St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

A Sermon preached by The Reverend Bruce W. B. Jenneker in the Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr, Cape Town, on the First Sunday after Christmas, 31 December 2006

The taste of Christmas pudding lingers. Scraps of festive wrapping paper and bits of shiny ribbon overflow from our bins. The sound of Christmas carols fills the air. What fun we're having. Resting, playing, eating, drinking. Thrilled with our presents, happily nibbling on this and that, free from rules and time-tables, demands and expectations. We're having a good time, aren't we? And what's more – there's a whole lot more to come. The champagne's on ice, the streamers are ready, the pretty little hats are on stand by. We're going to party tonight.

It's a lot of fun this, living outside the usual limits. Way too much food, way too many people. Way too much to drink, far into the night. We're spending more than is prudent. We're driving way too fast. Rather like reckless teenagers, we've put tomorrow on hold, and convinced of our own invulnerability, we stare danger in the face and risk the all the consequences.

So it is with stiff necks, irritated ears and hardened hearts that we hear the Scriptures given to us today. Both the lesson from the Hebrew Bible and the story about Jesus tell us the same thing. First about Samuel – that he continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the Lord and with the people. Then about Jesus – that he increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour. Grow up, these lessons say. Become what you were created to be. Be the responsible agent for goodness, truth and integrity that is the calling of every human person. Grow up.

So today, just after Christmas and on the eve of the New Year, we are being called to grow up. To become adults with the maturity, reliability and wisdom that adulthood brings.

Today, between Christmas and New Year, the Church calls me – and you – to Christian maturity. That doesn't mean a rejection of fun or a denial of pleasure. It is a call first to understand the meaning of fun and the implications of pleasure, and then to play with care for oneself and respect for others. With this definition of fun and discernment of pleasure comes both the freedom to have a responsible good time and the responsibility for setting limits.

Today, between Christmas and New Year, the Church calls me – and you – to Christian reliability. That doesn't mean a rejection enjoyment or a denial of diversion. It is a call first to understand the meaning of enjoyment and the implications of diversion, and then to make festivity in ways that put no one at risk and guarantee the safety of all. With this understanding of what constitutes enjoyment and what makes for diversion, comes both the freedom to enjoy ourselves reliably, and the kind of reliability that leaves us free to enjoy ourselves.

Today, between Christmas and New Year, the Church calls me – and you – to Christian wisdom. That doesn't mean the rejection of amusement or the denial of fascination. It is a call first to understand the meaning of amusement and the implications of fascination, and then to celebrate in ways that match the values you cherish and the truths you hold dear. With this understanding of what constitutes amusement and the implications of fascination, comes the freedom to be amused and fascinated while not being blinded to reality nor dulled to its perils.

And so it is that here at the crossroads between Christmas and New Year we learn lessons of maturity, reliability and wisdom. These are lessons that will stand us in good stead all the New Year long. They will outlast those boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine – even those socks, T-shirts and tea towels. For maturity is both an insight and a commitment. It is an insight into the meaning of things and a commitment to living a life coherent with life's meaning. Maturity is recognising how money works and working for its redistribution in ways that are fair and just. Maturity is understanding the dynamics of power and working to ensure that everyone has access to it.

Reliability is both a self-definition and a self-offering. It is a way of presenting oneself to the world. I am dependable, we say, and you can depend on me. I promise that I will deliver and you can depend on me to make good my promise. Reliability is understanding what I am called to be and do, an d then being that person in all my doings. Reliability is recognising that if there is going to be a difference made in the world, then I must take the first step.

Wisdom is acting not from whim, fancy or selfishness, but in accordance with the goodness and truth that holds the universe together. Wisdom is taking in the big picture and acting in the small ways that guarantee goodness and truth. Wisdom is both the knowing and the doing.

Grown-ups are mature, reliable and wise. Grown-ups have fun – with maturity, in ways that don't create risks or danger, and with the wisdom that ensures that both they and the world are there to party again on another day – or night.

So – have fun tonight and tomorrow. Kick up your heels, raise your glasses high and sing in the New Year. And as you do, learn the lessons of maturity, reliability and wisdom, for we'll need them when the tinsel is off the tree and bottles are all drained. Then, when we take up again the battle against HIV and AIDS, violence against women, the frightening levels of crime in our city and region, the scourge of homelessness, the challenge of unemployment and the threat of our environment at risk – we shall need all the maturity, reliability and wisdom we can muster.

May the God of grace go with us into the New Year.

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