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 Edwina Hunter "The Christmas Message" (Christmas) Program #4111 First air date December 21, 1997 |
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Biography
Dr. Edwina Hunter,
ordained in the American Baptist Church, is one of the most distinguished
preachers in America. She recently retired from her position as the Joe R. Engle
Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York City after a
long and distinguished career. She is a past president of the Academy of
Homiletics, the editor of a volume of women’s sermons, and has had numerous
sermons published in other volumes. She serves on the Advisory Board of
"The Living Pulpit" and is a frequent guest lecturer and preacher. [Biographical information is correct as of the broadcast date noted
above.]
"The Christmas Message" In that region there were shepherds living in the
fields, keeping watch over their flocks 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 and peace on Earth, good will among all
people." 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 a manger. When they saw this, they made known what had
been told them about this child; 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 God for all they had
heard and seen, as it had been told them. "Peace on Earth, good will toward all people." It is hard for me,
and I think it must be equally hard for you, to imagine any time in history that
has been more in need of peace and good will among all people. Or a time when
even those of us who name ourselves religious or spiritual or Christian have
been more vulnerable to cynicism and doubt. Where do were look for hope? Only Luke and Matthew of the four Gospels give us birth narratives or stories
about the birth of Jesus. We have often run these stories together and had the
shepherds and the wise men all appearing around the manger at one time. Creches,
Christmas pageants, and live Nativity scenes in front of churches usually have
the full quota of shepherds and wise men. But the truth is, it is only in
Luke’s Gospel that we find the angel appearing to Mary and telling her that
she was chosen to bear a child born of the Holy Spirit. It is only Luke who
gives us Mary’s song of acceptance, the marvelous Magnificat, and it is
only Luke who gives us "shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over
their flocks by night." Luke does not give us wise men, rich and wealthy
kings from foreign places; Matthew does. Luke gives us shepherds. I have to ask why. Why did Luke leave out the wise men and give us shepherds?
Did he have some purpose in mind? As a matter of fact, he did. Luke’s Gospel,
while often parallel to Matthew and to Mark, gives us a slightly different
perspective. Some might say a radically different perspective. For example,
remember it is Matthew who gives us what we call "the Sermon on the
Mount." In Matthew, Jesus went up onto a mountain to preach; Matthew says
that "When Jesus saw the crowds (at the foot of the mountain), He went up
the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples (not all the crowds of
people, just His disciples) came to Him. Then He began to speak, and taught them
(His disciples)..." So the Sermon on the Mount that Matthew reports is not
preached to the crowds of people but to His disciples. But Luke... Luke, in chapter 6, tells us that Jesus had spent a whole night
on the mountain in prayer. And then ... and then He came down from the mountain
with His disciples and "stood on a level place, with a great crowd of His
disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the
coast of Tyre and Sidon." There He healed people and spoke. And what He
spoke is called by most biblical scholars, "the Sermon on the Plain."
Down where the people were. You see, Luke had an overarching purpose, both in
the Gospel of Luke and in Acts, and that purpose was to demonstrate clearly that
Jesus cared about the poor, the disenfranchised, the outcast, all the people! But we were talking about the Christmas story, weren’t we? About the fact
that Luke had the angel appearing to shepherds in the field to make the most
wonderful announcement the world had ever heard. And who were the shepherds?
Romantic, rural fellows in a pastoral setting? Not really. Shepherds were rough,
dirty, uncouth fellows for the most part. We are told that more than likely they
were out in the fields and not on their way to register because they were not
even considered full-fledged citizens, worthy of being counted in the census.
They spent all their time driving the sheep across the land of so many different
people and provinces that they could not really call any place home. In
addition, they probably smelled more like sheep than anything else. Luke, do you mean to tell us that these were the people to whom that message
above all messages was delivered? Read the whole Gospel of Luke. "Peace on
Earth, good will to all people!" Luke’s theology required that he let us
see from the beginning of his Gospel the wonderful inclusiveness of God’s
love. Why, in chapter 1 of Luke, Mary has sung the Magnificat. Read it.
It is filled with images of justice: "God has scattered the proud in the
thoughts of their hearts"; "God has filled the hungry with good
things, and sent the rich away empty." So it is that shepherds, the poorest of the poor, with no place to call home
find themselves in a field blazing with the light of God, the glory of the Lord
shining on them. No wonder they were afraid! Yet they stopped being afraid and
they made what was surely the most important decision of their lives. They
decided to get up right then and go to Bethlehem and see for themselves. Not
only did they do that, but they became witnesses to what they had seen and
heard. And Mary, possibly in need of just such reassurance, received their words
as though they were precious gems brought by kings. She took their words and
treasured them in her heart. Then, the shepherds returned to their fields
praising and glorifying God! What a night! What a journey! Does this long ago story, this story that has been so often labeled myth,
have anything for you and me at this Christmas time? Oh, I believe it does. I
hope it does. We have been told by those who are supposed to know such things
that it is at holidays, particularly at Christmas, that some persons become so
terribly depressed, see themselves so completely alienated, so totally outside
the circles of home and joy, that many just give up. They just say, "What’s
the use? I’m so far down, I’m so tired of trying, I think I’ll just give
up. Life is not worth living." Or those of us who have it pretty good. We pick up the paper and read about
the awful things going on in China or Saddam Hussein’s posturing and threats
or another child beaten and tortured and killed by her own parents who are
supposed to love and protect her. Or worse, we look inside ourselves and realize
the evil of which we ourselves are capable. And we cry out, "God, what’s
the use? Will it ever be any different? Will I ever be different?" And we
remember the words of an old Christmas carol: And in despair I bowed my head: "There is no peace on Earth," I
said, "for hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on Earth, good will
to all." You know, I have to confess, as I thought and thought about what would I say,
what could I say in a Christmas message, those are the only words from that song
I could remember: "Hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on Earth,
good will to all." And then I knew that my own lack of faith was adding to
the mockery. And I found that I really want to say to you who may be bowing your
heads in despair, who may feel that the suffering all around you is just too
much, the hate too strong, I want to say, have hope, oh, please have hope, hang
on. The real message of that first Christmas is that God loved everyone of us—everyone
of us no matter how alone we feel—God loves everyone of us so much that God
came to suffer with us. And endure with us. And hope with us. And walk with us.
Listen: God loves you so much that God came to suffer with you. To endure with
you. And hope with you. And walk with you. You are not alone. Please hear the last two stanzas of that great old carol: Till, ringing, singing on its way, the world
revolved from night to day, a voice, Peace on Earth, good will to you. Amen. Interview with Edwina
Hunter Floyd Brown:
Perhaps the best known of all Christmas stories is found in Luke 2:1-20. For
years, Christmas was not Christmas in my life until this story had been read
aloud and savored. This may have been true also in your life. Just now, bound
together by all the Christmas memories each of us has—both the painful and the
healing—let me read once again this old, wonderfully new and needed story of
the first Christmas.
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.
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep, "God is not dead, nor doth God
sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on Earth, good
will to all."
Interviewed by Floyd
Brown
Edwina Hunter: For me, I think, the most important thing to do is to reach out to other people. If we are lonely and depressed, it’s probably because we feel sorry for ourselves and are staying alone. But if somehow we can reach out, we need to take the time necessary to do something for somebody else.
Brown: And it will work!
Hunter: I think it will.
Brown: Thank you very much, Dr. Hunter. A
pleasure to have you here with us.