“It is not objective proof of God’s existence that we want but, whether we use religious language for it or not, the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle that we are really after. And that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get.”
Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, “Message in the Stars”
“You see him? You see him? By Almighty God, brothers. Open your eyes. Listen.”
— What the Wise Man told the Shepherds
Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, “The Birth”
Is the truth beyond all truths, beyond the stars, just this: that to live without [Jesus] is the real death, that to die with him is the only life?
— The Wise Man
Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, “The Birth”
…to run anything in this world…is like being lost in a forest of a million trees…and each tree is a thing to be done… A million trees. A million things. Until finally we have eyes for nothing else, and whatever we see turns into a thing.
…
So how am I to say it, gentlemen? When he came, I missed him.
— The Inkeeper
Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, “The Birth”
I can’t begin to convey the magic of Frederick Buechner’s sermon “The Birth”. Sermon isn’t really the right word. It’s more like three interviews with people who witnessed the event: the Innkeeper, the Wise Men, and the Shepherds. The quote above is from the Innkeeper’s account, his witness, his confession – that’s what it is in the end – his confession. And it’s my confession, too; maybe it’s yours.
I highly recommend Buechner’s book and that you read this particular sermon. What I have shared here doesn’t begin to do it justice.
Grace and peace to you…
dw
becoming flame 