I thought I could get away with preaching the same sermon on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, because last year there was no overlap in the congregation. People either came to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship, but not both. That did not turn out to be the case this year, so hopefully those in attendance at both found something of worth through their second listening!
So, without further ado, here it is for your reading pleasure...
Good News of Great Joy!
Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Eve/Day – December 24 & 25, 2008
As I listened to the radio this week, I was struck by something I heard a reporter say. “There's no reason to sing this Christmas,” he said, as he went on to list 1 alarming economic sign of the times after another. There's no reason to sing this Christmas – because times are hard and getting harder. No reason to sing – because the news from the street is bleak and not likely to improve anytime soon. No reason to sing – because we live in dark and anxious times.
We all know that Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and peace and light, and yet this year, for many of us, that joy and peace and light may be overshadowed by worries and concerns about what the new year will bring. Underneath our smiles and our festive Christmas clothes may lurk hidden fears about how we'll pay the Christmas bills when they start to come or worries about how secure our job is, or what's happening with the retirement portfolio, or how the mortgage or the property taxes will get paid. For others, Christmas joy may mask loneliness and sorrow because this is the first Christmas without that special loved one they lost this year. And still others come with health issues weighing on their mind, or any other number of the troubles that life seems to bring, whether or not it's Christmas. As we sit here tonight/today, we may wonder along with that reporter if there is any reason to sing this Christmas.
The people in the story of that first Christmas knew the weight of the world as well as we do; they came to that first Christmas night with anxiety and worries on their minds too, uncertain of what the future might hold. Luke sets the stage for us from the very beginning of the story. “In those days, a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.” A not so subtle reminder that the people of Israel lived under the oppression of a foreign king, one who had the power to make them travel great distances to be registered. And then Luke zooms in on one couple among many - Joseph and Mary, who have come from Nazareth to Bethlehem, unwed, and yet expecting a child, arriving at the end of their journey only to find that there's no room at the inn, knowing that the baby will come any time now, wondering what will happen. Will Mary be okay? Will the baby?
And then Luke shifts the focus to look at the shepherds, rounding out this classic Christmas tale we hear each year. Shepherds, who were considered the lowest of the low in their culture – thought of as shiftless and dishonest, looked upon with suspicion, and here they are in the middle of our story - living in the fields. Living there – did they have no other place to go? Were the shepherds homeless, even though they were employed?
I doubt there was much singing as they began that night, for the world must have seemed a dark and scary place to these folks who had no place to turn, no idea what the future would hold.
But then, just as the prophet Isaiah had promised, a light shined on those who walked in darkness. Out there in the night, completely unexpected, an angel of the Lord comes and shines with God's glory, surrounding the shepherds with God's light, bathing them in it! Reminding them that even though they are in darkness, they are not forgotten, they have not been abandoned. God has seen, God has heard, God knows their struggles and their worries and their fears, and God sends to them an angel -
to shine with God's light,
to bring a message of hope,
to announce good news of great joy for all the people:
“Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid, for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
The Messiah, the one they have been waiting for, the one who will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – he is here, finally here. God's kingdom is breaking in, beginning even this night, to make all things new, to heal what has been broken, to fill their hearts with peace.
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” There the angelic host was in the night sky, singing to God, singing in the darkness, because even in the midst of the darkness, when Jesus comes, there is always a reason to sing!
That is why we come together to celebrate this and every Christmas. Not because we hope to push back the darkness of our world on our own with our bright lights and our beautiful music, but because we know the Light of the world, Jesus. He shines already in our darkness, bringing hope, bringing peace. We come, despite our worries and our fears, come to hear God's angel say to each of us, “Do not be afraid, for see – I bring you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Jesus – God in the flesh – is born, born to reveal God's deep and boundless love for us and for everyone; born to remind us that our God is an up-close-and-personal God who has not forgotten nor abandoned us. Our God is a God who doesn't just stand by watching, letting us fumble in the dark, but is God-with-us, experiencing our pains and our burdens as if they were God's very own, helping us through, shining with light and love in the darkest parts of our lives. This is our God, who comes to the last and the least and the lost, comes to the oppressed and the confused and the scared, who sends angels to say to each of us, “Do not be afraid – for to you is born this day a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord!”
That reporter may think there is no reason for singing this Christmas, but we know different, don't we? For Jesus is with us, and when he comes, there is always a reason for singing! Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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