12/24/04

Uncommon Love Flowering in an Unlikely Place

Isaiah 9:2-7
John 1:1-14
Luke 2:1-20

There was a newspaper article I heard about that originated in Iraq, a place too much in the news these days, where we usually just hear about the war, or the awful living conditions of the people, or terrible car bombings, or soldiers being killed - even while they are eating their lunch in a mess tent. But this story was different. It was about a husband and wife, tenderly caring for each other - not exactly newsworthy and hardly worth reporting, until we discover that this man and woman are lepers, living in the only leper colony in the Middle East. Here, where people with leprosy are cast out from family and friends, in the midst of a horrible war, and dwelling on the dark fringes of society, companionship arose in the middle of loneliness, compassion transformed suffering, and hope overcame despair. The reporter who wrote the article described this as a "story about uncommon love flowering in an unlikely place." (i)

There's another story we remember at this time of year, about another couple and about their uncommon love that flowered in an unlikely place. We like to picture the nativity as it is on greeting cards, painted with soft hues, oozing pastoral tranquility. We forget about the backdrop of poverty, violence, and foreign occupation of Palestine at that time. We forget that Bethlehem was a back-water town, that the first cradle for Jesus was a feeding trough, and that the first visitors were unkempt, dirty, smelly shepherds. The story of Mary and Joseph, years apart in age and with a most unusual pregnancy, is also one of "uncommon love flowering in an unlikely place." (ii)

Perhaps we gather here on this "silent night holy night" in the hope of glimpsing such a love, especially in our lives and in our world. Oh, that we could discover a love that blooms not just for a day or two, like a cut flower, but a love with deep roots, a love that flowers even in the worst of times or situations. But as we know, such discoveries are rare indeed. We live in a world of conflict and violence that seems to beget more of the same. Where is this uncommon love? In our own lives or in the lives of friends or dear ones, personal tragedies abound, at times overwhelming, with no relief from the pain. Where is this uncommon love?

At times it's difficult to glimpse even the tiniest sprout of love flowering when we know of such things as: a husband who walks out on his wife for someone else, leaving her to deal with confused children and piles of unpaid bills; or a young girl, barely a teenager, hopelessly addicted to crack cocaine, who has run away from home and lives on the streets of the city, selling her body to pay for her insatiable habit; or a couple who gets the news just before the holidays of a diagnosis of cancer, and they try to put on a good face for the children; or a young bride, pregnant with her first child, her husband serving overseas, and she hears the doorbell, and answers it to find two Marines standing there, bearing unbelievable news.

It's one thing to be swept up in the bloom of love when life is all sweetness and light, but it's quite another thing when that light is hidden in the darkness of despair. And yet ... the good news of the Gospel story is that even in the midst of pain and suffering, God's light pushes back the darkness. Even in the barren soil of affliction, the seedling of love breaks through. Even in unlikely places where despair seems to triumph and where life's woes seem to have the final word, even in such unlikely places, God's love gently bursts forth to surprise and heal and make things new. (iii)

For example: a man in the hospital, dying it seems, the doctors predicting only a matter of days if not hours; and family, friends, and the pastor all come by, prayers are said, goodbyes are spoken; then without any logical reason, a few days elapse, and his strength starts returning, and in a few weeks he is back sitting here in church. Uncommon love flowering in an unlikely place. Another example: a woman deserted by her husband, but now for the first time in years she is not fearful of being yelled at or beaten up - now she and her children can begin life anew. Uncommon love flowering in an unlikely place. Other examples: a medical diagnosis proven wrong, and what seemed a death sentence becomes a new lease on life; a delinquent teenager gets turned on to sports or music or drama - and suddenly the youth begins to shape up and turn his life around; two people estranged for decades bump into each other unexpectedly, and a new bond is forged, a new friendship is established. Each of us could probably think of many more examples from our own lives or from those we know. Uncommon love flowering in unlikely places.

Truth is, this so-called "uncommon" love may not be that uncommon after all. Some of you may have done a life-line exercise at some time, where you drew a horizontal line on a piece of paper, and marked on it all the important events in your life, and all the points where you felt God's presence - especially in those times of sadness or joy. Well, the events and happenings certainly are definite spots on the line, but God coming in at those points? - that doesn't quite tell the whole story. Actually, to continue the analogy, God is not just there in a few connecting dots, but is the entire page on which the line is drawn. God's loving presence intersects with our lives with every breath we take. Those times and places when we notice divine love appearing in our lives are just signs of God, who is always watching over us, always with us, always loving us. There is no moment of darkness so dark that God's love light can be extinguished, no soil so barren that "the seed of saving grace cannot thrive in it. Uncommon love constantly flowers in unlikely places!" (iv)

This is the message I want to leave with you this Christmas Eve, and as you gather with family or friends on Christmas day and beyond - watch for and listen for these moments of grace and rejoice in their wonderment - even if you're sure that no one else has taken any notice. I hope your Christmas celebrations will bring you and yours great joy, delight, and deep satisfaction. I hope the Spirit of Christmas will sweep over you and your loved ones in special ways. And most of all, I hope you will discover the uncommon, yet very common, love of God flowering in your life and in the world around you in all the likely and all the unlikely places. Merry Christmas! Amen.

The Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
Rev. Kenneth C. Landall

i Mark MacKinnon, "Lepers and Lovers in a Dangerous Time," quoted by D. Jay Koyle, in Preaching Word & Witness, 12/24/04.
ii Koyle, ibid. Meditation significantly based on Koyle's sermon.
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.