The Rev. Geoffrey Black: Keeping It Real at Christmas
As I greet you this Advent/Christmas season, my UCC sisters and brothers and our extended family, I am more mindful than ever of the vast array of ministry and mission settings and circumstances in which people of the United Church of Christ are engaged. Having spent the last year traveling throughout our church in an effort to deepen and expand my own understanding of the rich diversity that is our communion, both here in the United States and abroad, I am particularly mindful of the expansive range of traditions and activities that lend expression to faith and faithfulness at this time of year.
Christmas is celebrated in so many different ways. The traditions in farming communities might vary from those in the cities. The feel of the Christmas holiday is different in Hawaii, Florida or California than it is in New England, Wisconsin or Montana, Haiti or Lebanon. It might have a different feel in a Samoan church and community than it would in an African American church and community. These are just a few of the vast array of settings that could be named as UCC settings of community and ministry. Yet in each and every setting, there is the same story held in common - that of the birth of Jesus.
In its fullness, the nativity story is about beauty, intrigue, suffering, risk and sacrifice along with the realities of immigration and poverty. It gives cause for hope and expresses our yearning for peace. Additionally, there is an overarching theme of God's intervening love and the joy it inspires. For me this provides an explanation for that wide range of Christmas expression that goes beyond where we are on the planet, and the traditions of our communities and cultures.
The wonder and majesty of the Christmas season persists in the face of commercialization that is, at times, overwhelming. It continues to endure in spite of the harsh realities of life - the truth that we remain a nation at war this year as last, that unemployment is high throughout the nation and even higher among African Americans and Latinos/as, or that poverty surrounds the life circumstances of an increasing number of America's children. In spite of unfair and unjust immigration laws, the Christmas season lifts our sights.
In truth, the Christmas story that we tell and retell is not far removed from harsh realities. After all, it is about some poor people who, with their newborn baby, had to flee across international borders to seek safety. The child's life was endangered by a fearful and enraged tyrant. We imagine the beauty of a night sky and a guiding star. We admire the faithfulness and hope of those who came to worship this child and bring him gifts fit only for God's anointed. They understood that God was doing something special, thus they were deemed wise. In all of this, God's love and compassion for humanity is evident. That is the element that lifts this story above all others, causing it to endure over millennia. It even speaks to us now.
You see, at the core of the season for us is that story. It isn't just any story, it is God's story and it has a way of engaging our spirits, jump-starting our imaginations and energizing our endeavors to love and serve God by rendering loving service to others, and by sharing the gifts of God in as many ways as we can. There is the beauty and drama of worship in this season. Of course, there are also the delights for children and other loved ones. There are greetings for friends and coworkers near and far. However, beyond these joys of the season, there are the many acts of service and sharing that make Christmas a blessing to the world.
So let's keep it real! In wishing you a blessed Advent and Christmas season, I trust that we will hear the story anew and let it again inspire us to be about ministry and mission in the name of the one whose birth is at the heart of the story - Jesus the Christ!
Peace and blessings to you in the joyous season.
-Geoffrey Black
[Taken with permission from theUCC website.]