Sidney UMC - Christmas Day - 12/25/22 - Sermon - “He Is Among Us!”

Christmas Day 12/25/22 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:       “Hope Is Among Us?”                                

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 98                                   

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-12

Gospel Lesson: John 1:1-14

          Is it just me, or does it seem like we were just here last night? It is not very often that we have Christmas Day on a Sunday. In fact, it is on average every seven years. So, this is something that we will only see a certain number of times in our lives.

          I can imagine after two Christmas Eve services last night, and everything else you all have been through, you might have asked yourself this morning, “What day is it again?” Then you said, “Oh, that’s right its Sunday, and it’s Christmas!” For those that have children, you may have been awoken at about 5:00 AM this morning. Not likely to your children offering you breakfast in bed, rather they wanted to know if they could open their Christmas presents!

          For this reason, and many others, I want to keep this sermon and this service shorter, so that we can all enjoy Christmas. So yes, Pastor Paul just said he will give a shorter sermon. After all, we people of miracles, right?

          When this service is over, Melissa and I have to go hot chocolate and goodies for anyone here who wants to take them home with them. Melissa and I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. If you have not already, we hope that you get to see family and friends, enjoy yourself, laugh, and yes there might be some gifts. The real gift though, is Jesus Christ. In fact, I really love our new Nativity Scene, that we picked up at our annual Church Bazaar. In this Nativity Scene you will see the baby Jesus laying in the manger. Recently, as I had seen this before, I saw a picture of a very sad Golden Retriever on Facebook. Behind this Golden Retriever was a Christmas Tree and a Nativity seen. This very sad looking Golden Retriever had a sign around his neck. What did the sign say? It said, and I quote, “I just ate the baby Jesus out of the nativity, and I am not looking forward to the second coming!”

          This day though, is the culmination of centuries of prophecies in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. In our reading from Psalm 98 for this morning, we hear one of these ancient prophecies about the coming of Christ. On this Christmas Day, the wait is over, for “He Is Among Us!” Psalm 98 ends for this morning once again, saying in 98:9b of Jesus:

He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity                 (Ps. 98, 9b).

          Hope itself, life, light, and love eternal in amongst us and in us. May we live this love not only on this amazing day of hope, but every day. May the kindness of Christmas last all year long. For this is why Jesus came, why he died and rose, and why he will come again. So that we can be saved, and so that we can transform the world with his love.

          In fact, the Apostle Paul this morning in our Hebrews reading once again, reiterates that the ancestors of our faith and prophets of old foretold the coming of this Messiah, or savior. Paul writes once again in Hebrews 1:3 of Jesus, this:

³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Heb. 1:3, NRSV).

          The hope of the world, among us, in us, and working through us together. This hope, this life, this light, and this love, is why he came among us. For today, “He Is Among Us!” As we also heard in our reading for this morning from the Book Hebrews, once again, the Apostle Paul continues on about the majesty, glory, love, and wonder of this child that has come among us this day.

          In our gospel of John 1:1-14 reading for this morning, we heard, once again, this beautiful narrative about God and His son Jesus.  We hear that Jesus was with God the Father before time itself, and that this Jesus was full of life, light, and love. This Jesus has come to conquer sin and darkness. In the fullness of time, John tells us this morning, once again, in John 1:14 of the birth of Christ, that we celebrate today:

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14, NRSV).

          God in the flesh, hope itself, life itself, and love itself was born on that first Christmas morning. Two-thousand years ago, God came to earth in the most humble and meager of ways. In doing so, God became like one of us. He lived a common person’s life, loved, healed, transformed, and forgave. He then died for us, rose again, ascended, and will return one day in glory.

          He did all of this, not just so that we would have salvation and eternity with him, but also so that we might be changed right here and right now. Christmas is a promise that “He Is Among Us!” Christmas is a promise that life, light, and love has come to dwell with us and in us. Friends, on this Christmas Day 2022 may the light, life, and love of Christ be in us and amongst us. May we go forth bringing the great love and mercy of Christ to others. For this is why he came. For “He Is Among Us!” Merry Christmas and God bless! Amen.