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SERMONS Sean Gilbert Christ Church, Christmas Eve, 2006 Whatever happens, A recurring theme for me this year has been the converting role that beauty plays in human experience. And beauty not just in a romantic or idealized sense, but that which arrests our attention, moves us deeply (even unto tears or laughter) and challenges our preconceptions and prejudices; positively altering behavioural patterns no less. It is not an easy process though. The rise and rise of post-modern thought – not to mention the prevalence of crass consumerism - has almost left us feeling guilty to name anything as being beautiful. For if there is no reliable measure of truth and all reality is but a social, cultural and psychological construction, beauty is simply up for grabs. It is, literally, just in the eye of the individual (lonely) beholder. Be that as it may, one knows, I think, when we are in the presence of genuine beauty. Things look and feel differently. Things get under our guard and before you know it, a shift in disposition or mood can take place; Perhaps before a child’s playful wonderment. Or the vastness - yet complexity - of the known universe, or maybe, if you are really lucky, hearing the resonating sound of an Emaj7th chord (on an acoustic guitar of course). Well, tonight, it is not only a matter of creating or recreating beauty, for more to the point is our celebration of it; our glad welcoming of it into our yearning midst, even into the deepest and most hidden places; those no-go zones we tend to shield from light and from the presence of grace itself. For the Christian tradition, this gift of beauty is the eternal Word of God, mysteriously, inexplicably made flesh; Divinity and humanity, embodied in the Christ Child, fully and finally at home with one another. And in that union of spirit, openly lays the presence of grace and truth that is o so willing to be experienced and liberally shared. So this night is not just about the child of distant Bethlehem, rather it is about the universal, healing child deeply touching and embracing what is most needful in us. For in the end, Christianity is not a religion of the book, nor is it of wooden prose peddled by professional preachers. It is a way of the heart, and a heart progressively set free to be a gift of grace and truth to others. Indeed, Christianity is a creative expression of beauty; lives of meaning, purpose and inspiration. And lest we think this is well beyond us, or not possible for our all too mortal and human frame, we can take heart that from within a very ordinary cow shed, at home in a poverty of spirit and found to be almost penniless and destitute, there still exists a light of love and goodness which is both accessible and ennobling for all. So friends before this light and receptive to its drawing beauty, may our hands consciously let go of that which is no longer needed - nor important – (our trifling preoccupations and restrictive attachments) and may the simple beauty of the Christ Child - our hope and our salve - find an uncluttered and welcoming home within us….. Shall we take a few moments for our own prayer and contemplation…. |