Cold feet, warm heart

Luke 2: 1 – 16
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
Christmas Eve 2015

 

            If Good King Wenceslas looked out right now, he wouldn’t find not only any snow, but neither would he find the Christmas carol bearing his name in any hymn book, at least none that I know of. And yet in the lyrics we find a story of a king who looks out his window and sees a needy peasant searching for kindling in the moonlit snow and hard frost. It’s the day after Christmas, on the feast of St. Stephen. Rather than send his servant alone into the cruel weather to help the poor man, together the king and the servant bring meat, wine, and firewood through the deep snow.

            The story is based on the life of Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia.  In one biography of Wenceslas, it was said that every night, in bare feet, he and his chamberlain visited churches and gave alms to widows, orphans, those in prison, and any who had need.  He was known as the ‘father of the wretched’.  It was only after his death, and these stories became known, that the title of ‘king’ was conferred upon Wenceslas.  These stories strongly influenced the High Middle Ages’ concept of the ‘righteous king’:  a king whose actions and behavior imitated that of Christ.

            What is interesting is that the king has no clue who this peasant is, but his servant does, even providing directions on how to find where he lives.  The servant may have wished he didn’t open his mouth, because now both of them would be venturing out into the snow, walking somewhere between 2 ½ and 4 ½ miles to reach the peasant’s home.

            As the night grew darker and the wind increased, the cold seeped into the servant’s heart; he could go on no longer.  But the king urged him onward, instructing him to walk in his footsteps, to take away some of the chill.  The servant found that where the king walked, instead of snow there was warm sod.

 

            I know this year many of us would trade our warm, soggy sod for some cold, frozen snow in a heartbeat.  For some of us it just doesn’t feel like Christmas unless we’re shivering in the cold.  And even though this is due to climate change and that weather pattern called El Niño, I’m thankful for this Christmas warmth.  I’m remembering a young burly man named Mike, who last year lost nearly all his fingertips in one snowstorm and then a few weeks later froze to death in another.  I’m thinking of those who sleep in tents or their cars or in the library or wherever they can find some sheltered space.  I’m thinking of the men and women I see panhandling on Rt. 896 or at the Suburban Plaza or on Limestone Rd.

Sometimes, in our comfort and in our fear, it’s difficult to remember that Christmas isn’t about we who are rich getting what we want but about the poor getting what they need.  Mary said the poor would be filled with good things and we would be sent away empty-handed. The homeless shepherds in the fields by night needed to hear from God’s angel army that a savior is born.  And though they would have to wait another thirty years for God’s Word to grow up, they knew their hope would live because God’s way of justice and peace was on the way to them. 

Christmas is about the poor getting what they need.  Not only warm socks and coats but a living wage, a safe place to live, and for some, mental healthcare.  Not only a welcoming border into another country but a home and a job.  Not only a hot breakfast and a free lunch but an education that can go to college. 

My friend Molly says that Christmas isn’t about God becoming more human because of Jesus, but about us becoming more human because of Jesus.  Jesus is the righteous king we follow, whether it’s into the cold, frozen night or through the warm, soggy sod, to get to those who need us.  Christmas is about the poor getting what they need and what they need most of all is us.

Sometimes I wonder how it would be
If the tables were turned and instead it was me
A different religion or color of skin
A refugee hoping to be welcomed in ...
You’re welcome here. You’re welcome here.
You’re safe here with us. You have nothing to fear.
It’s a dangerous world, but be of good cheer.
There’s a place here for you, and you’re welcome here.[i]

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[i] Not Welcome Here. Music and lyrics written by Brian McLaren, 2015.