Saturday
12/24/16 Christmas Eve
Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Light into darkness”
(“The Messiah is coming” Series – Part 5 of 5)
Old Testament
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7
New Testament
Scripture: Titus 2:11-14
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 2:1-20
My friends, my sisters and brothers in faith, welcome on
this our Christmas Eve. This night that has so much emotion, so many memories, so
many traditions, and hopefully some love and kindness to. Tonight at midnight,
we move from the season of Holy Advent, to the season of Christmas.
I’m sure that we can all remember a variety of our own
personal memories of Christmas Eve. Perhaps we can remember Christmas Trees,
cookies, gifts, the family gathering, and etc.? Christmas Eve is a night that I
am sure that has a lot meanings and memories for all of us.
For many of the people that I know, there is a tradition on
Christmas Eve of attending a Christmas Eve service. At such services, we often
light candles, and the pastor or the priest will tell us that “Old Old Story”
about the birth of Jesus Christ. We will hear of shepherds, of Wise Men, of a
bright star, of no room at the inn, of a manger, and of a baby named Jesus. Now
let’s be honest, everyone loves a baby.
This is the Christmas story that many of us have heard many
times over, the story that adorns many of our Nativity Scenes at home. The story
of the birth of Jesus Christ. The question then that I have for us to consider
on this Christmas Eve, is all of this just a story? By this I mean, is the
Christmas story, the birth of Christ, just a nice story that we tell every
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, because it is part of our tradition to do so?
Is it just a nice story that makes us feel warm, loved, and full of joy? Is it
just a story, or is there any truth to this story?
Do we believe that it is possible that God came to earth,
so that we might know him? So that we could see and touch the very face of the
living God? That God would love us so much as to enter into our crazy world as a
vulnerable baby, who would then grow up to love, heal, and forgive.?
Well
friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, it might come as a shock, but as the
pastor, I believe that Christmas Story is so much more than just a story. I believe
that Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
At the very center of the story of the birth of Jesus
Christ, there is hope. The belief in something better. The belief in a better
world. The belief in world of peace, love, mercy, and justice. Do we believe that
a better world is possible, or do we just like to hear the “Old Old Story”
every Christmas Eve, before we go home and drink the eggnog, and before grandpa
passes out in the recliner? Is there any truth to this story, to what Christmas
is?
For the entire season of Advent, I have been doing a
preaching series called the “Messiah is coming” series. In this series, I have
looked from a historical standpoint, a human standpoint, and from a divine
standpoint, at how the people of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible and the
New Testament experienced God. Part of this experience for some, was the
experience and the belief that a savior would come. That a savior would come
and among many other things, would offer humanity “hope”. How many of us think
that world today needs hope?
My dear friends, my sisters and brothers, behind all of the
wrapping paper, behind all of the lights, behind all of the trees, is the hope
of a savior named Jesus. The hope of better, more loving, more just, and more
caring world. This is the hope of Christmas Eve. This is the joy of Christmas
Day.
Friends,
I pray that tonight you claim that hope anew for yourselves. That you would believe
that Jesus was born, grew up, loved, healed, and forgave, and laid his life
down out of total love for you. Imagine what believing in Jesus, and following
him, and living like him, could change this world into?
The hope of Christmas, is the hope that this baby, this
Jesus can actually change us, teach us, and show us, how to be better, how to
be more loving, and how to be more caring. This Jesus will even die for the
sins of humanity, as Jesus said himself in the gospel of John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s
life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13, NRSV). I hope that tonight that we all
might find if anything even a glimmer of hope.
One of my favorite bible commentaries,
the “Africa Bible Commentary” discussed the Christmas Story like this:
“The story of the angelic hosts and the visit of the shepherds
to the manger is perhaps the best known of all the nativity stories. But the
rich imagery of the entire story appeals to some of the profoundest feelings in
the human heart: shepherds caring for their sheep (2:8); the mother and father caring
for their new baby (2:7, 16, 19); the angel choir breaking into the darkness of
earth’s night to herald the long awaited sunrise, assuring the humble poor that
whatever the mighty governments of the world might be doing, God cares for
people, and with a shepherd’s hearts has chosen that Jesus should be born not
in a palace but in a manger (2:9-14) (Africa Bible Commentary, 1234).
The commentary then says, “The
Christmas story invites all of us to respond like a child as we express our
faith not so much in professional terms as in personal ones” (Africa Bible
Commentary, 1234).
Friends, sisters and brothers in
faith, the God of light, life, and love is coming soon, has already come, and
will return one day in glory. We have hope. We in truth don’t even know that
actual day that Jesus Christ was born, as in many Western Churches we celebrate
it on December 25th. Whatever the day that Christ was actually born
though, this day represents hope. The power, the hope, and the change that can continue
to work in us and through us, is what the Christmas Story represents to me.
Of all of the attributes, or qualities, or characteristics
that God has, according to the biblical texts, they can all be funneled into
God being three things. These three things, are that God is a God of light,
life, and love. Real strong imagery, but powerful truths that can change us,
sustain us, and can empower us, with God’s help, to change the world.
We hear in the gospels that the night that Christ was born was
a dark night. Many of us don’t like the dark. Some of as children are afraid of
the darkness. Maybe some of us as adults are still afraid of the dark. Jesus
tells us in the gospels that he “is the light of the world”.
When looking at the reading from the prophet Isaiah for
this Christmas Eve, we are given a prophecy of the coming savior, the coming Messiah,
of Jesus. Isaiah, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isa. 9:2,
NRSV). Isaiah encourages us to have hope, as he says that “the light of world”
is coming.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said of darkness, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do
that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth101472.html).
Jesus Christ is coming son, to be born, to show us love, to
shine light, and give us new life. How can we embrace this light, this love,
and this life on this Christmas Eve, and how can share this with others?
In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter or Titus, he says
of Jesus Christ, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all”
(Titus 2:11a, NRSV).
In our gospel reading for this Christmas Eve, we have as I
said the “Old Old Story” from the gospel of Luke. We have Emperor Augustus
ordering the census, we have Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem, we have one of
the birth stories of Jesus Christ (Lk. 2:1-7, NRSV). We have the shepherds who
come, we have the angels who sing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and an
on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (Lk. 2:8-14, NRSV). Oh, and of
course there is no room at the inn for Joseph and Mary (Lk. 2:7b, NRSV).
So my friends, my sisters and brothers, many of us know the
“Old Old Story,” but does it change us any? Does our faith grow as a result of
it, and do we then have a desire to share the light, life, and love of God with
others? Do we have desire to be the love of Jesus in world, to change it, to
improve it, and to heal it? Or is it just a nice story that we hear once a year
on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day?
I
would like to close this Christmas Eve sermon with a story about finding light
in the darkness, as Jesus Christ is “the light of the world”. This story is
taken from Rev. Max Lucado’s “The
Woodcutter's Wisdom and Other Favorite Stories”, and is called “The
Cave People”. Here is how it goes”
“Long ago, or maybe not so long ago,
there was a tribe in a dark, cold cavern. The cave dwellers would huddle
together and cry against the chill. Loud and long they wailed. It was all they
did. It was all they knew to do. The sounds in the cave were mournful, but the
people didn't know it, for they had never known joy. The spirit in the cave was
death, but the people didn't know it, for they had never known life.”
“But then, one day, they heard a
different voice. "I have heard your cries," it announced. "I
have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help."
“The cave people grew quiet. They had
never heard this voice. hope sounded strange to their ears. "How can we
know you have come to help?" "Trust me," he answered.
"I have what you need." “The cave people peered through the darkness
at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something, then stooping and
stacking more.” "What are you doing?" “One cried, nervous. The
stranger didn't answer”. "What are you making?" one shouted even
louder. Still no response. "Tell us!" demanded a third. The visitor
stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. "I have what you
need." With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood
ignited, flames erupted, and light filled the cavern. The cave people turned
away in fear. "Put it out!" they cried. "It hurts to see
it." "Light always hurts before it helps," he answered.
"Step closer. The pain will soon pass." "Not I," declared a
voice. "Nor I," agreed a second. "Only a fool would risk exposing
his eyes to such light." The stranger stood next to the fire. "Would
you prefer the darkness? Would you prefer the cold? Don't consult your fears.
Take a step of faith" For a long time no one spoke. The people hovered in
groups covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire. "It's
warm here," he invited. "He's right," one from behind him
announced. "It's warmer." The stranger turned a saw a figure slowly
stepping toward the fire. "I can open my eyes now," she proclaimed.
"I can see." "Come closer," invited the fire builder. She
did. She stepped into the ring of light. "It's so warm!" she extended
her hands and sighed as her chill began to pass. "Come, everyone! Feel the
warmth," she invited. "Silence, woman!" cried one of the cave
dwellers. "Dare you lead us into your folly? Leave us. Leave us and take
your light with you."
“She turned to the stranger.
"Why won't they come?" "They choose the chill, for though it's
cold, it's what they know. They'd rather be cold than change." "And
live in the dark?" "And live in the dark." The now-warm woman
stood silent. Looking first at the dark, then at the man. "Will you leave
the fire?" he asked. She paused, then answered, "I cannot. I cannot
bear the cold." Then she spoke again. "But nor can I bear the thought
of my people in darkness." "You don't have to," he responded,
reaching into the fire and removing a stick. "Carry this to your people.
Tell them the light is here, and the light is warm. Tell them the light is for
all who desire it." And so she took the small flame and stepped into the
shadows.”
My
friends, my brothers and sisters, I believe that the light, the life, and the
love of God is coming soon in baby named Jesus. I believe that this baby has
come, has lived, has taught us to love, heal, and forgive, and has died for us.
I also believe that this Jesus will return again in glory.
On
this Christmas Eve, will you claim and accept the light of Christ, and will
take it into the darkness, so that others can live in the light to? It is my
sincerest hope and prayer that you and your family will experience the power of
God, the love Jesus, and the warmth the Holy Spirit in this Christmas Season,
and always. God’s blessings to you, Merry Christmas, and Amen.
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