St. Patrick: Intimacy with God

The Brightness of True Light The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess

Christmas Eve 2012 The Episcopal Church of the Ascension

I. Introduction. Sacred space is filled with light. On our recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, a group of us ascended to the top of Mount Sinai. We had anticipated a cold and treacherous trip to the mountaintop, first on camelback and then on foot, which would begin at 2:00 am. Leaving in the middle of the night allowed us to watch the sun rise from the peak of the mountain. Our small Ascension band was excited, but also apprehensive about mountain climbing in the pitch darkness of the middle of the night. But the experience was not to be what many of us had expected. In the midst of the darkness, we were enveloped in a canopy of stars that illuminated our way and permitted us to see the shadows of those next to us, in front of us, and behind us. And there were multiple shooting stars that punctuated God’s active presence in the light. Our experience that evening, as uniquely powerful as it was, is not unlike the experiences we share at Christmas when the light of our faith penetrates the darkness that surrounds us.

II. Our celebration of Christmas is shaped by light. We prepare for Christmas by lighting Advent candles; we darken our church during Christmas Eve Services while we sing Silent Night and light a candle; and we begin Christmas Day by lighting Christmas trees under which we have placed gifts for one another. We know that our customs for celebrating Christmas reflect how we comprehend the birth of Christ theologically. For example, our Christmas Eve collect begins, “Oh, God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of true Light.” In anticipating the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah proclaimed, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.” And, of course, when the angels proclaimed the birth of Christ to the shepherds, the glory of the Lord shone about them. The light was so bright that the shepherds were terrified! Although at first the light overwhelmed the shepherd, the angels quickly reassured them: “Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people . . .”

III. The light of this night, the light of Jesus Christ, is given to us to lead, illuminate, teach, and transform us. The light of Christ, as reflected in all the lights of Christmas, invites us into a deeper place of certainty, faith, and commitment. We may sentimentalize the light and be tempted to enjoy it in wonder from a safe distance, but the light of Christ is meant to be personally encountered, incorporated into ourselves, and embedded in the way we live.

During the past week, I have been reading a book by Dr. Eben Alexander, entitled Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. Dr. Alexander describes in considerable detail his experience of having what is called a NDE, or Near Death Experience, during a week that bacterial e coli caused his body to go into a deep coma. Dr. Alexander is an Episcopalian from Lynchburg, Virginia, who had great skepticism about the validity of previously reported Near Death Experiences. I believe it would be fair to say that he questioned the science of NDEs and dismissed the reports that his patients gave him as well as the hundreds of articles and books that have been written about the subject. His book is a fascinating read because it juxtaposes Dr. Alexander’s spiritual experience of “consciousness” in another dimension, which we would call heaven, that occurred at the very same time that his physicians were fighting desperately to save his life and his family was fighting to hang on to him. His family covenanted with one another that one of them would be with him and holding his hand at all times until he awoke from his coma.

There are many takeaways from this book. First, his story affirms what we as Christians deeply believe to be true. There is a dimension filled with love, peace, and light that both preceded the birth of Christ, continued to exist after his death, Resurrection, and Ascension, and will continue to exist for eternity. What Dr. Alexander describes is a beautiful spiritual dimension in which three things were communicated to him repeatedly:

“You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever.”

“You have nothing to fear.”

“There is nothing you can do wrong (here in this place).”

The world that Dr. Alexander visited and then returned from to recover from his illness and then write about, is filled with a remarkable awareness of God’s presence. This, my friends, is the world from which Jesus Christ came to be with us, and this is the world he was committed to bring to us. This world is one based on love, peace, and unity with God. As Christian theologians have said throughout our history, Christ came to be one of us so that we in turn could be one with him.

There is great hope in the pages of this book, which I noted is already at the top of the New York Times paperback bestseller list. Several of the truths that Dr. Alexander reports include:

First, there is a close connection between this world and the eternal world. Although time as such -- past, present, and future -- is not a characteristic of the eternal world, all things are known. In this world all beings live in the eternal present now. At the same time, there is a great interest in what is going on here on earth.

Second, in this eternal world we do not lose the personal identity we have in this world – we are known and loved there for who we have been created to be.

Third, what happens on earth – including whether and how fervently we pray and how we care for those in need or distress -- matters and affects the outcome of events here; and

Lastly, and most importantly, God is not an impersonal, distant entity. God knows us, God loves us, and God actively cares for us.

IV. Conclusion: Alexander begins many of his chapters with a brief quotation from a well-known source. Toward the end of his book, when he is about to describe a profound discovery about how deeply he is known in God’s more complete world, he quotes Albert Einstein, who said: “I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.” In spite of the suspicion of his professional colleagues, Dr. Alexander is telling his story of transformation very publicly so that you and I and many others like us can be encouraged in our faith and our belief in new and eternal life. I hope each one of us is similarly committed to tell our stories of transformation through encountering new life in Christ with deep intention and joy.

This is our invitation this Christmas: To be thankful for the beauty of this moment, but at the same time to remember that this moment, this Christmas, is not the full story. It is not an end in itself. Filled as it is with culture and customs, many of which are incredibly beautiful, it points us to a rich reality. Christmas is one of the signs of God’s eternal love for us and of our invitation to choose to love him in return. May the Christ born in Bethlehem become the Christ who grows in you and invites a dark world to experience the powerful light of God’s presence. May your Christmas experience not only be one night and one day long, but continue for an eternity of light-infused new life. Amen.