Sermons: GIFTS FROM THE HEART
Rev. Kathleen Ellis
December 21, 2003
Let your imagination drift back in time to the end of the nineteenth century.
In a classic story that may be familiar to you, Della Young scrimped and saved
all year long. It was Christmas Eve. Della counted her coins twice. One dollar
and eighty seven cents. Hardly enough for a gift worthy of her precious husband
Jim. After a long cry she pulled herself together and realized her greatest
asset was her long, beautiful brown hair. She hurried off to sell it for $20 and
searched for the perfect gift for Jim.
Finally she found it—a watch fob for the watch that had been his father's and
his grandfather's. When he came home from work, her closely cropped hair stopped
him in his tracks. Yes, in this tender story of irony and romantic love, Jim had
sold his watch to buy a set of combs for Della's long hair. This is one of O.
Henry's best short stories, just four pages long. Its theme of mutual sacrifice
for the sake of love gives it a special glow.
Today's kind of mutual sacrifice centers more often in the world of work.
People are working harder than ever to find or keep one or more jobs to make end
meet. Layoffs halt the income for some workers, while the ones left with jobs
have to do the work of two or three. The pressure is huge on families, whether
or not children live at home, and whether there is one income or more. At the
same time, the economy is improving for some people, and along comes the holiday
season with its expectation of generosity and gaiety.
As a matter of fact, December brings a fascinating mix of secular and
spiritual delights! Hannakah began at sundown on Friday, Winter Solstice and
Yule begin tomorrow morning, and within about a week we have Christmas, Kwanzaa,
Boxing Day (when the servants and service workers traditionally received gifts),
the death anniversary of Zarathustra (also known as Zoroaster), the birth
anniversary of Gobind Singh Ji, who was a guru in the Sikh religion, followed by
New Year's Day, and the Rose Bowl Parade. From December 31 through January 4,
Zoroastrianism celebrates the creation of animals and the equitable sharing of
food. One holiday that has not found its way to the multi-faith calendar is
IllUUmination.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock created the first
illUUmination celebration in 1994. Most religious traditions have some form of
ritual or tradition that celebrates love and tells a story of hope and faith
during this season of winter and darkness. When some of the Little Rock children
asked what our faith’s tradition was, the Sunday school teachers decided to
create a new one of their own. IllUUmination celebrates the flaming chalice,
which is used in worship by many Unitarian Universalist congregations. The
chalice container symbolizes sharing, generosity, community and love; its flame
represents our freedom to search for truth and meaning and our belief in the
inherent worth of each person.
But no matter what our religious holiday of choice might be, this seems to be
the season of excess. Beautiful lights burn in menorahs, on trees and houses, in
luminaria, on the trail of lights, in temples, shrines, mosques, and churches.
Merchants compete for our attention through sales, constant advertising, and
special enticements to get us to go into their shops and onto their web pages..
We show our affection for one another through the exchange of tangible tokens
that range from cards and letters to gifts of extravagant proportions. Even
though more of our time is spent on responsibilities at home and in the
workplace, we try to do everything: send cards, decorate, bake, clean, shop,
wrap, party and entertain. It gets to be too much to fit into our lives and we
have to be very careful not to do so much that we're stressed out and irritable.
With a little imagination and motivation, it's easy enough to get spending
under control. It's also possible to do less and enjoy it more. After all, the
objective is to let people know you care about them. Let go of lofty
expectations and come back to the real world. You may not need to sell your hair
or your pocket watch.
Some of my favorite gifts over the years cost little or nothing:
--the gift of time—handmade gifts and books of coupons to do chores. One year
when life was overwhelming, my sons decided that all they needed for a happy
Christmas was to bake chocolate chip cookies together.
--the gift of space—for solitude, a nature walk, or a night of star gazing.
--the gift of meaningful work—including assistance in finding a job or a
satisfying volunteer opportunity. Even children need work that is valued.
the gift of relationship—such as letters from the children or spending time
together with friends or family. Lately I have come to realize family time
doesn't have to be around the dinner table as it was when I was growing up. It
might be on the sports field or a trip to the park. In the paper this week, a
picture showed a guy in bed with his laptop. He said his wife falls asleep on
his shoulder while he finishes work for the night. Before the laptop, he was off
in another room while she went to bed alone.
--the gift of a positive attitude—whether this is a general optimism or a
response to a difficult life situation.
--the gift of hope—by which I mean the expectation that no matter how bad
things are, there is the possibility for improvement.
………………
Gifts from the heart have no dollar amount, and yet they are priceless. To
exchange heartfelt looks into the eyes of your life partner, to hug your child,
to care for a parent or grandparent, to prepare a meal for someone in need—these
are simple ways we weave the tapestry of our lives. Sharing our stories,
listening with our hearts, and showing kindness to strangers are gifts beyond
measure.
Countless gifts of time and energy have been shared with Live Oak Church. The
founding members literally started from scratch. The rest of us are so grateful
for their sacrifice. In fact, would all the members from those early days please
stand? …… You laid the groundwork for everything we have here today. Thank you.
………………
More members helped with the transitions as Live Oak moved from Cortez Plaza
to a room above a restaurant to LOP. (I used to think LOP meant Live Oak Plaza
but it's really Lakeline Office Plaza). Anyway, from there we moved to this
sanctuary on five and a half acres of land. And I want to say thank you to all
of you who helped with those relocations. If any of you have survived remodeling
or building and moving into a new home, you have a sense of what has happened
here. So much change! In such a short time!
Other people here today and newcomers in the years to come have no memory of
our history in other places. Since we moved in June, we have dozens of new
members. Each year, a lot of people come to Live Oak in search of a community
where we and our families can grow intellectually and spiritually. Together we
all bring gifts from our hearts and seek healing where our hearts have been
wounded. Just last week Rebecca Maze and the Live Oak choir offered a gift of
songs and readings from Oscar Hammerstein that touched our hearts. Thank you
all.
But at the same time we have felt the expansion of our community and energy,
the days have been shrinking and the nights growing longer. People used to be
afraid of the increasing darkness. According to ancient beliefs, at the winter
solstice the sun was said to stand still for a moment. People who believed that
needed to do something! Solstice rituals were developed to help the sun come
back to warm the earth and bring forth new life. The wheel of the year would
rotate until light returned once more.
According to a more recent legend, into this time of darkness was born a
child. Sophia Lyon Fahs reminds us of his humanity and the stories of his
divinity with these words from our hymnal:
For so the children come
And so they have been coming…
Always in the same way they come
born of the seed of man and woman.
No angels herald their beginnings.
No prophets predict their future courses.
No wisemen 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 life 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.
From the early days of Christianity, various groups promoted different
stories about the birth of Jesus. The story that survived 2000 years is
accompanied by angels, shepherds, and astrologers. Jesus is said to be both
divine and human. The story represents the collective hope and promise we place
upon every child. Many people believe that each of us carries the essence of the
divine. The wise astrologers brought three extraordinary gifts to Jesus: gold, a
symbol of royalty; frankincense, a symbol of divinity; and myrrh, a symbol of
human frailty.
Our gifts of the season, then, are that the sun will return; that children
will be born as the hope of humankind; and the hope that there will be peace and
forgiveness and love to last throughout the year. Here at Live Oak I can almost
feel the future pulsing when I see all the young and eager faces in the present.
But in the present, there are times when we're just not as joyful as the
world seems to think we should feel. At times like these, the winter holidays
contrast painfully with the heaviness in our hearts. Tragedy does not spare us
during the winter months, as we know from today's candles of sorrow. The
difference between these holidays and personal sorrow can result in added stress
or depression. There may be an empty chair this year of someone who is missed
terribly. There may be illness or financial hardship or loneliness. Every
cheerful greeting adds to the sadness. Only the slow movement of time promises
to lift us from such depths. We need to allow ourselves extra tender, loving
care at such times, and to ask others for a listening ear.
We do reach out to one another in love. Take a moment to think about why
you're celebrating any holiday. Perhaps you'll want to put more emphasis on the
religious aspects of your faith. Perhaps you'll eliminate some events in order
to spend special time with family or friends. You might indulge yourself with a
bite of chocolate or light a scented candle or go work with your power tools.
You might decide to serve your neighborhood or community in some special way or
make charitable donations instead of exchanging gifts, as some of you have done.
You might just leave town and go to a place where you can generate new memories.
Long hours of darkness give us a time for reflection as well as a desire for
light. Listen to this Evening Prayer from The New Zealand Prayer Book (p. 184):
Lord, it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day,
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all who are dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen
One fundamental message of Christmas is that out of humble beginnings, love
increased. You and I can carry that love forward. Light up the world through
kindness to one another. Loving-kindness is more precious than any material
gift. Live as though eternity lies before you, yet live as though this moment …
is the very one … for which you have been waiting.
Amen
Closing Words by Carolyn McDade
Long before the night was born from darkness,
there was love.
Copyright
©2006, Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church.