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When Santa was a Shaman Rev. Paul Beckel First Universalist Unitarian Church December 17, 2006
INTRODUCTIONThere are candles lit in churches and synagogues and temples and shrines and meeting houses all over the world today, and every day. This is so because people all over are fascinated with fire. I know I am. I love to build fires, and light them, and watch them. But I’m also afraid of fires, because I’ve been burned. I love it that fire can keep me warm and cook my food and even make my car go. But I also know that fires can kill people and forests and destroy buildings and stink up the air we breathe. And still we like to light a fire when we come together.
Imagine what it was like the first time human beings encountered fire. Thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years ago. Before there were any towns or buildings. People maybe living in packs like any other animal...in the forest or plains or maybe in caves somewhere. Maybe they had seen the effects of fire before, when the lightning hit the forest, causing a fire so huge that both animals and people had to flee for their lives.
But maybe this time it had been raining for days and days, or snowing. And the lightning hit a large tree one night and it burst into flames, but nothing around it would ignite. And maybe a branch fell from the burning tree to the wet ground and the people saw it and were afraid. And maybe a three year old who didn’t know enough to be afraid went over and picked up the branch, and waved it over his head, and started to laugh!
And maybe he brought the fire into the cave and accidentally started some other sticks on fire. And it felt better in the cave that night. And the people were still afraid but they knew that this little child was special, was fearless, and he had captured something from the powers of the sky.
Perhaps he and his family or maybe the whole tribe of people became the keepers of the fire in that cave. And perhaps people from miles around came to visit and bow down and beg to be able to take some fire with them. And perhaps they became known as the children of the power of the sky and maybe they liked it that others were afraid of them and they began to tell stories about their knowledge of the powers of the sky.
Maybe this whole process took thousands of years...until the stories of that original brave or foolish child had become nothing like the real story. But still the people had to tell the story and they had to re-live it with new stories and by lighting fires and maybe now candles. They had to tell it because it had changed them. Before this, the people were just a part of the landscape, not much different from the other animals. Once, they had been fearful of the sky which brought wind and lightning...or maybe they felt BOTH grateful to the sky AND confused by its inconsistent provision of warm and cold. But now things were different. Now they had one of the grandest forces of the universe to use for themselves. Now they could bring light and warmth on their own terms; they could scare off predators; and over many many years they learned to cook and even make metal with the fire.
So over these thousands of years, one of the ways that people have celebrated was to recreate that original burning tree, or even to bring the tree into their homes, and add candles, or more recently, electric lights. And we have sung songs around the tree, and we have been joyful for the gifts of the earth and sky that keep us full of life. Light Chalice
GATHERING SONG Round and Round the Earth is Turning Turning always round till morning, and from morning round till night.
READING “The Miracle of Hanukkah” by Rev. Mark Belletini The miracle is not that oil lasts, but that our hope lasts, despite disappointment. Barukh atah, tiqvah! Blest are you, hope!
The miracle is not that the fire illumines, but that we grow brighter. Barukh atah, zohar! Blest are you, brightness!
The miracle is not that people tell ancient stories, but that people dare to live their own stories. Barukh atah, midrashim! Blest are you, stories!
The miracle is not that tyranny is resisted, but that resistance recreates us into new beings. Barukh atah, khadash. Blest are you, new being.
The miracle is not that courage exists, but that courage does not, every time, have to ball itself into a fist. Barukh atah, khayil. Blest are you, courage.
OFFERTORY MESSAGEA winter holiday tradition that I cherished as a child was the Christmas-tree-pick-up. It was always very cold, but we bundled up and jumped onto one of the many farm trucks, hay wagons, or flatbeds that were slowly criss-crossing the neighborhood streets of my small hometown in northern Minnesota. Every year by mid-January the streets were lined with Christmas trees thrown into the large snow banks in every front yard. So the boys and men rode around on the back of the big trucks, and we jumped off with vigor to wrangle these trees -- great and small -- for the huge bonfire that would be lit that night at the skating rink.
My memory of this fire has probably expanded in my imagination over the years -- but as I recall it, it lit up the sky and warmed up acres of revelers skating, playing hockey, and drinking cocoa.
In the late 1970’s, however, the holy bonfire became a part of ancient history. There were perfectly reasonable safety and/or environmental purposes, I’m sure. But all I remember is disappointment. The end of those lively innocent times came not with drama or trauma, but a simple announcement, one year, that we’d be dropping off the trees at the local zoo, where they would be chopped into bedding for the animals. The decision made sense, I’m sure. It’s probably something I would hail as environmentally responsible -- if not for my passionate recollection of those evenings of fire.
So my last couple of years as a teenager, the ritual evolved so that instead of the bonfire we spent the rest of the day and evening at the VFW – with the men upstairs drinking, and the boys downstairs watching the NFL playoffs. (It wasn’t so bad, the Vikings were pretty hot in the late 70s.)
*** Over the ages, the timing of the great social rituals has been adjusted to meet the needs and conditions of the people whom the rituals serve. (You will notice my presupposition, here, that rituals exist to serve the people who create them, not the deities worshipped.)
Perhaps it has always been true that people will party any chance they get. But it seems likely that though we now have Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Nicholas Day, solstice, Christmas, new year’s, the feast of the epiphany and the superbowl, (among others) these were all at one time essentially the same feast: possibly some combination of the harvest festival and the great slaughter, when much of the herd was butchered because grain to feed animals was scarce, and spring was a long way off.
The great festivals occurred on different days, even different seasons, depending upon the latitude. The timing varied as harvests became more productive, enabling the animals to be fed longer. And then there was the changing of the empire every few centuries -- each new system of rule bringing its own religious proscriptions, not to mention creating entirely new calendars. Still, it seems likely that, whatever the religious or imperial authorities may have suggested, the arm of the law was not so long, and the people celebrated largely as they wished, and when it seemed most appropriate.
The best the authorities could do -- and the Holy Roman Empire had many centuries to do it -- was to co-opt the indigenous religious traditions and forms that already existed ...give them new Christian names, and as the power shifted, replace the symbols and even the meaning of the celebrations. For example, in the 6th century, Pope Gregory wrote to the English Bishop Augustinius: “Do not destroy their pagan temples, but make them into Christian churches named after saints. Out of custom people will continue to come and will venerate their new god. Their animal sacrifices should be maintained, but changed...to supply a Christian meal in the honor of God.”
So the people continued to sacrifice oxen, pigs, and sheep, and those families for whom this practice was too expensive would simply make sacrifices of bread in the shape of the animals, and eventually animal shaped cookies... and even Eucharistic-like wafers. The boar’s head -- draped with evergreen garlands, and an apple stuffed in its mouth...what had once been dedicated to the thunder god Thor -- became Christmas dinner.
*** Perhaps it started out as simple revelry at a time when people gathered for the harvest, the hunt, or the slaughter. People who lived in small isolated tribes and, without even knowing it, came to benefit from the pooling of human resources as they herded the animals and interbred with one another. Who knows how or when or why some prankster emerged to lead a dance in a form that was symbolic of the conditions and the needs and the unselfconscious aspirations of the people at that time.
No one knows. And that is why, as I tell this story, I weave in time... events from 1 or 2 thousand years ago, and back tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago. It is mostly speculation. And yet there is evidence that people have always sought explanations for the workings of the universe... that we have always sought re-assurance of our prospects for the future... that we have long gathered to seek meaning, or control, or at least to ritually acknowledge the marvelous cycling of the seasons and the heavenly bodies.
*** The ancient celebration of Yule commemorated the rebirth of the God through the agency of the Goddess. So the birth of the divine Christ-child by a virgin mother was easily superimposed -- one myth upon another. And while it may have been easy to add new gods like Jesus and Mary to the existing pantheon, it was harder to get rid of another deity. In a book called, When Santa Was a Shaman, Tony van Renterghem argues that an indigenous earth god, now most commonly known as Pan, is the earliest ancestor of our modern Saint Nick.
Pan existed in different forms in different cultures, but always represented the whimsical, magical, and lustful essence of earth and life. Though godly, Pan was very animal-like (sometimes part man, part animal), sometimes cross-dressing, drinking and playing a flute... usually he sported fur, horns, a broom, an erection... and often, a menacing demeanor. Because Pan also symbolized fire, and knowledge, he played an enormous part in indigenous religions. Shamans or witches would dress as Pan when performing sacrifices and dances. When the Roman church came along, they were unable to push him aside, so instead they re-theologized him. So Pan remained lord of the dark and sexuality. But instead of recognizing earth, darkness, and sexuality as parts of a greater whole, these became the essence of evil. And the character represented by a horned shaman became the devil.
This is not to suggest that Pan was an innocent victim who became demonized. The shaman who played Pan was no more and no less a con-artist than any other religious or political leader before or since.
If we think back again many thousands of years, we can imagine that whomever figured out these cosmic calculations, like when the solstice would appear, or any other dramatic astronomical occurrence, that person might have used their knowledge in two very different ways. First, he or she might have explained it to the clan, and then celebrated with them whatever meaning they might choose to apply to these celestial events. Or instead, that shaman/astronomer/priest might have created a ritual to make people believe that he or she was personally responsible for the astronomical events. Perhaps in some cases secret clans and societies or family lineages emerged, people who knew the secrets of the stars, clouded them with some mumbo jumbo, and then used these truths as personal magic to gain power. Van Renterghem has an interesting, but circumstantial argument, that the qualities of the pre-christian shaman have been twisted by the rise and fall of empires, and by accident, and by fruitful imaginations, to become the Santa Claus of today. For evidence he points to modern traditions and images which can be traced back through time in engravings and paintings that show similarities between these two semi-divine creatures (variations on santa and variations on the shaman).
His theory may or may not be correct. What is more interesting to me is his description of the social and religious dynamics that have shaped our evolving myths. Whether or not Santa was a shaman, there has undoubtedly been repeated throughout human history a process of exerting social control by defining the meaning of things. Take for example the repeated cries of moral outrage to inflame people against pagans and witches. And the fearful purges carried out in the name of God and sexual righteousness which have served to establish the dominion of church and/or state.
*** Today I seek a ritual to comfort me, and give meaning to the sometimes amazing, sometimes confusing cycles of light and darkness all around me. Tonight will surely be another long night -- as we continue to watch the decimation of holy lands and people by ongoing firefights, fueled by tribalism and fear of which we are still a part. It will be a sad night because I am a part of all of this. Inextricably wed to the ancient struggles. Chilled by the collective inability of my human family to use our fire to heal instead of to harm.
And yet I pray in confidence for the return of the sun. Because there are two things -- no, two processes, or cycles -- in which I rest my ultimate faith. One is nature, a reliable cycle which, by experience, has shown me its endless resiliency. The other is reconciliation. Forgiveness. This too I know by experience, though the experience is inconsistent, so I can only believe in it with my heart.
Over the centuries I believe that nature has remained the same; but human beings have changed. Despite our seemingly endless cycles of hubris and self-delusion, violence, and self-destruction, I have hope that we have progressed enough as a society to begin to understand that truth and reconciliation can reside side by side. I believe in the words of the prophet Martin Luther King Jr. that forgiveness can “break the merciless chain...the impersonal and uncaring law of cause and effect...the bloody cycle of vengeance and retribution that otherwise drives us farther apart from one another, magnifying trivial offenses into great ones and great ones into mortal wounds until an eye-for-an-eye makes the whole world blind.”
I believe in the cycle of life as a forward spiral. And so I believe that our nation and our global community can move on to something better – something that has yet to be envisioned.
The rituals conducted by Santa and the shamans... the rituals conducted by the president and the pentagon and the press and the preachers have this in common: they are moments overflowing with the possibilities of insight. Whether insights into our collective fraudulence or insights into our collective beauty, may they light up our darkest nights.
*** Children and immature adults have always looked for shortcuts to satisfy their desires, rather than putting in the time, effort, and creativity needed to do so. Wouldn’t it be great to swing a wand or a gavel; or chant a spell (or a creed/a law/ or a prayer) and get what you want? For all time, priests, magicians, and con-men have taken advantage of people’s sorrow or their selfish desires for magical shortcuts. Any of us -- pagan or christian, new-ager, buddhist or humanist --can fall for such a trap. Any of us can be lured by promises of quick fixes supplied by external authorities, based upon performing special rituals just as they say we must. Or, even in our times of vulnerability and need, we can create our own rituals, myths, and meanings for our personal, family, and congregational selves.
This doesn’t mean that we have to throw away the forms and the ceremonies that have inspired people across the ages. But we can examine their origins and implications, and change them to fit our values and our vision for the future of our planet.
The tree-of-fire myth continues to teach us to wonder about nature; to be thankful for the miracles of fire, light, and knowledge, while reminding us to use our powers wisely, and lovingly. The tree of fire has come to us humans by accident, by theft from the gods, and through a creative dance with necessity. Its history warns us of the terrible responsibility which we bear as keepers of the flame.
MEDITATIONA dominant pattern in religious ceremonies, symbols, and myths spanning thousands of years, is the pattern of: EXILE...INITIATION...& RETURN.
Exile. Falling into chaos: disorder, loss, aloneness... separation from life and the people around us
Initiation. A brief moment. A glimpse of possibility, a spark of new life... an invitation... recovery... welcome
Return. Re-entering into life, and into community. The conscious choice to be a part of the world of the living.
Exile, initiation, return. A process we repeat, in large cycles and in small... willingly and unwillingly... in our families, our jobs, our neighborhoods, our religious body....
It is the eternal cycle of death and re-birth that is celebrated by Hindus as reincarnation... by Christians as resurrection... and by all whose winter holiday rituals speak of the astronomical realities of solstice...with philosophical references to darkness and light.
I invite you now to participate in a ritual recollection of those very real instances of exile, initiation, and return, that happen in our own lives. As we move slowly through the cycle, feel free to call out a word or a feeling... something that you have said, or something that has been said to you, that reflects these experiences.
Exile. ... Initiation ... Return
The cycle of light and darkness is all around us. Let us take it into our hands, feel its rough edges... and its smoothness... its warmth... and cold. Let us take it into our lives... and make it a part of us. Let us be one with its truth in our lives. |