My friend across the street has an upside down tree.
I must confess it’s the first one I’ve ever seen. I had to go over and look up close. He says he’s had many interesting discussions, including those from folks concerned about an upside down tree being sacrilegious. (I asked if it's a holiday distress signal.)
The upside down tree became a parable of sorts, a kingdom metaphor.
Oh yes, it’s easy to slam Christmas in our culture – the consumerism, the greed, the shop and shop and shop and shop, the overeating, the rush rush rush, etc. etc. etc., skating on the edge of Scroogedom ourselves, with a dash of smug self-righteousness thrown in for good measure.
But it was working with our own “lectionary” – the teaching schedule through Mark in our church – that converged with this upside down tree. You see, on the Sunday when we potentially would want to have our Christmas sermon the reading is Mark 6:14-29. John the Baptist loses his head.
Naturally the story of the godless king and his inbred family and the decadent birthday party (a debacle of debauchery!) with the lurid request for the Baptist’s head seems as unfitting for a yuletide text as the proverbial gold ring in a pig’s snout (the gold ring being Christmas, of course, and the pig’s snout being, well, Herod, I guess). But seeing them together suddenly Christmas was turned upside down, or really rightside up and some congruities emerged.
Herod beheads John even as his father murdered the Bethlehem babies & toddlers.
The murder of the innocents doesn't make it’s way into our manger scenes, generally. Perhaps it’s there as an explanatory footnote if we tell the rest of the story about the flight to Egypt by Joseph and Mary with the Christ child. It’s the darker side of Christmas, the cries of the infants and the falling of the executioner’s axe lost in our noisy festivities.
But being taken to Herod’s posh party, witnessing the play and frolic and dancing suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the head on a holiday platter, Herod suddenly sobered and pensive, I likewise was sobered a bit and reminded of the true cost of this day. Reminded that the gift of Jesus was a gift given in blood. A gift that when fully unwrapped revealed a bloody swordlike cross piercing the mother’s heart.
So let’s party on and enjoy the season with one another – but always be mindful of the cost.
I just noticed where Mark inserted the story of Herods knowledge of Jesus and the subsequent story of Johns beheading. It was right after His telling of all the successes the apostles had after Jesus sent them out, and right before the feeding of the 5000 and all the other miracles Jesus was doing. Those stories go right along with Tris message this morning, and how even in the face of opposition, the response should be the 2nd Tim.2.22 one. Because God didn't show partiality to us, he met us right where we live. If we trust him in the dark times we might live to see the day when thousands are fed, and Jesus walks on water.
ReplyDeleteI am amused by the idea that an upside down Christmas tree would be considered sacrilegious in a Christian sense. The tree is a pagan fertility symbol, a phallus to be exact; and the balls are, well, balls.
ReplyDeleteI get a great deal of amusement to see the biggest tree, with the biggest balls possible prominently displayed at churches far and wide, including every church I have attended.
Is it the sub-conscious expressing a desire for church growth? :)