delivered 24 December 2008
by Rev. Dr John Evans
Friends, I have heard a rumour – an amazing rumour that I would like to share with you. Usually, I don’t like to share rumours, but this one is just so unbelieveable – well, it may just be true.
The rumour goes something like this: the world is now a different place. We have been spared all that gloom about climate change, economic downturn, terrorism, war and the like. We can live in happiness and peace with each other and face the future with hope, confidence and joy. We all can live fulfilled lives, there will be justice for all. Barriers between people have been broken down.
So, as I understand it, the rumour means that nations can live in peace and harmony; that is right: in peace and harmony. We all, believe it or not, will be able to live together on this one small planet; justly and equitably sharing our resources; not destroying our environment and all having sustainable and rewarding jobs, loving and serving each other.
The rumour indeed affects our own country Australia. I understand the rumour means that there is reconciliation between the indigenous people and those of us who have come much, much later. The gap between indigenous health outcomes and the rest of the population has narrowed. In fact, the rumour is that migrants from other cultures – like the folk who live here from the Horn of Africa, especially other cultures that practice different religions, are welcomed and made to feel included within Australian society.
Of course I say that it is a rumour because I look around and see a world in complete despair. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, profound pessimism about our environment; let alone the fear of what our current economic down turn will mean. This global financial crisis surely will affect the poorest and the marginalised the most. So it all must be a rumour because as I look around, I can only see fear, suspicion, lack of trust and even at times hatred.
Herod orders the massacre of the Holy Innocents, a Paduan fresco by Giotto, 1304-06
More subtly, the rumour will be undermined by people who believe they themselves have become too overburdened, stressed with worry and the pressures of modern living to think they will ever again find freedom, new life and joy. The rumour is for other people, they say, it is just for religious people. Otherwise they think they are too old, or too young, or too inexperienced to feel such a rumour could apply to them.
On reflection, perhaps we ourselves might not like the rumour. Although we know not everything is right with the world – we get by very nicely, thank you very much. Though not everything is as it could be in our own lives, we still lead a good life. If this rumour is true, we will be required to change our ways. We will need to accept people who are different from us; not just think of ourselves all the time; or not wallow in our own guilt and shame or perceived inadequacy. We will have to change and believe afresh we can get on with living a full life. Fear, and particularly fear about our own frailty, even mortality, will need to change. Indeed we might find it hard to accept that death is not to be feared – and at every turn life is to be affirmed. Life would not just be one damned thing after another – rather life would become something to be appreciated, savoured and enthusiastically embraced. Can we really accept that, rather than fear dominating our lives, hope is to be the basis of what we do and say?
The last aspect of this rumour has something to do with why we all are here tonight. But then again, I am not quite sure. All the indicators I have seen over recent times lead me to conclude that nothing of real and lasting significance is being celebrated tonight. I know you good folk are 
here, but is tonight and tomorrow just an occasion, perhaps even an excuse, why people can over indulge in food and alcohol, exchange often worthless and trashy gifts – although this year for the added reason that it is for the sake of the economy, and well – have a holiday from the daily grind? Certainly there has not been much deep or spiritual reflection in the festivities I have seen, and at best, with the first ball bowled in the Boxing Day test, will a thing called a post-Christmas sale be the only lasting memory of this time? And after all, isn’t it true that on this day more people will feel depressed than on any other day of the year?
Now you can see why I have all along been describing this amazing event as “a rumour”. It is a rumour because what is suggested we celebrate in the first place seems so preposterous – God taking on human flesh; being born to a virgin named Mary, and greeted by angels, worshipped by the lowly (the shepherds) and the mighty (the kings) alike. And secondly, it seems to be a rumour because all the indicators are that it is business as usual out there, and nothing really has changed in the world or perhaps in our lives. The rumour of Bethlehem and the birth of the Christ child is just that, a rumour.
I simply want to suggest to you this night that this rumour is true and that the world is a different place because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Furthermore, that we – you and I – have a task to live out this rumour, keep it alive, so that lives may be transformed, communities enriched, and justice flow – and the rumour is more than just a rumour, or a lie or a ruse, it is a lived reality in the life of our world.
Yes the rumour is true – a baby has been born; the child is God’s son, Jesus of Nazareth; a baby who grew to manhood and taught to us truths about life, our priorities and relationship with God, and ultimately showed God’s love and grace by dying because of our sinfulness. This is the rumour of the Christian faith, of the Christian hope for a renewed world that we are called to live out. Tonight let us celebrate this rumour, in fact, this truth among us; let us do this committing again to this hope as we also celebrate the sacrament of holy communion as a sign of God’s presence among us.
