Psalm 80:1-7

December 24, 1998

A number of years ago, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported a true story about a famous East Tennessean moonshiner from the 1800's by the name of Big Haley. The woman's real name was Mahala Mullins and she weighed somewhere around 500 pounds. That's why they called her "Big Haley".

Now Big Haley and her sons ran a reliable shine operation over in Hancock County. They were renowned for the high quality of their product. They didn't dilute the moonshine and were known to deal honestly. That fact, coupled with the problems of arresting a mountain clan, caused local government officials to pretty much leave Big Haley alone.

But then, one day, a new sheriff was elected for Hancock County. And he decided to make a name for himself. So he got a judge to issue an arrest warrant. Then he took his deputies and went up into the hills.

Big Haley's cabin was not hard to find. The deputies surrounded it, and the sheriff went up and knocked on the door. Big Haley told the sheriff to come in. He told her she was under arrest, and Big Haley did not resist. The sheriff put handcuffs on her and led her to the door. Trouble is, Big Haley was bigger than the door!

Now, if you've ever tried to move a large piece of furniture through a door that's just too small, you know how frustrated you get. You try all sorts of angles, all kinds of maneuvers, but nothing works. And nothing worked for Big Haley. She wasn't coming out that door.

So the sheriff removed the handcuffs and gave up. He and his deputies returned to town. The sheriff went directly to the courthouse where he found the judge who'd issued the warrant. Throwing the papers on the desk, the sheriff drawled with disappointment, "Judge, she's CATCHABLE. But she just ain't FETCHABLE!"

I think Christmas is like that. It's catchable, in the sense that we can see it, hear it, feel it, sing about it, decorate for it, and enjoy it. But its just not fetchable, in the sense that we can take it, and possess it, and make it our own. That's why, in a day or two, the decorations will come down. The carols will cease. The trees will be recycled. The relatives will go home (thank God). And we will get on with our lives.

Christmas may be catchable, but it sure ain't fetchable to use the words of the sheriff of Hancock County.

And I think that's as God intends it.

As we listened to the Christmas Story tonight, did you notice the unfetchability of it all? Mary catches a promise that she's going to have a miraculous baby, conceived in a miraculous way, who will do miraculous things! But she's given nothing more than the promise to hold onto.

And young Joseph catches word that he should not be afraid to marry Mary, and that there is divine purpose in her conception, and that the child will save his people from their sins. But other than the word, he's given nothing else to hold onto.

And the shepherds in the field. They see and hear angelic fireworks proclaiming some incredible event they can barely understand. And then the angels are gone, and they have nothing left to show for it.

And the wise men from afar who see a star in the distance. No proof of anything, no guarantee of what lies ahead. Like Mary and Joseph and the shepherds of Bethlehem, the wise men catch a hint of something, but nothing more.

God intends Christmas to be catchable enough for us to be drawn to it, but not fetchable enough so we can possess it.

And we do try to possess Christmas.

Over the years of my ministry, some of the most enjoyable moments I've experienced were those when new college students came home for the holidays. Often, the clean cut, all-American little boy or girl I baptized years earlier arrived home with head shaved, body pierced, and heavily armed with combative information from their class in Religion 101 in which they achieved a D-minus. And they would pay me a visit and put me to task about Christmas.

"No THINKING person could possibly believe all this", they would say. "I mean - angels? - stars? - virgins? Come now! How absurd!"

And they would outline their view that nothing is worth adhering to if it is beyond the scope of human, rational comprehension.

And I would be nice to them. After all, I've been there, done that, and even got the tee-shirt. So gently, I would tell them how excited I was that the Spirit was at work in their lives and that they were growing closer to God.

And they would look puzzled and wonder how that could be - how one could get closer to God by doubting and acting like a religious pain-in-the-butt. And I would share with them that asking questions is the first step toward faith. And they would become subdued as they wondered about that.

I tried to encourage the beginnings of faith in their lives, but there's one thing I did not tell them. And that's the underlying reason they found themselves searching for a faith without questions, a faith that can be proven and rationally grasped.

Its because of a deep need human beings have to control life. And to control God.

Now doubters are not the only ones who try to possess Christmas. So do Christians. I was driving along in the car the other day when I heard an amazing radio commercial. It was for a Christian bookstore in the area, and it went something like this. The woman says to her husband, "Gee honey, lets sit down and rest. All this Christmas shopping and walking at the mall makes be tired!"

He replies: "You know, honey, you're right. Shopping at the mall is exhausting, and I keep thinking how it misses the REAL meaning of Christmas."

She responds, "Maybe we ought to change that. Maybe we ought to get back to the REAL meaning of Christmas by going over to the - so and so Christian Bookstore...where they have a complete line of Christmas gifts...cards...wrapping paper...ornaments...and EVERYTHING you need for the holiday season..."

Now, forgive me for being cynical, but it seems to me that even we Christians try to possess Christmas. Some try to turn it into a profit for our business. Others try to make it into something Christmas never was. How upset we become when the ACLU gets another nativity scene removed from public property where the whole community can no longer enjoy it. As though Jesus was born under the bright lights in Bethlehem's town square where everybody came to see, instead of in an obscure stable where almost no one noticed.

Oh, we all want to possess Christmas - to measure it, quantify it, understand it, control it.

But we can't. Christmas is too big to be corralled. Do you see? The essence of Christmas is that this One who is born in Bethlehem's manger is greater than we can ever imagine, is more than we can ever dream, is larger than our thoughts, is beyond our ability to either comprehend or believe, and is far more magnificent than we can ever grasp!

Christmas is not fetchable. So if we can't fetch Christmas, what can we do?

We can do what Mary did. What Joseph did. What the shepherds and the wise men did.

We can begin a journey of faith.

Mary had to leave her family. Joseph had to leave his home. The shepherds had to leave the field. And the wise men had to leave Persia.

And even when their paths came together on that night long ago in the little town of Bethlehem, the journey did not end. Mary and Joseph soon had to leave for Egypt. The shepherds had to go back and tell the story. And the Bible tells us the wise men went home by another way.

You see, you cannot possess Jesus. You can only journey with him!

For me, Christmas Eve is an invitation to step beyond the horizon of what I think I know about Jesus, and to risk taking the journey to discover things I've never known before. It is an invitation to give up trying to fetch, so that God can lead me outward to new experiences of grace and wonder.

In a sense, its like the service of candlelighting we'll share in just a few moments. You'll notice how the glow from the candles produces both light and shadow upon the faces of the people around you. Psalm 80 tells us that tonight, God himself shines his face among us. As we light the candles and look to the manger, be sure to see the baby's face. In the glow of candles, there are some things about Jesus that look very familiar. But there are shadows too - parts of his face we've never seen. Parts of his life and love we've yet to discover.

Dear friends, may this night for you not be the ending of a Christmas fetched, but rather the beginning of a Christmas yet to be discovered.

May your journey of faith begin tonight!