Sermon – 12/24/01

Christmas Eve 5:30p.m. Service

In the climactic scene of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (both the book and the movie), Harry discovers that the ultimate weapon in his struggle against the evil Lord Voldemort was the self-sacrificing love of his mother, who gave her life to save his. Hmm.

In J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Lord of the Rings” (both the book and the movie), the only chance Middle Earth has to defeat the forces of evil is for a hero to renounce the use of the ultimate weapon in that world and the dictatorial power that would come with it. Hmm.

Either of those themes sound familiar? Both books are great stories – and the greatest thing about them is that these, their greatest themes, come from a true story. A story whose crucial episode begins somewhat long ago in a village not really all that far away where a woman gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger.

That child grew up and refused Satan’s temptation to rule all the Kingdoms of the world if he would bow down and worship Satan. In Tolkein’s terms, Jesus refused to take the ring of power. Instead, Jesus sacrificed himself for the sake of the whole world – and the power of that self-sacrificing love is still in the world.

This saga, the Great True Story, still continues. Filming takes place not in England or New Zealand alone but anywhere someone is who wants to be in the cast. The lead is Jesus, the Director is the Holy Spirit and the writer and producer is God the Father Almighty. There are openings for extras right now – and God only knows how important your part might be!

For each and all of us, Christmas can be just the beginning!

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church