A Different Kind of Christmas Story Christmas 1

 

A Different Kind of Christmas Story   Christmas 1A

There once was a mouse. His whole world was at the tip of his nose and close to the ground. But one day he heard a roaring in his ears. He asked the other mice, but no others could hear it and thought he was daft. The mouse was determined to see for himself.

 

He followed the roaring sound until a voice said, “Hello!” The mouse was startled. “Who is there?” he asked. “I am raccoon! Where are you going?” “I can hear a roaring in my ears. Where is it?” “Oh,” said the raccoon, “that is the Medicine River. Let me show you where it is.” And off they went to the river. When the mouse saw the river, and could see all of creation reflected on its surface, he was amazed! Then he looked into the water and saw a frightened little mouse looking back. A voice asked, “Who are you?” There, on a lily pad was a frog. “I could hear the roaring in my ears, but did not know about the river.” The frog asked, “Would you like some medicine power?” Oh, yes, said the little mouse! “Do not be afraid. Jump as high as you can, and see what else you can see!” The mouse was scared, but he crouched down and jumped up high, and off in the distance he saw mountains! “Those are the Sacred Mountains,” said the frog as the mouse fell in the water. “Oh, I must run back to my people and tell them about the river and the Sacred Mountains!” “Yes, and now you have a new name! You are Jumping Mouse!”

 

Jumping Mouse returned to the world of mice, but no one believed him about the Medicine River and the Sacred Mountains. And why was he wet? It had not rained. But all Jumping Mouse could think of was going to see the Sacred Mountains, and off he went again. He could see spots in the sky. They were eagles, so he had to be careful so as not to be seen. He came upon a stand of bushes, and there was an Old Mouse. A wise Old Mouse. “This is wonderful,” said Jumping Mouse, “The eagles cannot not see us here.” “Oh yes,” said the Old Mouse, “and from here we can see all the beings of the prairie: Buffalo, Antelope, Rabbit, and Coyote. We can see them and know them all by name! Why don’t you stay here with us?” “I am looking for the sacred mountains,” said Jumping Mouse. “Oh, that’s just a myth. Stay with us.” I have seen them, thought Jumping Mouse. I can never forget them. “I must be on my way,” he said. “Be careful of the spots in the sky. Those are eagles!” said the Old Mouse. But off he went.

 

After a while he came across a stand of chokeberries, and there was much food there to gather, when he bumped into a large heap of fur with black horns. “What are you doing here,” asked Jumping Mouse. “I am Buffalo, and I am dying. My medicine tells me I need the eye of a mouse, but there is no such thing as a mouse.” “I am a mouse,” said Jumping mouse. “I have two eyes. I can give you one of them!” And with that his one eye left and went to the Buffalo who suddenly jumped to his feet, shaking the ground beneath Jumping Mouse’s feet. “Thank you, little brother. I know of your quest for the Sacred Mountains. You have given me life so that I might help others. I will take you to the foot of the Sacred Mountains, and you need not fear the eagles, as you will run beneath me so they cannot see you.” And off they went.

 

At the foot of the Sacred Mountains, Buffalo said, “This is as far as I can take you. Good luck on your quest little brother, and thank you for giving me my life back!” “It was scary,” said Jumping Mouse, “running beneath you with your hooves thundering so. But thank you for saving me from the spots in the sky!” As Jumping Mouse was looking for food, he came across a Grey Wolf. “Hello, Wolf,” he said. “Wolf? Wolf! Yes, that’s what I am, a wolf.” But after a few minutes, Wolf again forgot who he was. Jumping Mouse said to himself, how strange that he cannot remember who he is. “I can help you,” he said. “My eyes have medicine power, and I can give you my one eye to recover your memory. You are a greater being than I am, you deserve it.” And when he said that, his one eye flew over to the Wolf, and now he could remember who he was again. The Wolf had tears in his eyes, but Jumping Mouse could not see for now he was blind.

 

“You are a great little brother,” said the Wolf, “and now that you are blind, I will take you to the top of the Sacred Mountains where there is a great Medicine Lake. Up there, all the world is reflected in its waters. All the people, their lodges, the beings of the prairie. You can see it all.” “O, Please, take me there,” said Jumping Mouse!

 

When they got there, Jumping Mouse drank from the Medicine Lake, and the Wolf described the great beauty of all the world reflected in the lake. Then Wolf said he needed to go. Jumping Mouse thanked him for bringing him to the Sacred Mountain, and as the Wolf wandered off, Jumping Mouse began to tremble. He could no longer run away, and he could sense the Eagles were circling above him. Sure enough, an Eagle dove down and struck him, and Jumping Mouse fell asleep.

 

When he woke up, he could see again, though everything was blurry. A voice approached him saying, “Would you like some medicine, little brother?” “Oh, yes I would, thank you.” “Why then crouch down as low as you can and jump as high as you can.” Jumping Mouse did that, and the wind picked him up off the ground. His sight became a little clearer. The voice cried out, “Do not be afraid, little brother. Hang on to the wind and trust!” Jumping Mouse closed his eyes and hung onto the wind, and the higher he went, the clearer his vision became, until soon he was looking down on the Great Medicine Lake, and he could see his old friend the Frog on the lily pad! “You have a new name,” called the Frog. “You are Eagle!”  I am Eagle, thought Jumping Mouse, and off he flew, free from the ground, able to see the beauty of all creation from high up in the sky! He was Eagle!

 

John gives us a different kind of Christmas Story in which we are invited to become children of God! [John 1:1-18] Like Genesis, John starts, “In the beginning…” and suddenly we are swept into the story of a new creation! It announces that in Christ, God became flesh and blood and moved into our neighborhood! Matthew, Mark, and Luke place the story in time and space in the here and now. John, symbolized by an Eagle, gives us a different perspective – a high-altitude view from before time and space – before creation itself. John wants us to jump as high as we can to see that before time and space, Jesus was the very Word God speaks to bring creation into being. From an eagle’s-eye view, John wants us to see that when one encounters the Word, one experiences God – the Word and God are One.

 

And like that other John, the baptizer, John’s different kind of Christmas story calls us to be witnesses to the Light and Life of the world. No one has ever seen God. It is God the Word, the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. Seen from John’s eagle-eyed perspective, like Jumping Mouse we and the whole world can be and will be transformed. We become freed from whatever holds us earthbound; from whatever keeps us with our noses to the ground rather than flying free into the world of God’s new creation – God’s kingdom of light and life for all people, all creatures, and all creation itself. John’s story says, come join the journey to full union with God in Christ. God and Christ and we are One. Amen.