Christmas Sermon
December 24, 2019
9 PM
What is the best Christmas you remember? What do you remember about the people who were there? What do you remember about the food and drink? What do you remember about the room you were in? What did it smell like? Was the room comfortable? Why? I imagine for a lot of us – what was important was not the food, or how clean the house was, how everyone was dressed, but how welcome you felt and how much love there was.
So I have gotten much better – but when I had people over for dinner in my twenties and thirties, I would iron a table cloth and the napkins, prepare a minimum of four courses, and clean the house from top to bottom. All this while working full time and having two young children. I hardly remember the parties, but I do remember the work and the stress and the exhaustion. I did this, because everyone I knew did this. It was killing us.
And then my husband and I realized that we did not have to live this way. We did not have to entertain this way. We embraced, what is now a social trend called, “scruffy hospitality”. According to Father Jack King of Knox Press explanation – and I quote:
Scruffy hospitality means you’re not waiting for everything in your house to be in order before you host and serve friends in your home. Scruffy hospitality means you hunger more for good conversation and serving a simple meal of what you have, not what you don’t have. Scruffy hospitality means you’re more interested in quality conversation than the impression your home or lawn makes. If we only share meals with friends when we’re excellent, we aren’t truly sharing life together. (Father Jack King, Knox Press)
And it strikes me on this Christmas Eve that this is what is being called forth in us. One of the greatest, most well-known, stories about Jesus is his nativity. It was not a grand affair, and in fact it was pretty scruffy. In our gospel lesson we hear that Jesus was born in a stable – not in a labor and delivery ward. It was probably pretty noisy, smelly, and dirty. He was laid in a manger, not a bassinette, and was surrounded by animals, and angels. And instead of having a restricted number of visitors, Jesus and his parents had a bunch of unexpected guests. Jesus was born into a noisy, smelly, scruffy world.
And if this teaches us anything, it teaches us that Jesus handles your scruffy world. Remember that whole Martha and Mary debacle? Martha wanted her sister Mary to help in the kitchen and then Jesus said that Martha maybe should be more like her slacker sister Mary who was hanging out in the living room with Jesus, where all the action was.
So, what the nativity teaches us is that Jesus doesn’t need us to be perfect, Jesus wants to just be with us. Jesus does not need us to declutter, so our house is filled with things that only spark joy. Jesus doesn’t need us serving up a Whole30 vegan locally sourced, non-GMO, farm to table menu to be served on artisan pottery and locally sourced and upcycled linens. I mean if you like that sort of thing great – but the main point is that Jesus wants to be with you – even if it means eating ramen out of the plastic bowl sitting on a beanbag chair. Jesus does not need your aspirational self; Jesus wants your wonderful authentic self.
And you know what? – that’s what we need most from each other. We just need each other in all our imperfection. We are closest to those who know our true selves – our imperfections, our fears, our failings, our foibles, and our vulnerable points.
So, this year, think about the ways that scruffy hospitality opens up our walk with Christ. What ways can you invite Jesus into your life? You do not need to be perfect and have just the perfect window of time to pray, to study the scriptures, and to serve the people Jesus loves like the lonely, sick, oppressed, marginalized, imprisoned, the scared. Just showing up to pray, to worship and to serve is the most important thing to Jesus.
The other thing scruffy hospitality invites us to do, is to invite people into our lives and our homes just as we are. What we need is to surround ourselves with people who love us so much, and we love them so much that we don’t need to wait until everything is perfect and put together to invite them in.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – in all its scruffiness.
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