the story through the carols you have sung; tonight you will see the story danced. Ultimately you will be a part of the story as you come to the Lord’s Table for Holy Communion.
Because of the readings and the carols and the pageants and the plays, we all know who the characters are. We start out with May and Joseph. Then there are the animals in the stable, and the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. In the crèche we see one of those shepherds with a lamb draped across his shoulders that he’s bringing to the baby Jesus, who’s lying in a manger. We know of the three wise men that came from the east because they followed a star.
Then there are countless stories outside of the church that tell the story nearly as well. There’s The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, and Barrington Bunny by Martin Bell. Countless movies use the theme of the incarnation, from Star Wars to The Matrix. The “Christ Figure” in drama and other arts is a staple.
And, of course, there’s Gitchi Manitou.
You haven’t heard of Gitchi Manitou? No, he’s not a character from a Dr. Seuss story or a frost giant from Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys. This is actually a story from within the church. Gitchi Manitou means “Great God” or “Most Awesome of the Awesome” in the Huron Indian language. We find Gitchi Manitou in the carol, ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime, in our hymnal right next to The First Noel. Number 244, if you’re wondering. Anyway, this Christmas carol illustrates some of the best qualities of the story of the Incarnation of God. Listen:
1. ‘Twas in the moon of wintertime, when all the birds had fled, that mighty [Gitchi Manitou] sent angel choirs instead; before their light the stars grew dim, and wondering hunters heard the hymn: Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
2. Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found; a ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round; but as the hunter braves drew nigh, the angel song rang loud and high: Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
3. The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair as was the ring of glory on the helpless infant there. The chiefs from far before him knelt with gifts of fox and beaver pelt. Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
4. O children of the forest free, O seed of Manitou, the holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you. Come kneel before the radiant boy, who brings you beauty, peace, and joy. Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
This carol’s writer does not present Christ's birth as an event which happened far away and long ago, nor linger on its details; what matters for him, as well it might for every Christian, is the immediacy of the Incarnation and the difference it can make in the lives not just of Hurons; but of believers in any culture. This is what draws us, and makes the story so resilient that it can be retold and retold, as it has been for nearly two thousand years. The fact that we can find space within the story for ourselves, no matter who we are or where we come from or when we have lived. But then again, it is God who has made the place for us, and invites us to come in.
Still, we may be tempted to ask, “Is it true? Has God really done this? Or is it after all just a story we tell?” Especially this year we have asked that, and more. The only answer I can give is to say, “Look around you. Because there you will find God Incarnate, the Word made flesh and come to live among us.” It is in the worship that we offer, and the service that we render, and the holy fellowship that is shared in this congregation of Christ’s Church. The Incarnation is made real wherever and whenever the Divinity of God’s Love comes into contact with the Needs and Hurts of Humanity.
It is the greatest story ever told, number one, because, indeed, it is true, it is so true, it is cosmically true. And number two, because it has no ending. As we continue to hear it, and tell it, we continue to live it. And so now I will get out of the way, so that we can continue to hear it, and tell it, and live it. Praise be to God.