Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

December 21,  2014

at Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

Micah 5: 2-5a

John 1: 1-14

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives      

For your eyes show the way

            Your mind knows the truth

            Your being is the life.

Amen.

 ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ¹² But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ^[1]

I've been excited about this sermon. When you preach a series, you always look forward to the final one, and when you preach messages parallel to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" this final scene is always front and center because that story is about redemption, and the redemption of Scrooge is so powerful. So many forces work together to save him, and really what saves him is the Truth of What Christmas is, and what Christmas means. God comes into our world, and changes our world forever, and if we remain unchanged by this wondrous event, we are greatly missing something, missing everything, missing out, and Scrooge is a good example of missing, but we find that despite how extreme he is, there is no way to avoid, when reading novel, how much more like him we really are than like Bob Cratchitt. The movies are different, Cratchitt is like us, and Scrooge is so utterly not, but I reread the original novella this week, hoping to gain some insight from the story, and was overwhelmed at what I found, how much more human Scrooge is, very much mean and miserable, but very much human, and how tightly Dickens' words fit into the context of what I've been talking about. So much is missing from the text, when all you do is see one of the many movie versions. As great as they are, there is some really poignant parts that are missing. . . and as I was reading it this week I kept coming across them.

For instance when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the scene when he loses his sweetheart. . . when he chooses his money instead of her. . . it is quite a heart wrenching scene because it is not his choice, she comes to him, and says "Ebenezer your love for me has been supplanted by a new love, and I can't compete." He tries half heartedly to deny it, but she knows him so well, and she is not thinking of herself, but rather for him. She says to him, that "Fear of the world" is the great cause of his grief. I had no idea, but that is exactly what I have been preaching our great trouble is, the world's great trouble is fear. . . fear of so much, to which faith in the Christmas world is such a remedy for. Those Christmas Angels beckon us to "Fear Not" though the shepherds were sore afraid.

But the most important thing that I found in my reading was this moment of conversion, that moment when Scrooge wakes up a changed man. . . I kept thinking what a model for us, what a perfect model of how Christmas should affect us. . . and we have to wonder if it doesn't, how much more could it, should it, would it mean to us. If it was all new to us. If Christmas was something new and fresh and different, and a real new experience. . . like it is for Scrooge. Check out that scene. . . I put it in the bulletin.

Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in!

"I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!" Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed.  "The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.  Oh Jacob Marley!  Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this.  I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!"

He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call.  He had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.

His hands were busy with his garments all this time; turning them inside out, putting them on upside down, tearing them, mislaying them, making them parties to every kind of extravagance.

"I don't know what to do!" cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath. . . "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.  I am as giddy as a drunken man.  A merry Christmas to everybody!  A happy New Year to all the world!  Hallo here!  Whoop!  Hallo!"

Look at that reaction. Time is such a big factor in the novel. . . one of those things often missed. Time. . . originally the ghosts are to come three nights in a row, each night at 1:00 a.m., but that would miss Christmas, and so instead for some reason, some idea of time stopping for Scrooge, he doesn't realize that its all happened in one night until he wakes up, and realizes that he hasn't missed Christmas. He realizes he still has time. . . so not only does he get redeemed, but he gets a few days back. . . more than he thought he would, and that makes him even more excited. He's gained time. It's like for him, something like when you wear an old coat you haven't worn in years, and it just happens to have a twenty bill in.. . totally unexpected. . . that's time is for Scrooge. He has time, he says, to make amends. The best time for making amends is now. . . it always is. Once you decide you want to make amends, that you need to make amends, wouldn't it be great to be also able to turn back that clock and do it yesterday. That's where Scrooge is. There is that movie "When Harry Met Sally" where Billy Crystal says to Meg Ryan at the end. . . when you spend  your entire life trying to find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible."

Then there are the Spirits themselves, and Scrooge says he's going to live in them Past, Present, and Future, that each will live in his heart. They will "strive' in his heart. . . always working through him, what a great word "strive." And of course we're to think, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit there. It is a set of three in a Christian context. The Trinity is very much alive in the time scenario of past, present, and future. . . just like a God completely timeless, living I am, then, now, and always. And then you have Jacob Marley's name, Jacob, no coincidence that Dickens chose the name of the father of our faith, Jacob, Israel, that trickster who did all kinds of bad things, but never succeeded in separating himself from God's love. . . it's a great subtle message about the great steadfast love and mercy of God, shining through this redemption story.

But then look at how it affects him. He's "fluttered" he's glowing" all with "good intentions" his voice is broken, he was sobbing violently and his face was wet with tears. He's trying to get his clothes on, but he can't focus on them. He puts them inside out, upside own, he tears them, mislays them, and he is becoming "extravagant." Extravagant the very opposite of a hoarding miserable miser, knowing only the comfort of cold hard coins, now he is filled with unkempt extravagance. He proclaims, "I don't know what to do." The man who had always been in such control, every action and thought coldly calculated, emotionless, and cold, now laughing and crying. . . he doesn't know what to do. He's light as a feather. . . he's happy as an angel. . . he has reclaimed the merriness and joy of his youth, back at old Fezziwig's. . . he is giddy, like a drunken man. . . and out of him flows Merry Christmas. . . to everybody. . . happy New Year to all the world. . . his world has grown from simply himself. . . now outward. . . and not just to a few but to everyone. He can't contain his love. . . his excitement. . . all control he had is gone. . . and he is living completely in the moment. . .caught up in the moment. . . for he has no fear of the future. . . no regret of the past. . . because all of it is being made right, right now, in this moment. . . the entire world. . . the entire creation. . . everything. . .every minute. . . every single momentary idea is caught up right now. . . flowing out of him without any thought. . . he is caught up and living completly changed. . . completely outside of his former self. . . now alive, and now his true God Made Self, and is ready to share with the world and save the world, and love the world. This is what Christmas does for Scrooge.

Does it do it for us? Does the rest fall away? Are we so caught up in it that we lose ourselves completely? Truly. . .probably not.  I mean we like Christmas. We all like Christmas. It makes us feel special, feel warm and fuzzy inside. . . we get to see the joy on Children's faces. . . we get to remember the joy we felt as children. . . new toys. . . special decorations. . . waking up at 4 just to start it all off. We were driving home from the Nativity at the Norton's farm the other night, and I was pointing out the lights to Clara and Coralee on either side of the road. . . and Clara said, "It truly is a magical world." And it is. . . it's new to them. . . like it was to Scrooge. . . kids feel it, everything is so special and so new.

That is where we need to get because that is what Christmas is. . . newness, the world is made new, and we are made new. It changes us. . . it has to, or we've missed it. John's gospel starts so beautifully talking about what Christmas really means. The Word. .. . becoming flesh. . . light shining through the darkness. . . the darkness trying to overcome it, but not being able to. .. people in their confusion choosing the darkness over the light, because they know no better. Is it possible that we have become so used to Christmas that it is shadowed, that the light is not shining brightly, because it has been shining for so long and we're used to it, we have become accustomed to Christmas. . .hear that word "Accustomed?" Have our customs become dead and routine? What can we do to shake things up?

I have tried in this series to get us to look at Christmas a different way, by looking at the world in a way we rarely do. A way that takes into account the past and where we've been, to bring into greater focus, where we are and where we are going. . . Christmas fits into that, because no matter how many times we've celebrated Christmas. . . it's new. . . it always comes with the possibility of newness and life. . .and if it isn't new for  you. . . then there is nothing like now to make amends, and you'll find that you have all the time you need if you start now. If you let this Christmas be  the one where God's covenant is really written into your heart forever, the spirit can strive in your heart, your energy an amass, overflow out of you. O to dream for that kind of experience? Please God, let it be so for us today, on this Christmas Morning.

---

^[1]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Jn 1:1-14). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Prince of Peace

The Prince of Peace

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

December 20,  2014

for the Blue and Gray Christmas Service

Sesquicentennial Celebration

at Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

Isaiah 40: 1-8

Luke 2: 1-14

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives      

For thine eyes show the way

            Thy mind knows the truth

            Thy being is the life.

Amen.

 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And so it was that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born into this world, the Word made flesh, Hosanna, a Messiah, the Lord, in Excelsis Deo, and the like. The Magi, and Herod all were seeking him, too, they called him the King of the Jews. . . Ezekiel the Prophet foretold of the coming of a Son of Man, Jeremiah foretold of a Righteous Branch, even further back, there was the need of a sacrificial lamb to take the place of Isaac, having been spared, that father, Father Abraham, would not be asked to complete the task of sacrificing his own son, that job would be reserved for God himself, for since the beginning, way back in Genesis, after Eve, and then Adam had partaken of the fruit, falling us completely into sin and darkness, it was said that Satan's head must be struck, a battle against sin and darkness had begun. . . but the prophet Isaiah called him, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and of course Prince of Peace, and it is this name, Prince of Peace that I would like to discuss today, for Peace is something we sorely need.

Here we stand in the midst of the war that has raged on and on, seemingly without end, but war is nothing new, since the birth of Christ, the coming of this Prince of Peace there has always been war, before the Prince of Peace there was war. No, war is not something that is limited to just our time, nor to only our shores, even now war rages across this world, though most of us are so consumed and rightly so, that we often lose the perspective of history, but one thing has been surely the case so far in this conflict, is that on Christmas, if only for a brief season, the cannonballs cease their flying, and the night sky is cleared of the smoke of war, and we can see the skies, we can see the stars, and if we were looking up at the sky on a night like this, what would it be like if it was to us that those angels appeared? What would they sing to us? Would their song be the same? Would they Sing of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all men? Would their message be that same message of Peace to us? And if it was, how would we respond? What would it look like? What is this peace they sing of? What is it and when does it begin? Dear God, open our ears and our eyes that we may learn your Peace. . .

Our Old Testament speaks of peace often, those heroes of the Biblical story, the Hebrews spoke of peace often. . . their word for peace was shalom. It makes up the second half of the name Jerusalem. . . the king's peace. . . It was a greeting, it was a well wishing, like our God Gi'de'en. It encapsulated health, happiness, comfort, and most importantly being in the right relationship and balance with God. And to them the beginning of faith, the beginning of relationship with God, was remembering who God is, who we are as his people, and what he has done in this world. What he has done for His people. . . carrying them by hand, delivering them from their bondage, and giving them a land flowing with milk and honey, a land for all time. . . and yet squandered because they forgot. . . they were to write it on their fence posts, and wear it on their faces, they were to teach it to their children, reciting it at the beginning and end of each day. . . The Lord of All is One, Love the Lord with all thy Heart, all thy Soul, and all thy Might. But they forgot. Prophets came to remind them. Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant. . . one where this would be written on our hearts, when that messiah would come. . . but here it is, and we have forgotten again.

The Prince of Peace. . . what would we think if those angels were to come to us today, bringing us those good tidings, here to our world? Would they send us running towards Bethlehem to worship the new born king, the messiah, the Lord, or would they have us running in shame, in fear, away. For we have forgotten, and we know it. We are not the first to forget, but to be reminded in a blinding light of glory, breaking up the night, filling up that quiet, comfortable, dare I say peaceful, darkness with light. . . that would probably send us running to hide ourselves back in the darkness. Because the Angel of the Lord coming in glory, with the glory showing all around us would be frightening, it would change our world. It would make us think twice about what we have been fighting for, and against. It certainly would make us all think twice about what we are fighting for and against. For in the light we can see ourselves, there is not blessed darkness where we can hide. . .it  is all out there in the open, full disclosure, complete, and whole. . . and the problem is we find that we are broken. We fear that we are broken. We fear that we are not worthy. We fear that we must hoard, and fight, and claw, and scratch, all just to find our way through this world of darkness.

But wait, this isn't darkness at all, this is the light. This is not the darkness. The angels are singing. . . and they say, "Fear Not!" These fears that you feel are just the shadows of the darkness. . . they are the remnants of what you are so stubbornly clinging to. Let go. . . Fear not. . . for behold. I bring you good tidings, of great joy, for the world has changed. The world is not a world of darkness, but has been claimed by this light. There is nothing to fear, for fear is just a remnant of that dark and dead world of yesterday. I bring you Peace. . .the Prince of Peace has come. Peace. . . your wholeness, your health, your happiness, and your rightness with God, remember again, remember what God had done, is doing, and will do, what that baby in the manger means for us.  . . the manger that begins his humble life, and the cross that ends it, but neither are what they seem, for the light just overcomes the darkness again and again, in him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike. For what happens on that third day, yes the son rises. . . light again shining out of the darkness.

Do you have darkness in you? Do you have brokenness? Are you afraid? of the future? of your past? of this moment? Yes we do, of course we do, but Isaiah, he through whom, God first coined this descriptive epithet, Prince of Peace, also said:

"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people saith your lord! Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished. The grass withereth, flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever."

Even in the midst of war and unrest, God's word comes to us, giving us comfort, telling us to not be afraid, and bringing us good tidings of great joy. . . Peace on Earth and Good Will to all men. Are you broken? maybe. . . not enough. Do you have darkness in you? maybe . . . not enough. Are you afraid of not being worthy? Or not worth it? Is there something you could have done to earn all this that you failed to do? maybe. . . never enough? Enough, no, nothing is enough to separate you from this light. You didn't earn it, and it won't be taken away, fear not, remember, and be at peace. For the Prince of Peace has Come, "in him is life, and the life is the light of men. and the light shineth perpetually in the darkness. . . the darkness comprehends it not. . .  the darkness forgets it, but for us. On a night like this, clear, quiet, and dark. . . let us let, the herald angels sing for us anew. . . and then may we be filled, not with fear, but with great joy, so much so that we run, to worship the king, who is in the manger, written forever on our hearts.

The Ghost of 1st Christmas Future: Then to Now

The Ghost of 1st Christmas Future: Then to Now

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

December 14,  2014

at Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

Isaiah 2: 1-4

Hebrews 12: 1-12

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives      

For your eyes show the way

            Your mind knows the truth

            Your being is the life.

Amen.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—

“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

or lose heart when you are punished by him;

⁶     for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,

and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

⁷ Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? ⁸ If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. ⁹ Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. ^[1]

So we've now been visited by the first two spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past whisked us through the Before Christ world, showing us a world of darkness, controlled by might and power, all fueled by fear. And then we looked at the Time of Christ, the Roman Empire, the Pax Romana, Herod, the differing Jewish Communities that were in existence when Christ was born. And now we look to the future at the first Christmas, the time that was from then until now. Before Christ the world was mired in fear and control. The powerful controlled the truth, proclaimed whatever they wanted as truth, and used that truth to control the people of the world. And even though there were major breakthroughs leading up until the Roman Empire, the Axial Age, to name one of them, Greek Democracy, Roman Republic, but only a few years before the birth of Christ, that flickering light of freedom was replaced as it had always been by Empire. . . law was replaced by the dictates of one man, this Augustus - The August one - The Great, Power, Control, Fear, Force. Augustus did more than just make himself the Emperor, he proclaimed himself a god, and since he said it, it was. That was all it took to become a god, just say that you are, and you can if you have legions and centurions at your command. That is all it takes in our world to proclaim truth. And such is what the ghost of Christmas Past and Present have shown us, always in juxtaposition with the truth of Christmas.

At this point in the Dickens' story, Scrooge is beginning to show some remorse. He is saddened by the past, the choices he has made, the times that he chose money over relationships, the times that he chose money over happiness. He saw the joy of others and he gave it all away. Then in the present he sees the Cratchit family,  poor, destitute, young sickly Tiny Tim, so sweet, yet riddled by the disease that could cost him his life. They have nothing, but the love they have for each other, the fact that they are facing their trials, and are not broken apart and divided by them, but are joyously celebrating through them, this begins to melt Scrooge's cold heart. But now when the third spirit beckons, Scrooge is overcome with, not regret, or pity, but overwhelming fear because not only do his actions have real cost to those around him, and have led him to this miserly miserable point, but they go forward into the future, and if he were to remain unchanged, his life would continue on a very sad, lonely, and tragic trajectory, toward his death, abandoned and alone, perhaps even to wear the heavy chains of Marley's ghost, or worse, the flames at the bottom of the grave.

So we, as the world, like Scrooge, have been shown in the last few weeks the missteps of the world, that have brought us to this point at the time of the Original Christmas. And in the manger we see the baby savior of the world. We see hope coming into the world. We see a child who is the fulfillment of a promise, and we ask, is it enough to change us, enough for us to seek another way? If we were to look at the future from the Birth of Christ, from the perspective of the first Christmas forward, we would see the world that has created our own. We would see the history of the world from Christ to now. What I want us to do today, is again pretend we are like Scrooge. We are not looking back at the past, but are living in the time of Christ's birth, the first Christmas. . . and we are looking forward. We have seen the past, we have seen the baby in the manger and now we look to what the future looks like to us, if we weren't changed by this first Christmas.

One question that should come to our minds before we begin is, would the vision of the world looking forward from Christmas forward look any different from the world that is? In other words, would Christmas change anything? Has Christmas changed anything? Let's think for a moment that Christmas did change something. There certainly would be no thing called the Church, no Saints, no great poetry and music of the Christian Tradition, we could ask ourselves, would there have been a United States of America? Would there have been a Declaration of Independence? A Constitution? Would there be any such notion of things like Equal Rights? or Rights at all? Would there be any notion of freedom? Charity? Christmas traditions, like giving gifts? Would there be a dream of peace on Earth without Christmas? Would there be Joy? Because we do experience Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love. We do. Christmas has made a difference in our lives. It just has, but the question is how much? and how lasting?

Because there are certainly aspects of the world that did not change. So the Ghost of Christmas future comes to the world and shows it a picture of the Baby Jesus, grown now, betrayed, tried, beaten, flogged, and now hanging on a cross to die, while the Roman governor washes his hands of the deed, the people demanded it, it seemed they were afraid of what it all could mean. It seemed they were afraid of upsetting the Romans, upsetting the status quo, giving people false hope. It seemed that Jesus had messed with the wrong power brokers. But then the ghost whisks us forward, and we see a Roman Emperor becoming baptized as a Christian. We see the mixing of the movement with the Empire. We see power and might makes right, wielding the cross. We can't help but wonder if these powerful men are really converting to a Jesus centered faith existence, or are simply converting in name only, that Jesus has supplanted Zeus, supplanted Jove, and is now just the most powerful god, small "g". Zeus had always worried about being overthrown, now it has happened. The ghost whisks us forward and we see a Germanic chieftain, a Frank named Clovis, and he is being baptized and crowned by the Pope. . . is he a new convert? Is he a new Christ follower, or is he just the latest to wield the cross? The latest, but there are many to follow. Popes, priests, kings, they all use the cross to rule, but we don't see them teaching love, we see them teaching fear, we see the threat of persecution, we see forced conversions and torture, we see the threat of Hell, promises of healing, salvation, positions of prestige within the church, riches, health and happiness, all not at the cost of faith, but based on the cost of the coin. Give to us and control your future. We see soldiers, knights, men at arms, armed with swords, but not the sword of truth and the armor of God, but armor of iron, with the symbol of the cross, off to fight the infidels. We see superstition and fear, the remnants of the old BC pagan religions, ritual and magic, wielded by regular people trying to gain some control on their own in a world that is so out of control. We even see reformers, making great strides in the push towards creating a more authentic Jesus following movement, but they include destroying art and musical instruments, and more wielding of power, division, and more warfare. We see the Christian world spread to every corner of the globe through exploration and mission, but always with the Bible comes the sword, the gun, the bomb, always with the teaching comes the impelling, the force, the fear. We see Christianity make slaves of people, excuse slavery, wielding the Bible again to serve whatever purpose was the most powerful. We see nations going to war with each other. We see men rising up as strong leaders threatening to take over the world. We see Wars not fought just between two countries but between all people, the entire world at war, not once but twice, we see a weapon of mass destruction, a holocaust of people, genocide, Communism, fear, control, Debt, Division, Power, Decline, Fear, fear and more fear, and the constant offer of strong and smart men to take it all over for us and give us real answers and real tangible salvation, only one election away. . .

. . . and if we are honest with ourselves we ask if any of it has made a difference. . . for if Christmas is a light shining in the darkness, if it is a hope we have, a hope of peace, a source of joy, then it is merely a flicker. . . and we desperately need more. We need more Christmas, and we need more light. If we think of Scrooge, and his overwhelming transformation on Christmas morning, we know that the glimpse of his future was the big thing that changed him, paired with his regret and his pity, it all changed him. . . but has it changed us. . . we see it, partial change, right. We get a little hope. We get a little peace, and a little joy, but it is always tempered with those old enemies, Fear and Control - - The need for security, safety, our way. . . but Christmas is about faith, and faith lets go, faith believes, faith can look outward. Imagine Dickens story with Scrooge only partially changed. He goes from Bah Humbug to giving Cratchit a small raise and the day off, but come a week later, he is back to his old miserly ways? It certainly would lack the power. . . Scrooge instead flies from his room, rights all the wrongs he can, is filled with the spirit of Christmas, and that spirit is Joy! He is filled with Joy because he has seen the future and he was creating, but had his eyes opened to a Christmas reality and a Christmas future, where storing up treasure just has no place, and the misery of being a miser has no place.

Next week we will look at how our world can change. . . for after looking at the past, present, and future of the first Christmas Time, we get to wake up in our world, in our time, on Christmas Morning, like Scrooge, and be filled with the lasting Christmas Joy, the kind that sends you out running in your pajamas to give to your fellow man, to love, to serve, to sacrifice, looking beyond yourself, beyond what you can control, stepping out in faith not fear. That is what real Christmas conversion looks like. . . do we have it?

I chose an interesting passage for the New Testament Lesson today. It is not a normal Advent Passage. We don't usually talk about the "cloud of witnesses" and "running with perseverance the race," at Christmas time, but in my Bible this section was subtitled, "The Example of Jesus" , Jesus, who is the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of "Joy" endured the cross." There it is "Joy." Joy, Joy, Joy, praise be to God in Heaven on High. It was for our Joy that Jesus endured the cross, and so we face trials, we will since forever human beings have faced trials, it is a part of what being human is all about, what being a follower of God is all about.

“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

or lose heart when you are punished by him;

⁶     for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,

and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

One thing that the message of the Ghosts of 1st Christmas Past, Present, and Future all showed us, was/is people trying to avoid trials. . . it is our fear of the trials of life that make us seek to control them. But these words from Hebrews and so many other Biblical stories show us that the trials are where we become strong. . . that the trials are not to be avoided, but endured. . . and that we will not be forsaken through them. It is not that we avoid trials through our faith, but that we make it through, avoidance is where we go astray.

Today we lit the candle of Joy, the special candle, the pink one. Today we have wonderful music from the bell choir. We have great and exciting things going on this month all around us about Christmas. It is a time of great Joy. It is often easy to be joyous on days like today, but real Joy is tested by the fire of trials, tested by faith through fear, and tested by the cross we are called to carry. Can we find Joy in those trials? Can we be made strong in our faith by them? Can we persevere and run the race, all the while, keeping our Christmas Joy, empowering our hearts with Joy. The Hebrews passage ends with this line:

"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed."

Christmas is supposed to change us, supposed to raise us up, suppose to heal our weakness, our lameness, our crookedness. It is supposed to free us from Fear and Control, filling us instead with Joy, real, lasting, all encompassing, light all up in the midst of real darkness, kind Joy. Christmas Joy, let heaven and nature sing it.  So may it be. Amen.

---

^[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Heb 12:1-13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

The Ghost of 1st Christmas Present: 0 A.D.

The Ghost of 1st Christmas Present: 0 A.D.

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

December 7,  2014

at Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

Isaiah 40: 1-11

Luke 2: 1-7

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives      

For your eyes show the way

            Your mind knows the truth

            Your being is the life.

Amen.

 2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴ Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵ He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. ^[1]

So last week we took a look at the ancient world. The Ghost of Christmas Past came and whisked us through history, showing us a world that was formed around oppression and control. As the world, we took a look at ourselves in the past, before Christ, seeking to reveal how Christmas Day should change us, how we like Dickens', Ebenezer Scrooge, should find remorse, should find redemption, and should repent from those ways, but much like Scrooge the past is not enough for us. There are three spirits, and so this week we get visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present. He is going to show us what kind of world Jesus was born into. It is very much still a world of oppression for most. It is a world of Empire. It is a world dominated by Romans, at least in the little town of Bethlehem, and the country that surrounds it.

The Biblical account of Jesus' birth, especially that of Luke's Gospel, goes out of its way to make sure we know the exact historical timeframe for Jesus' life. Luke tells us who the emperor was, Augustus, and who the governor of Syria was, Quirinius. The Roman world is very much a character in the Christmas Story, just as it is a character in the Easter story. So it is the time of Augustus, but what was that like? Before we go there let's take a look at a little backstory.

In the Advent Study this past Tuesday, I introduced the group to an idea called by some historians, and first coined by the Philosopher Karl Jaspers' just 60+ years ago. Much like "The Renaissance" or "The Enlightenment" this "Axial Age" is a historian's description of a time period that seemed to fit into a category of idea. . . that there is a series of events and actions at the time that have enough of a common thread to warrant being thought of as a group, with a name. Axial, in this sense is a time where the world makes a pivot, like on an axis. The phenomenon that Jaspers was noticing was that most if not all of the Philosophies and Religions that have shaped the modern world, all found their origins in the same period of time, and that within this trend there are many common threads. If you've heard someone say that all religions are the same, with some minor details, you have an idea of what I'm talking about. Jaspers and others would say, though I don't completely agree that religions are the same, but I do agree, as they would say, that there are certainly many common threads. Jaspers noticed that between around 800 BC and 100 AD if you include Christianity, some date it to 200 B.C. Zoroastrianism in Persia, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism in India, Taoism and Confucianism in China, The Prophets of The Old Testament, and The Greek Philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and others all found their origins. And basically, not to go into too much detail and confuse  you, this Axial Age marked a shift from the Conflict/Oppression Polytheistic religious ideas of the Ancient World, like we talked about last week, to a much more Ordered, some may call Monotheistic ideas that would shape our world. The big difference in seeing an Ordered World instead of a world shaped by conflict, is that you can study that world, that reason rather than might become a real method for discerning truth, and that truth is something that is connected to the Created Order of the Universe, rather than just determined by the most powerful. Political systems, Morality, and the natural patterns of the world were all starting to be seen as connected, and seekable through reason and revelation directly from God, rather than filtered. There is a common thread of these factors in all of those Religions and Philosophies, though they differ in some of the details, some large differences and some very small differences. I have been captivated recently by this idea. It is intriguing, especially if you see it as laying the framework for the coming of Christ, and the message that Jesus brings. There is a sense that God's Providence was working, laying that foundation. Could that be why those Wisemen come to seek out Jesus from the East? It's a cool idea.

I bring this up today, though, to show that there was more to the Ancient World, leading up to the Roman Empire than just the darkness we talked about last week. Out of the Political Philosophies of the so called Axial Age, came the Democracy of Athens, and the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic is important for us today because at the time of Jesus' birth it had just recently died, replaced by Imperial Rule. Augustus is the first Roman Emperor. He was the adopted heir of Julius Caesar. His original name was Octavius, and with Mark Antony, and Lepidus ruled Rome as a Triumvirate. Lepdus and Mark Antony were eventually dispatched, leaving Octavius, who renamed himself, Augustus, or the Great, and Caesar. Kings and Emperors alike throughout the future kingdoms of the world would follow his lead and use the term Caesar as a title, think Kaiser or Czar. The month of August is also named for him, as July is named for Julius Caesar, putting them both on par with the gods which make up the other names.

Augustus' rule marks a real golden Age in the Roman Empire. Some of the real influential works of the Roman Empire are coming to be. Virgil writes his Aeneid telling the legendary story of the founding of Rome out of the ashes of the Fall of Troy. Ovid writes his Metamorphoses, which is a retelling in Latin and Romanization of many Greek Myths. Though they are certainly very Polytheistic and Conflict oriented, there are some Axial Age influences, but there is much more ease in ruling through fear than through reason. This is something we should always remember. . . one of the points the Three Ghosts are seeking to communicate to us. . . This is the time of Aqueducts and Roads, great architectural and artistic advances. He once said, "I found a Rome of bricks, I left it a Rome of marble."

But possible the biggest irony about Jesus birth coming during the Reign of Augustus Caesar is that it is right in the heart of a period of history called the Pax Romana -- or the Roman Peace. How strange that during a time of supposed peace, there was such a need for a lowly carpenter's son from Nazareth to be born as the Son of God, and Prince of Peace. Augustus' reign, beginning with his defeat of Mark Antony at the Battle of Agrippa in B.C. 31 is known as the official beginning of the Pax Romana. It is amazing that a mere 31 years later Jesus is born. Perhaps the Roman Peace was not all it was cracked up to be, or more likely that peace for the Romans depended on a lack of peace for others. And that leads us to life in the Roman Province of Judea.

At the time of Jesus' birth the Romans had control and use of a puppet named Herod, who had sold out his people to become king. He has been described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis", "the evil genius of the Judean nation", "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition" and "the greatest builder in Jewish history". He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. But the Bible remembers him for his massacre of the Innocents in his attempt to find and put an end to the Birth of a Rival "King of the Jews." So with this kind of king in place, and the always practical Roman occupation you can imagine the oppression that was felt by the Jewish people. Though there were infrastructural improvements in the area, most poor Jews, did not get many of the benefits of them.

There is a great scene in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" movie, depicting some of the issues in Judea at the time of the birth of Christ. The movie shows many of these "Front" resistance groups. There is the Peoples front of Judea, and the Judean Peoples Front, and the popular front. All of them are in competition with each other as they resist the Romans. One of them says, "The only thing we hate worse than the Romans is the Judean Peoples Front. There is a part when Brian wants to join one of them, and the leader says, "If you want to join the PFJ, you have to really hate the Romans." Brian says, "I do," and the leader says, "O Yeah, How much?" "Alot","Okay, good you're in!" But after that they are debating how much they hate the Romans, and they are like, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" and one guy says, "Well there are the roads, and the water, and the schools, and the security." And the other guys is like, "yeah well, other than all those." "Nothing!" Progress is always a difficult thing isn't it?

Much like the PFJ and the JPF, there were many different classes of Jews at the time of Jesus' birth. There were the Sadducees and Pharisees, as we all know. There were also revolutionaries called Zealots, and also many diverse religious almost monastic communities, for instant the Essenes, which have become famous from the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. All of them were waiting for a Messiah of some kind. And all of them had a different kind of Messiah in mind. You can imagine Jesus may not have fit their agendas so well. It is easy to imagine that many of them were seeking a conflict, powerful, and mighty challenge to the Roman oppression, someone to take the conflict, and let the Jews be on the winning team for once, someone to right the wrongs that the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, and Romans had all taken turns doing to them since the Exile from Jerusalem.

Instead, in the time of Caesar Augustus, to a Virgin betrothed to a Carpenter in Nazareth of all places, a place from where nothing good comes, a child is born, in a stable, in Bethlehem, because they could not even find room at the inn. It is hardly the military might, conquering, Empire shaking kind of Messiah most may have expected. No fanfare, just a star, no army just some shepherds. . . and some kings from the East. Is it possible that this child was bringing a much more Axial Age like era of connected truth to the world, one that was foretold by Isaiah and the other prophets, one that demands our worship, and care, and one that invites us, to open our hearts, to join hands, to come humbly, and to share a table. . . a simple table of Memory, remembrance, Remembrance of Christ, in his time, and forever.

The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to the house of Bob Cratchit, poor, yet filled with love, having a meal together, and the sight begins to warm his heart. We now gather around the Communion Table, would the love that we have here assembled warm the heart of the world. God Bless us every one. May it be so. Amen.

---

^[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Lk 2:1-7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Princess Melancholy Pea

Princess Melancholy Pea

I

There once lived a Princess Melancholy Pea,

Who lived in a sand castle down by the sea.

Out of sand were her windows; made of sand her doors,

And all of her walls and also her floors.

Everything around her was made of pure sand,

Not elaborate or flashy, but was truly quite grand,

For early each day when the morning sun shines,

There from her bed Princess Melancholy finds

A spectrum of colors that you’ll never see,

Unless you go visit Miss Melancholy Pea.

But no one ever does and no one ever did,

So she lived alone this Melancholy kid,

But she never knew different or thought it amiss,

To never have somone to love or to kiss.

And though her name makes you think she was sad,

Her life on the sand was actually not at all bad.

She’d awake to the colors as we’ve already said,

And lay her head down at night, content and well fed.

Alone is no different when that’s all that you know,

And alone she was until her world started to grow.

At her sandy door came a knock, a scratch, and a call,

Saying, “Hello, is there any one home, any one at all?

I’m a traveler of the sea, and I’ve lost my way.

My boat is a wreck. O melancholy day!”

She was frightened and wondered, “Who is this stranger?

O Am I? O am I? Is this some sort of danger?”

She also thought it weird to hear spoken her name,

For she’d never left here, and no one ever came,

But she rousted her courage and went to the door,

Silently stepping, tiptoeing across the floor.

“Who is it?” said she. “A wanderer,” said he.

“A wayfaring man who has traveled the sea,

But the wind came up suddenly; our boat was tossed,

And now it has sunk, and my companions are lost.

Do you have food, or shelter, where I can rest?

If you were to help, me you’d forever be blessed.”

She thought for a moment, not knowing what to do,

But her instincts took over and allowed him through.

“Come in,” she said, though her shyness was strong,

She knew to not help would be more than wrong.

So he came in, and she offered him food, that she

Cooked on her sand stove and a cup of sand tea.

Sand tea is a tasty drink, but can be quite gritty,

And they don’t make sand tea far away in the city.

She brews it in the sun in a pitcher of sea glass.

It was tangy and sweet with a slight touch of sass.

He thanked her so much for her kindness and food,

For even in his hunger, he'd never be rude,

And he liked the food, and he liked the tea,

And he'd surely come to like Miss Melancholy Pea.

For her beauty shined forth from her eyes,

Which shined like the blue aloft in the skies,

And her skin, like the sand, seemed to reflect light,

Glowing with wondrous luminescent delight.

And at once, he thought, he was lucky to be

Tossed about and wrecked left here by the sea.

Not knowing what to say, or where to start,

"Your kindness and beauty have touched my heart.,

I am amazed that your beauty has not won you fame

For never have I heard whisper of your name."

Blushing, she said, "You cannot mean me,

I am merely Princess Melancholy Pea.

I've lived here alone in the castle of sand.

I've never ventured forth out of this land.

I live a life that I love, which is simple and plain,

A life full of sunshine without any rain,

For if rain would fall, it could begin to erode

My happy life in this my sand castle abode.

Sheltered have I been, and so I must stay,

Else the life that I know could be swept away."

But that very day, her life started to change.

The feeling she felt, she thought very strange,

For never had she known the joy of a friend,

And she knew she couldn't be alone again.

When one becomes two by unforseen addition,

Even before the mind makes any admission,

The heart knows exactly what it wants and needs,

And cupid comes to plant his well known seeds,

Bringing together the kind of love that will last,

A new beginning that puts an end to the past.

II

And so the two lived in bliss by the sea,

This wayfaring sailor and Melancholy Pea.

He swam in the ocean. She bathed in the sun.

They talked, laughed, played games and had fun,

And you never would've thought that this happy pair

Had heartbreak lingering there in the air,

For a wayfaring man must travel around,

And could never be satisfied on one piece of ground,

Even if paradise was found there to be

In a sand castle with the lovely Melancholy Pea.

He never mentioned it in all of their talks,

Nor in the silence of their afternoon walks,

But he knew in his heart that he'd have to go,

And hoped that she would not say no,

That she would agree and come along

Into the next verse of his adventure song,

And together they could find new lands

In the companionship of wedding bands,

But he couldn't quite force the words to come out,

For something gave him pause and doubt.

"How could she leave her paradise home,

And wander the tide like the ocean's foam,

Having no aim, no goal, or destination,

Trying to see every piece of creation.

No, she's lived here at peace all her life,

Leaving would cause her undue strife,

And how could I ever cause her to grieve,

By asking her to come with me and leave."

And so he didn't ask, but kept it inside,

But his wayfaring mind dreamed of the tide.

And she sensed it too; she knew it was wrong.

There was something in him that longed to be gone.

She could see the future in his faraway look.

The adventure in his eyes she read like a book,

And though she knew he would try to stay,

She knew he could never be happy that way,

And she never thought he'd ask her to go,

And since he didn't tell her, she didn't know,

And so the short time that was filled with bliss

Was fluttering away even before their first kiss,

III

And so off he would go for an hour each day,

Building a raft, so he could sail away.

A secret cove he found concealed from view

And driftwood was there, and banana leaves, too.

He built a small raft with a clever mast,

Holding his banana leaf sail secure and fast.

It only took a month to complete a ship

On which he could at least begin his trip,

And in all hope, another ship's path he'd cross,

And rescue him before all would be a loss.

All that was left was to find a way to leave,

One that would not cause the princess to grieve,

For he loved her, and she had been so kind,

But the pain seemed to envelope his mind,

Not to mention his heart's throbbing and aching,

A sure sign that it too was breaking,

And so not wanting to prolong the event,

When night came the young sailor went.

He kissed her sleeping forehead and left a note.

Then sailed away softly alone in his boat.

He made it through the breakers away from the tide,

And out to the channel to wait, his time to bide,

For a ship could come today, or a month, or weeks.

He had to just wait, and pray for no leaks,

And while he waited, on the horizon the sun rose,

Shining the colors on Miss Melancholy's toes,

And when the light of the colors crept to her eyes,

The princess awoke unaware of the sad surprise

That was waiting for her just minutes away.

She could not foresee the changes to come that day.

Her dreams were pleasant, the dreams of a lover,

And she left her bed, missing the note just above her.

She thought she'd surprise him with breakfast in bed.

She poured the juice and toasted the bread,

And when she knocked softly, "tap-tap" on his door,

No call, no movement, just silence's roar,

Which she knew is the sound of an empty room,

And she opened the door and beheld her doom.

The bed was made, but the room was bare,

And she knew her sailor no longer was there.

She returned to her room and there found the note,

And read each word that her young sailor wrote:

"My dearest Princess," it opened, wrote he,

"I'm sorry to leave you and return to the sea,

But leave I must, for a sailor am I,

And a sailor on land is like a bird with no sky.

I'd wished that you could have come along,

But your happiness here is where you belong.

How can I steal from you the joy of your heart,

The home where you've lived, the source of your art?

"Having seen the beauty that fills your days,

The colors, the wonders, at which you gaze,

The simple pleasures of this your castle of sand

I could not ask you to leave something so grand,

So you being you, and I being me,

Apart we most surely are destined to be,

But this always know, my dearest Melancholy Pea,

I'll be thinking of you as I wander the sea."

"All my love," he chose with which to close his note.

"Yours always, Steven" was the name that he wrote.

"Steven my love," was Melancholy's cry,

"For you I'd have gone. For you I'd die.

Why didn't you tell me that you would go?

But somehow inside, I did surely know

That I couldn't tame you and make you stay,

But I never thought you'd so soon be away!"

And for the first time in her life, tears filled her eyes,

And as they did, storm clouds filled the skies,

As if they were connected, her tears and the rain,

Fell in a torrent, a mirror to her pain.

As the rain fell, it began washing away

The safety of her past, all the joy of her days,

And the sand roof began to run, and so too did fall,

As the rain beat down the sand from the wall.

As if the loss of her lover weren't enough,

The loss of her home, would be also as tough,

For never again would those bright colors rise

In the morning as she opened her eyes.

Then as the rain continually poured,

The ocean rose, and the floodwaters roared.

The rain didn't stop until her tear ducts were dry,

And slowly the clouds revealed the sun in the sky,

But all that was left of all her dry lands

Was the small circle where Princess Pea stands,

Wondering where can she go, what can she do,

Never having left her home, not having a clue

As to just which way her next step would be,

Completely surrounded by the blue of the sea,

And never before, at least never as yet,

Had she stepped in and gotten a single toe wet.

She thought to herself, "I surely can't stand

Here all my life on such a small piece of land,

But I can't swim because I've never swum.

O what a sad state my life has become!"

They say no clear choice forces faith to leap,

And so she stepped out into the ocean deep,

And as her feet and legs completely submerged,

They seemed to grow together, combined and merged,

And there where her legs, feet and toes had been

Grew a green, scaly, and shining new fin.

IV

So once she was fully submerged in the water,

She laughed and splashed and swam about her,

And because she never had swum before,

You'd think her skills would surely be poor,

But she could swim, and swam around like a pro,

Going left and to right, then to and fro.

Then, just to try, she climbed back on the land,

And her legs grew back as she touched the sand,

And so, quite exhausted, she thought it best

To stop for a while just to think and rest.

She was amazed at her new found power,

So she sat and wondered for over an hour,

“A mermaid in water, a girl on earth,

Are there other secrets unknown from my birth?

Who am I really? From where did I come?

Who were my parents to whom I came from?

What other things don't I know about my self?

What other talents have I left on the shelf,

While living a life content and secure,

Afraid of what could be, alone and unsure?”

While Princess Pea sat resting and pondering,

Poor Steven's raft was drifting and wandering.

Minutes seemed days, and hours seemed weeks,

But the raft held steady without any leaks,

Yet Steven was struggling with heartbreak and hunger,

With guilt of how his leaving certainly stung her.

He thought of her face, her eyes, her smile,

And dreamed of her kindness, her caring, her style,

How she made him feel by just being around,

All that he'd given up, just so he could drown.

Because drowning or starving would soon be his fate.

No ship would come, and soon would be too late.

After days of drifting, he finally passed out

With the little raft still tossing and tossing about,

But finally one morning a ship did come,

Full of pirates and scalawags wreaking of rum.

They took him aboard, laid him in a bed,

Poured water down his throat, dressed the burns on his head,

And at the end of two weeks, he opened his eyes,

But still lacked the strength to roust or to rise.

He knew not the bearded man, who gave him care.

He knew not the place, here, there, nor where,

And looking around did not ease his mind,

For nothing but darkness there did he find,

But he recognized the familiar rock back and forth,

And knew from that he'd found a ship heading North,

For he was so skilled at sound navigation,

From the feel in the darkness he could discern situation.

He knew the heading and could tell the speed.

A glimpse at the stars is all that he'd need.

Just then the bearded stranger came in,

And by candle light, his care did begin.

He dressed Steven's skin with Aloe and lotion.

He gave to him such kindly devotion

That Steven chanced to open his eyes,

Which gave his caretaker a welcome surprise.

“Well good morning! We found you alone drifting about,

And we hoped you'd survive, but 'twas much in doubt.

Rest here. You are safe. Take care and sleep well,

Your strength will return. Only time will tell.

“My name is Washburn. I'm the ship's Doc,

The men think I'm odd 'cause I wear a clock,

But I like it, and I feel that it's no crime,

Even on a ship such as this to remember the time.”

And Steven for the first time in weeks

Had a smile form in between his cheeks.

There's no cure for sickness like finding a friend,

Especially when a time of loneliness comes to its end.

He wanted to thank this man for his care,

But when he opened his mouth, no voice was there.

It's not that he had a scratch in his throat,

Or that the sun dried it up, while adrift on the boat.

It was as if no voice had ever existed,

That his voice box was at once gnarled and twisted.

No whisper or croak, no sound could he make.

He couldn't even whistle the tune of “Lomond Lake.”

He now was a bird aloft in his own sky,

But could sing no song, nor cry no cry.

His voice he had lost, when from her torn apart

Because he did not speak the truth from his heart.