Bill Stroop Sermon,"It's Bethlehem, Not Neverland,"Christmas Day 2004, Year A, St. George's Episcopal Church

St. George's Episcopal Church
Roseburg, Oregon
Christmas Day, December 25 , 2004
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Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97:1-12
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74^th General Convention of the ECUSA

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:1-20)

It's Bethlehem, Not Neverland[1]
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop, Rector

I recently read that Peter Pan is 100 years old. In December1904, one year after the Wright brothers had flown at Kitty Hawk and while the Russians were at war with the Japanese and Theodore Roosevelt was president, a flying boy appeared on a London Stage in a play called Peter Pan, Or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up written by Sir J.M. Barrie. By 1911, the play was made into a novel, and today, Peter Pan flies in theatres and on television as an animated character. He battles Captain Hook in a television musical (with Peter played by Mary Martin). And he rediscovers his Neverland home in a live-action movie with the aging Peter played by the perennial child, Robin Williams.

Peter invites Wendy to travel to Neverland to be a mother of his gang of Lost Boys. Wendy, Peter, and the gang have many adventures battling Indians and their archenemy Captain Hook. After playing with them for a while Wendy finally realizes that she misses her family too much, and goes back home. Periodically, Peter looks in on Wendy at her London home, and sees that she is growing up.

Years later he returns and is frightened by the mature Wendy who now has a daughter of her own. Peter finally realizes that he will never grow up with a mother and a father; it is the one joy from which he is forever barred. Peter sat upon the floor sobbing, unable to accept the fact that Wendy grew up.

"You promised you wouldn't!" Peter sobbed.

"I couldn't help it, Peter," Wendy explained. "I am a married woman now. I am ever so much older than twenty."

Forever destined to be the boy who wouldn't grow up, peter flies back to Neverland.

I think a small part of me wants to go back to Neverland with Peter; I liked battling pirates and dreaming of flying. I liked the innocence of childhood (although I wouldn't go through adolescence again for anything!)

And I am not alone. In New York, twenty and thirtysomethings buy products that remind them of their childhoods. In one store, they line up to buy yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. In an uptown candy bar, twentysomethings loiter around a giant Pez dispenser and under a lollypop tree. Advertisers call this sort of thing "Peterpandemonium" – a longing for that which will transport us back to simpler and more cherished times.

Isn't that what Christmas does for us too? After all, this is a magical time of year. Christmas carols in elevators, the smell of something baking, the lights on houses and trees, all evoke the memory of past Christmases. Last week when my daughter and I were beginning to decorate our Christmas tree, I told her that I liked putting strings of multicolored lights on the tree because they reminded me of my childhood. We used to use those big old fashioned colored lights – the kind that got so hot they would dry out a freshly cut tree in about three days. But I will always remember sitting in the coziness of our small living room looking at my Dad, and seeing the reflection of all those colorful lights in his glasses. It is a memory that makes me feel safe and secure.

The Christ child brings this nostalgic feeling to us as well. We love the nativity, the shepherds, and the angels. We love the image of the camels trekking across the desert carrying the Magi to pay homage to the Holy Family. We love the quiet scene of Mary and Joseph with their new son surrounded by calm, clean, farm animals. We sing songs about peace and good will, and we wish that these feelings of the nativity could be with us all year long. The inner child in us yearns for the simple wholeness, generosity, and abounding love that Christmas holds.

There is something about Peter Pan and Jesus that appeals to the inner child in us. Peter lives a life of adventure without any kind of responsibilities. Jesus is born into a perfect family and welcomed by the singing of angels. He is adored by shepherds, and worshipped by wise men. Wow! Praise and adoration, and fund and adventure. Why should we grow up when we we've "got Neverland and Bethlehem, fairy dust and flying angels, wondrous adventures, and 'good news' of great joy?"[2]

But the point of Peter Pan was not to make children afraid to grow up. The point of the story was to show children that in spite of their insecurities and fears, parents do love their children. I think the story suggests that the world can become a place in fact better than Neverland. Peter will never develop into a complete person because he completely shuts out adult feelings and responsibilities. As a result, he'll never know the joy – and heartache – of falling in love, marrying, having children of his own, experiencing success, enduring failure, and growing old.

Peter Pan was a victim and the originator of Peter Pan Syndrome – a refusal to grow up, settle down, and commit. And why? Because in Neverland, there were no challenges to change things. Life was all play.

A thorough reading of the Gospel of Matthew reveals a story fraught with danger, greed, passion and death. Almost right from the start, Jesus is hunted and persecuted by those in power. He is carted off to Egypt to escape the homicidal urge of King Herod. Despite the fact that Matthew tells us that he grows in wisdom and has God's favor, he is persistently hounded by Pharisees and Sadducees who try to silence him, and when that fails, conspire to kill him. Jesus lives in a world of haves and have nots, where those in power stay in power by oppressing everyone else. It is a world that demands change. And Jesus rose to that challenge. His life, his ministry, and the circumstances of his execution all speak to a life of commitment. Jesus did not suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome. At his Baptism, be received the Holy Spirit, and God's blessing. In the desert, he acknowledged his complete dependence on God. In his ministry, he healed, and taught, and did everything to model a new Kingdom where people who are the same in the sight of God, are treated as equals in the presence of men. At the end of his life, he submitted himself to God, and accepted his death; he forgave his executioners.

The story of Christ's life shakes us out of the Peter Pan view of Christmas. William Willimon, Professor of Christian Ministry and Bishop of the UnitedMethodistChurch contrasted the baby and the adult Jesus this way: "We get Christmas cards with the baby Jesus on them and words like joy and peace. Imagine a Christmas card from the adult Jesus: 'Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then follow me. Merry Christmas.' Or how about 'Whoever takes up the sword dies by the sword. Happy Holidays'."

The Jesus of the Whole Story is far more complex than Christmas might imply. When we look to the Gospels, we realize that have no choice but to let Jesus grow up. We need to let Jesus step out of the lovely but artificially peaceful nativity into which we have placed him.

We need to let Jesus grow up because that is the way of life. Life is all about change. When God came into this world, God came into a place of change. And he lived into that with passion and commitment, loving God with all his heart and all his soul and all his mind, and acting upon that love to make this world feel more like God's realm. And Jesus changed the world by his life and death and resurrection.

The Messiah is come. In Jesus, we see God's desires for us. Let us go to Bethlehem and welcome him. But let us go not to imprison him in a Neverland of our design, but to release him into the world so that he may transform us into people of passion and commitment.

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Isaiah 62:6-12

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth. The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink the wine for which you have labored; but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it shall drink it in my holy courts. Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples. The LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, "See, your salvation comes; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." They shall be called, "The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD"; and you shall be called, "Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken."

Psalm 97:1-12

1 The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!

2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.

4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.

7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.

8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O God.

9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

Titus 3:4-7

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.