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Rev. Michelle LaGrave
December 22, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org
We join together for this annual tradition of song and holiday merriment.
Chalice Lighting
This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.
Call to Worship
WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?
by Quinn G. CaldwellIf you came to this place expecting a tame story, you came to the wrong place.
If you came for a story that does not threaten you, you came for a different story than the one we tell.
If you came to hear of the coming of a God who only showed up so that you could have a nice day with your loved ones, then you came for a God whom we do not worship here.
For even a regular baby is not a tame thing. And goodness that cannot threaten complacency and evil is not much good at all, and a God who would choose to give up power and invincibility to become an infant for you, certainly didn’t do it just you could have dinner.
But.
If you came because you think that unwed teenage mothers are some of the strongest people in the world.
If you came because you think that the kind of people who work third shift doing stuff you’d rather not do might attract an angel’s attention before you, snoring comfortably in your bed, would.
If you came because you think there are wise men and women to be found among undocumented travelers from far lands and that they might be able to show you God.
If you came to hear a story of tyrants trembling while heaven comes to peasants.
If you came because you believe that God loves the animals as much as the people and so made them the first witnesses to the saving of the world.
If you came for a story of reversals that might end up reversing you.
If you came for a tale of adventure and bravery, where strong and gentle people win, and the powerful and violent go down to dust, where the rich lose their money but find their lives and the poor are raised up like kings.
If you came to be reminded that God loves you too much to leave you unchanged.
If you came to follow the light even if it blinds you.
If you came for salvation and not safety, then: ah, my friends, you are in the right place.
Affirming Our Mission
Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.
Reading
THE INNKEEPER
by Anne DilenschneiderThe innkeeper isn’t part of most Nativity sets. No one sings carols about innkeepers. There don’t seem to be any paintings that include them. But we can imagine the scene:
Bethlehem is crowded with people coming home for the census. It’s late at night when the innkeeper responds to a knock on the door and finds a young couple standing there. The woman is very pregnant. She and her spouse look exhausted.They’ve walked a hundred miles over rough, rocky terrain to get here from Nazareth.
The innkeeper is confronted with a dilemma. The inn is full; there just isn’t any more room. At the same time, the innkeeper knows that offering hospitality is part of being God’s people, because they had been sojourners and strangers in Egypt. That’s why the innkeeper has always made sure there’s an empty chair for an unexpected guest at the annual seder meal celebrating Passover.
What to do?
As a child, the innkeeper had learned the story of Abraham and Sarah welcoming three strangers into their home. After they made the strangers a lavish feast, the couple discovered their guests were messengers (“angels”) sent to bring great news: as laughable as it seemed, the elderly Sarah was going to have a baby. So, the innkeeper knows the tradition of entertaining strangers; the innkeeper knows strangers are messengers (“angels”) from God. Tonight there is a bedraggled and weary couple on this very doorstep.
What to do?
The innkeeper pulls the door to a bit, hastily assessing the situation. Is there any space, anywhere? The beds are all taken. There are even people sleeping on the floor. What to do? Is there any possible solution?
In a moment of inspiration, the innkeeper remembers the stable out behind the inn. It’s not much, but it’s some protection from the wind. No matter how bitter the weather may become, the heat from the animals will keep these guests warm.
The innkeeper flings open the door and welcomes the couple with a broad smile. There’s not much, but there’s a possibility. A stable. Will it suffice?
It does.
And the innkeeper saves the day.
Our Annual No Rehearsal Christmas Pageant
OPENING WORDS
The season of the winter solstice has been celebrated in one form or another for thousands of years.
A hundred different cultures have told stories about how the birth of their gods took place at this time of year.
In the Northern Hemisphere, we tell stories about how light, hope and life are returning to the world.
Darkness is good for rest and for root growth, but we also need light for growth and setting a direction, so, while we revere darkness, we humans also celebrate light.
Today we will present the Christian faith story, as Christianity is one of the sources of our UU faith.
It is the story of a special baby, a child of God as all babies are, a child called Jesus who became one of humanity’s great teachers.
As UUs, we know that we do not have to believe that the stories of our sacred texts are literally true to embrace the metaphorical wisdom that may be found within them.
In this way, we are able to reclaim such stories and retell them in ways that reflect our living tradition, for which revelation is not sealed.
Today this story is wrapped not only in swaddling clothes, but also in wonderful carols, which also contain some Earth-based Solstice elements.
THE CHRISTMAS STORY
Here is the Christmas story. It happened a very long time ago in a land far away. A couple named Joseph and Mary had to make a journey to the city of Bethlehem, because there was a new law that said everyone had to return to the city of their birth in order to pay their taxes.
Joseph was worried about Mary taking this trip as she was going to have a baby very soon, but Mary wanted to be with her husband for the birth of their first child. It was a long trip to Bethlehem, three full days of walking. Mary was glad when they could see the rooftops of Bethlehem in the distance.
“Joseph,” she said, “Let’s stay at the first inn we come to. I think our baby is almost ready to be born.”
But when they got to Bethlehem, they found the little town crowded with people. They stopped at the first inn they came to and knocked on the door. But the innkeeper told them, “I’m sorry, there is no more room here.” At the next inn the innkeeper said, “We’re full. Try the place three streets over. It’s bigger.” Joseph tried another place and another place, but everywhere it was the same story: “Sorry, no room for you here.”
Finally, when it was almost night, they saw a house at the edge of town with a light in the window. Joseph knocked at the door, and told the innkeeper, “Please help us. We need a place for the night. My wife is going to have a baby soon and I don’t think she can travel any farther.”
And the innkeeper said, “There’s no room in the inn, but don’t worry, we’ll find someplace for you.” The innkeeper showed Mary and Joseph to a quiet little barn where the animals were. It was clean and warm and smelled like sweet hay.
And on that very night in that barn in Bethlehem, their little baby was born. They named him Jesus. Mary and Joseph wrapped him in the soft swaddling cloth and made a little bed for him in the hay. That night, like every night, there were shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem, watching the flocks of sheep. The shepherds were surprised and amazed by a very bright light in the sky and a strange song coming from nowhere and everywhere, all at once. It was angels and they were glorious!
After sharing the joyous news, the angels went to see the baby born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem to tell him hello. What a beautiful baby!
After the angels had gone away, the shepherds remembered what they had said, that a wonderful baby had been born and that they could find him by following the brightest star in the sky. So the shepherds all said to each other, “Let’s go look for that baby.” They had no trouble finding the stable, because of the bright star, and sure enough, there inside were Mary and Joseph, watching over their little baby, Jesus. And the shepherds saw that Jesus was just stunning. “Oh! What a beautiful baby!” Then the shepherds went away and told everyone what they had seen.
On this same night, three wise ones saw the bright star and said to each other, “Look at the amazing star! It must be shining for something very special!” The wise ones loaded up their camels with treasures and traveling supplies and followed the star all the way to Bethlehem. Jesus was very young when the wise ones found him, but they knew he was special. “What a wonderful child. This child will be our teacher.” And they gave their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and other gifts useful for babies.
Mary and Joseph wondered for a long time about all of these things that happened when their child was born. “lt’s astonishing that all these people would come to see our baby and give us presents for him. They don’t even know him.”
When Jesus grew up, he was a courageous teacher, just like the wise ones said. And one of the most important things he tried to teach people was to love each other and to treat all people, even strangers, with kindness and care. And people who have tried to follow his best teachings have become better people, and have spread light through their world, which is what we are here to do.
Tonight we shared the Christmas Story about one special baby. But this baby isn’t the only special one. Every child is a treasure, a wonder and a miracle. And as they grow up, they are always and forever a treasure, a wonder and a miracle.
READING
“EACH NIGHT A CHILD IS BORN”
by Sophia Lyon Fahs, Excerpted and adaptedFor so the children come
and so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they came-
Born of the seed of man and woman.No angels herald their beginnings.
No prophets predict their future courses.
no wise man see a star to show where to find
The babe that will save humankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.
Fathers and mothers
Sitting beside their children’s cribs-
Feel glory in the sight of a new beginning.
They ask “Where and how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?”Each night a child is born is a holy night
A time for singing-
A time for wondering
A time for worshipping.
Extinguishing the Chalice
We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction
In this season and throughout the year:
May you know the wonder of a new born child.
May you experience the eager anticipation of the shepherds. May you be blessed with the resilience of Mary and Joseph. May the peace of that night long ago be with you through even life’s times of challenge.
May the love of angels be a constant in your life.
May the congregation say “Amen” and “Blessed Be”
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