wfn.org | ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's 2003 Christmas Message

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 5, 2003

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's 2003 Christmas Message

	  In those days a decree went out from
	  Emperor Augustus that all the world should be
	  registered.  This was the first registration
	  and was taken when Quirinius was governor of
	  Syria.  All went to their own towns to be
	  registered.  Joseph also . . . went to be
	  registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged
	  and who was expecting a child.   While they
	  were there, the time came for her to deliver
	  her child. (Luke 2: 1-2, 4-5, NRSV)

Augustus speaks, and there are universal consequences--no one is
exempt from this decree.  For the sake of imperial efficiency and
control, all must be counted, whole populations put on the move,
plans interrupted and dreams set aside, every sort of hardship
endured.  In the middle of this turmoil, a baby is born far from
home, with no fit place to lay his head. What clearer sign could
there be, both of the global power of Augustus and the
powerlessness of ordinary people?

Today, even as citizens of a resourceful, powerful nation, we are
haunted by a sense of  helplessness and insignificance.  The
reach and unpredictability of global economic forces make every
job and livelihood uncertain. Accelerating change seems to
threaten to dissolve community, making us strangers to each other
--and even to ourselves.  Preoccupation with our own lives often
prevents us from being aware of, and responsive to, suffering
throughout the world. As old conflicts endure and new ones spring
up around the world, the way to peace is  very hard to see, and
even harder to walk.  The universal reach of terror unsettles us
everywhere, leaving no place of sure safety.

	  But the angel said to them, "Do not be
	  afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news
	  of great joy for all the people: to you is
	  born this day in the city of David a Savior,
	  who is the Messiah, the Lord."
	  (Luke 2: 10-11, NRSV)

God's messenger speaks, and there are universal consequences--no
one is excluded from this promise!   The first to hear are those
of no apparent account, a band of scruffy shepherds who are sent
to see and then become messengers themselves, joining the angels
in stirring wonder in all who hear.  Wondrous indeed, that God is
at work here and now, that this newborn in a manger is, in fact,
God with us, deep in the fragility of our flesh, deep in the
world.

Messengers are still finding hearers, and hearers quickly become
messengers. Baptismal grace ripples in every direction, creating
community without borders. For the One who came to meet us in the
manger has not abandoned our world or our lives, but is
profoundly present, turning even the fractures caused by
thoughtless human power into spaces where the Spirit blows and
the Word rings, where in the fragile flesh of the body of Christ,
new life dawns with saving promise for all.

	  O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has
	  done marvelous things.  (Psalm 98:1, NRSV)

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
-- -- --
Messages from the Presiding Bishop are linked from
http://www.elca.org/bishop/messages.html on the Web.

Audio recordings of this message are available in RealAudio
http://media.elca.org/ramgen/bishop/Christmas2003.rm and MP3
http://media.elca.org/ramgen/bishop/Christmas2003.mp3 formats.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news