A St. Paul's Christmas Carol

Here is the text of the rhyming sermon I preached this Christmas Eve, 2012.  Merry Christmas!

(For ease of oral recitation, the underlined portions indicate the syllable that serves as the first stressed foot of the tetrameter.)

“A St. Paul’s Christmas Carol”

December 4, 2012

Luke 2:1-20

Here we are, once again, on this most sacred eve

To hear of a great tale that we’ve long believed

Of Joseph and Mary, of Christ’s holy birth

Of shepherds and angels, a star above earth

But if we are honest, and if you’re like me

There’s maybe a staleness to this great story

We’ve heard it so often that we have grown numb

Of the meaning of Christmas and God’s only Son. 

Maybe, if we’re honest, we’re missing a spark

Something that makes us feel so lost in the dark.

A feeling that wrinkles the brows on our faces

A sadness that haunts on an ongoing basis.

You hear folks around you wish holiday cheer

Yet, try as you might, joy comes nowhere near.

News of injustice, and violence, and grief

It’s tough to feel joy and maintain our belief -

Belief in a God who can bring us good news;

You’re much less like Santa, and a lot more like Scrooge

The same Scrooge we saw portrayed live on the stage

The same one that wonderful Dave Zelle played

There’s a bit of old Scrooge in each one of us, friends

There’s a part of us longing for hope to begin.

So come, then, dear Scrooges, on a trip we will go

And take it from Marley, there is much to show

We’ll visit three places, and three times, three sites

Of Christmas Past, Present, and Future tonight.

Our first stop is long ago into the past,

Back when our town was a wilderness, vast

Back when our roads were just dusty footpaths

Back a long time – a century and a half!

Before Knobens and Cooks and before Appleby’s

Before the Phipps, and the Pyles, even before Marlene Kelly

Before Lundell’s and Lunquist’s, Deichmann’s, DeRoos,

Before any were here … even, Sherry Held, too

We find ourselves now near the Little Sioux River

Its thick layer of ice gives a cool, shiny shimmer

We look all around, and there’s no one to see

No streets, and no buildings, no nearby city.

We’re surrounded by woods, in the distance, some hills

It all seems so cold here, we’re getting a chill.

As we stood there all feeling so cold with remorse

A man came up near us while riding a horse

He was gruff looking, tall, with a thin gangly frame

His thick coat had tears, and his pants were the same

He had a long beard, and a tired, worn-out look

It’s like he jumped straight off a history book

We worked up the courage to say hi to the man

And told him we’re visitors to this strange land.

“Travelers, huh?” the man said, “I’m one too.

“My name’s O.S. Wight, and it’s nice to meet you.

“I’ve traveled some distance to this desolate land.

“In the hopes of my following God’s mighty plan.

“You see, I’m a preacher, a Methodist brand.

“And God’s called me here to come settle new land.

“It’s just me and my wife, and this horse and some stuff.

“It’s about all we’ve got, but with God, it’s enough.

“We think that this place is a suitable spot.

“To set up a town, and a church – the whole lot.

“So I can’t give a name to this town here, just yet.

“But it’s now Christmas Eve, 1858. 

We blink, disbelieving that where we all stood

Would someday be a Cherokee neighborhood

And here’s Reverend Wight, the Methodist preacher

The one who was Cherokee’s original settler.

And the cool thing is now we just happen to be

Here for the first Christmas in Cherokee.

He invited us back to his home for a bit.

He said, “You all look tired, come on in for a sit.”

His house was quite basic, a one-room wood frame.

A small fire gave us some good warmth with its flame.

We met his wife, who came to greet us warmly

We’re touched by this couples’ hospitality

“Join us for dinner,” she told us, “All of you.”

“It’s not a whole lot, but it’s good Christmas stew.”

We sat their table, the fire made us feel warm.

Our eyes drifted around, and we studied the room.

In the corner, we spotted a rattle and doll.

And a small pretty dress, on a hook on the wall.

“Do you have a child, Reverend and Mrs. Wight?”

Then we noticed their faces began to turn white.

“We did,” the man said, but then … his voice got real quiet

“Well, this harsh frontier life…she didn’t quite make it.

“She got sick, and, well, we just couldn’t save her.

“We buried her on a hill not far from the river.

We sat in stunned silence, since words have escaped us

To say to those who’ve lost a child before Christmas

Before we all ate, Reverend Wight said, “Let’s pray.”

“Dear God,” he began, “we give thanks for this day.

“For on this good night many long years ago

“You gave us yourself, to the world you did show

“Born not in a palace, where royalty sits.

“Not in a castle with kings dwelling in it.

“You entered where outcasts were pushed to the fringe

“Where the lonely and lost and the lowly had been.

“You were born in humanity’s sorrows and fears.

“Just like out here, way out in the frontier.

“So bless us, dear Lord, once again with your love.

“Bless us with courage to share grace from above.

“And may all of our efforts to start this new town.

“And to plant a small church on this, your holy ground

“Be around after we have long left this grand earth.

“So those in the future can hear news of Christ’s birth.

“We won’t be here forever, that much is sure.

“So use all we do to ensure the future.

“May you find us faithful, until our life’s end.

“And may your love endure, in your name, Amen.

We opened our eyes and we sat very still.

To hear our church founder pray was quite a thrill.

O.S. Wight, long ago, imagined each one of us.

And knew that we all would need life in Jesus.

So he risked all that he had, and he and his wife

Sacrificed all they were so that we would have life.

They believed in the church, and the good it could do

To save who’d come after them, like me and like you

The Wight’s took God’s love and then gave it away

To do so is part of St. Paul’s DNA. 

Then suddenly, out of the blue, in a flash,

We were all whisked away in a hyper-speed dash.

Through time and through space, we moved out at light speed.

And landed back here, in present Cherokee.

As we look around town, all is calm, all is bright

All things seem to be as they should be tonight.

It’s Christmas Eve here, and the town looks quite nice

With its hanging greenery and its twinkling lights

There’s Christmas trees up in our homes and our places

Presents beneath them to light up our kids’ faces

Tonight, they will sleep safely tucked in their beds

With visions of sugarplums stuck in their heads

But behind some closed doors is a more somber sight

Invisible to most, but we see them tonight.

The first is a couple, forlorn, at their table

Neither are smiling because they’re not able.

Between them are papers, and one says, “Foreclosure”

It dawns on us what are the burdens they shoulder.

At once, we dash off, and appear once again.

In another one’s home, and we see an old man.

He stares at a picture of his wife who just died

His first Christmas alone, without her by his side.

In a blink we are whisked to another household

And we see a room full of folks both young and old.

In the middles’ a woman, looking torn with great tension

Her family’s surrounded her for an intervention.

In an instant we see yet another sad place.

This one is a young couple, they’re face to face.

For years they have tried to make their marriage last.

But there’s just too much hurt that they just can’t get past.

We dash to another part of Cherokee

And next there’s a young girl that all of us see

She stares into space, as if into thin air.

And says, quietly, “God, I don’t know if you’re there.”

And then, finally, in another one’s home,

In an upstairs bedroom, sitting there, all alone.

Is a young little girl, and as faint as can be

She says to her teddy bear: “Won’t someone love me?”

One by one, around town, behind many closed doors,

We saw all the hurt that is present for sure.

All around us, right now, on this Christmas present

There’s a pain that makes our hearts all yearn for Advent.

It’s the Christmas we don’t see, but that we all feel

The one deep inside once the surface is peeled.

Beneath all the holiday, plastic good cheer

Is a cold, chilly feeling, like on the frontier.

Then we remember what O.S. Wight prayed

For those who were lonely and feeling afraid

We remembered that he lived believing the church 

Could give hope to people who were lost in their search

Looking for peace, and longing for hope 

Looking for ways in the darkness to cope

But what of these people that we’ve seen tonight?

How will their lives turn around toward the light?

With all of their heartache and all of their grief?

And all of their doubts that prevent their belief?

What of the addict, the marriage that’s ripped?

Financial distress, or the fears that are gripped?

What about those for whom Christmas ain’t Merry?

Could there be those folks here right in this sanctuary?

This present day Christmas is not all it can be

For those who are suffering in sheer misery

Well, there’s one final trip we must take, you all know

It’s on to the future that we all must go.

We forge years ahead, year Twenty-Forty-Two (2042)

Thirty years following all of us, me and you.

We look around town, and not too much has changed

Nothing seems out of place, nothing seems strange

We pick up a newspaper and scan the day’s news

The front page contains a full year in review

Apple just came out with iPhone Fifteen

And Rocky 20 debuted on the big screen

Cars in the future make sixty mpg

And Barney the Dinosaur’s still annoying to me

Computers are now the size of a strawberry

And, lo and behold!  The Cubs won the World Series

And here is good news that surely astounds

Thirty years later, Sherry Held’s still around!

So some things are different, but here it’s the same,

As we walk into St. Paul’s, still on 6^th and Main.

It’s Christmas Eve here, in year Twenty Fourty-Two.

There’s chrismon trees, lights, and an advent wreath, too.

It’s basically a lot like the St. Paul’s we have known.

‘Cause even the dining hall’s still not yet done.

We walk through the doors, as the service begins

The preacher seems nice, and he welcomes us in.

The choir is lovely, their songs tried and true

Lots of kids come down for children’s time, too

And then there’s the sermon, no gimmicky rhymes

Just a word about having Jesus in our lives.

The preacher asks anyone in the congregation 

If they’d like to share how they’ve seen God’s love in action.

Several hands shot up tall, and the first one stood up.

After clearing her throat, she began to speak up.

When she spoke, we realized she’s the one that we’d seen

As the one whom we saw in the present day scene.

She said, “Many years ago, my life was the pits.”

“On one Christmas Eve, I’d had ‘nuff of it.

“My family came over for an intervention

“And because of this church, I addressed my addiction

“Tonight I’ve been sober for thirty years now.

“Without God in my life, I wouldn’t know how.

There was some applause, then another one stood.

He was nervous, but spoke out the best that he could.

“Thirty years ago, on this night I was home

“Feeling so frightened, and so lost and alone.

“I had all these doubts about if God was true

“I was mad at the church, and at Christianity, too.

“I thought I could figure things out with my mind.

“And get over those Christians, hypocritical, unkind.

“But then one of you reached out to me in my grief.

“And God’s love put in action rekindled belief.

“Now, ‘cause of God, my life’s been turned around.

“Because all of you, my world’s turned upside down.

Another one stood, and her words stirred our hearts.

As she spoke of how Jesus gave her a new start.

She’d been through divorce, and miscarried a child.

She’d then lost her job, with a bankruptcy filed.

Someone at St. Paul’s then invited her here.

She joined a small group, and confronted her fears. 

So now on this Christmas, she came to tell all

That her life had been changed by this babe in a stall.

One by one, they came up, with a story to share.

Of how God’s love in action through St. Paul’s was there.

There to meet them in the midst of their tears

There, just like O.S. Wight on the frontier

There, like the shepherds on Christ’s holy birth

Went out to share God’s love to all in the earth

We realized, then, what this Christmas was for

It’s not about parties and gift giving galore

It’s about sharing God’s love with those who are down low

About giving ourselves to heal others’ sorrows

It’s about being the church in a world that needs hope  

About giving the downtrodden methods to cope

And maybe for some of you, you’re feeling blue

Because you don’t think there’s something that you can do

To combat the Scrooge that has set up a tent

Inside of your heart on this Christmas Present

Well, here’s some good news, for you there is no doubt

This Christ has been born in you, and him you can live out

No need to succumb to a culture that’s dark

Because in Christ alone, God can give you a spark

To live beyond who you thought you’d always been

To overcome all of your burdensome sin

To turn back your focus away from yourself

And renew a commitment to serve someone else

This God has a plan to do great work through you

With your unique abilities and giftedness, too

This God has a love for you that will persist

And is the grand reason that you even exist

This one is the God who made past, present, and future

And this God, this Christmas, will make you secure

In the knowledge and hope that this God has came near

To vanquish your worries and conquer all your fears.

Since over one hundred fifty years ago

This church, from its humblest beginnings, we know

Has shared the incarnate Word, Jesus made flesh

To everyone whose life has been in a mess.

It’s part of our heritage, and our DNA

To help those around us, and show them the way

The way to a new life of peace and goodwill

The way to a word of hope, and promise still

The way to salvation, of love born anew

The way that can save us, even me, even you.

So how will you celebrate Christmas come dawn?

More importantly, how will you live it from now on?

God has given a gift, Jesus heaven sent

So be the gift tomorrow, just as it is the present

In the name of the God who created the heavens,

Redeems us, sustains us, we all say, Amen.