What is God Like?

What is God Like?

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas

December 24, 2014; Christmas Eve

Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

Luke 2:1-20 – And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.  And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.   And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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 on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

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St. Francis used to say that you cannot love anything that you cannot get your arms around. Francis praised the humility of God who poured out the infinite life of the divine into a humble child so that we could embrace God and God could embrace us.

The God that Christians know is a humble God who gladly becomes one with us so that we might be one with God. In Jesus, God embraces everything that is human – including our evil and our death – so that God may take all of humanity into the divine heart. That is the story of the Incarnation that we celebrate on Christmas.

We look at the child in the manger. So meek and lowly. We let our imaginations move in time. Imagine yourself as a visitor to the manger. Mary offers the babe to you, inviting you to hold the child yourself, to take the baby within your own arms. Everyone who has ever held a child knows the thrill and wonder of holding such a mystery in your embrace. Whenever we hold a child, our hearts open instinctively. We wonder, who is this mystery? Who will this child become? Christmas invites us to hold the child of Mary imaginatively in our arms, emotionally in our hearts, and to imagine that we are putting our arms around God; we can embrace God, humble and close.

Who will this child become? We know that the child of Mary will also hold out his arms to us in the wide embrace of the cross. He will accept in his own body all of the evil and violence that we humans are capable of, and he will return to us only love. He will accept in his body the brokenness of the human condition – the extreme pain of torture, the hopelessness of certain death, and the inner experience of abandonment. He will experience willingly not only the betrayal and failure of trusted friends, but also the sense of utter abandonment of God. He will cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Human life can go no lower. Jesus embraces it all. God embraces everything.

From beginning to end, arms enfold everything. We hold in our arms the wondrous child in the joy and gladness of the Christmas birth. Jesus holds our human brokenness in suffering love unto death on the cross. The arms of God enfold us, and God comes to us so humbly we may also enfold God. God's life poured out into humanity, that we might experience divine, infinite love which overcomes all.

So whenever people wonder, "What is God like?" we point to Jesus.

God is like a child, born to humble folk in trying circumstances. Forced from home by the whim of an oppressive empire, a family with no place but an animal stable for a child's birth. In short order they will have to flee the threat of genocide. They will become refugees, immigrants, foreign strangers in need of welcome. This is what God embraces. This is what God looks like in human life.

Eventually the family will return to their modest home like the millions of humble peasants that have always filled the earth. The father will work with his hands and teach his son the family craft. God in ordinary life and work.

Eventually, Jesus will sense the call to do the work of his heavenly Father, our Father. He will proclaim the Kingdom of God, what life would be like if God ruled instead of our temporal governments. Jesus will show us what God's reign looks like. Jesus will spend his time healing. He will feed the hungry. He will tell his followers to do the same.

Jesus will break all of the boundaries that we human beings erect to separate us from one another. He will offer the same gifts of feeding and healing to foreigners as he does to his own people. He will offer the same gift of life and living water to those who follow different gods than his. He will cut off every attempt to narrow the definition of neighbor, and he will demand that those who follow him love their neighbor as themselves.

He will stop the stoning of sinners. He will throw out the moneychangers who cheat the humble with their sophisticated economics. He will make public friendships with the tax collectors and prostitutes, the most reviled people of his society. He will touch the unclean lepers.

He will bless the poor, the hungry, and those who mourn. He will encourage those who are hated and reviled. The only people he will scold are those who think themselves to be right while putting others whom they believe to be wrong in the shadow of their judgment. He will warn the rich and well fed.

In some of his hardest words, he will tell us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us and to give to those who beg of us. At the end, he will tell the capital criminal executed with him that they will share paradise together that day.

To the nations and all of their glory – to governments and authorities – he will say that the only measure of their authenticity will be how they treat "the least of these." For the nations, he says, there is one standard of judgment – did you feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and give kindness to the imprisoned?

The whole story of God in a human life is really simple. It comes down to one thing – love. What's most important? What does God expect? Only love. Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love one another. For God is love.

Note, however, what God is not like whenever we look at God through the revelation of Jesus. God is not angry. God is not going to send people to hell for not believing something or for believing the wrong thing. God is like Jesus. God loves.

So do not fear, be not afraid. Perfect love casts out fear, and God is perfect love. The life of Jesus shows us: the only thing God does is love. God's love is for everyone. There are no boundaries. God's love embraces all creation, all humanity. God's love embraces the ox and the donkey, the shepherds and foreigners who follow stars, the struggling family and the helpless baby. It's all love.

If you can get your arms around an infant, you can get your arms around God. For God is love. Love reaching into all of our human life, blessing, accepting, healing and feeding. Inviting all of us to receive blessing and acceptance, wholeness and satisfaction.

God loves you and accepts you with the simplicity of a child's happy response to your embrace. There is nothing you can do to stop the love. Jesus embraces all humanity; including all of our brokenness and evil. Jesus returns it all to the Father with forgiving love, and we are forgiven. Jesus takes our death, and raises it into life.

So, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day… a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Hurry. Go there. Take the child. Hold it in your arms. Take it into your heart in love. God's life and love is poured into our humanity. Jesus shows us what God's heart is like. Humble and loving. Nurturing and healing. Forgiving and accepting. Love stronger than death.

God embraces us all with infinite love. We need do nothing more than embrace that gentle, humble love.