Homily  Transcript: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ  (Chr                                                       The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Christmas Day, December 25, 2011                       
Readings: Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:8-20

From St. Paul’s letter to Titus,  “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy…” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

      A very, Merry Christmas  to you all! Christmas is a day celebrated throughout the world with much revelry. In many homes gifts are exchanged, rich foods prepared and enjoyed along with quite a few beverages as well, as friends and families gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. For weeks leading up to today’s celebration, the bombastic advertisements of merchants and sellers throughout the world have urged us to buy their products. They promise that purchasing their goods will ensure that the true spirit of Christmas will be found in every home. But our Scripture lessons this morning tell a different story. Our scriptures tell us that the greatest gift of Christmas is one that cannot be bought nor earned. It is a gift that touches the very depths of human hearts: It is the gift of God’s endless saving love now revealed and embodied in Jesus of Nazareth; Christ, the Lord.

      This birth of Christ is the day that the Prophet Isaiah promised would be a day like no other. We hear the ecstasy in today’s Old Testament reading as Isaiah says that the Lord, himself, shouts, “See, your salvation comes...” The Psalmist describes this day saying, “Light has sprung up for the righteous, and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.”  (Therefore) “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks to (God’s) holy Name.”  Truly, this is a day like no other.

      Our Gospel reading this morning tells the story of this day as it has been told for over two thousand years. As I shared with our congregation last evening, the Messiah comes in a way that was foretold and yet not fully understood or expected because the Christ child at Bethlehem, our promised Redeemer and Savior is none other than God’s own self who has come to dwell among us. It is the Almighty God who has come in all humility as a newborn baby begging for milk and food. God comes in the most vulnerable way possible: a defenseless newborn human being. God comes as human flesh, to live and die among us; to journey the human life with its joys and sorrows. And it is this same God who will descend into the depths of human suffering and emerge victorious over death itself. In Jesus Christ, God will speak to his people in a new way. God will speak intimately with us; face to face, as one human being to another.

      And all of this glory, this incredible revelation of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, our redeemer and savior, St. Paul says, is ours to know not because of anything we have done, but rather, according to God’s mercy. It is God’s love – God’s eternal love – that brought the Christ to us at Bethlehem and continues to bring Christ into the hearts of all who seek to know God as redeemer and judge; friend and companion.

      St. Paul said, “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us … according to God’s mercy.” On this day of celebration and feasting, of family gatherings and revelry, let us remember God’s gift of redemption in Jesus Christ and commit ourselves to follow the path he has laid out for us: a path that urges us to offer and demonstrate the love, mercy and grace of God to all whom we meet. Now come, let us adore him: Christ the Lord. Amen

Sermon Transcript:   The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas Eve)                  The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
December 24, 2011                                                                                                                        
Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20

 From Luke’s Gospel,  “(and the angel said) ‘Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all … people: to you is born this day … a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

      One of the things that has struck me throughout these past four weeks leading up to Christmas, these four weeks we call the Season of Advent: that time when we reflect on our lives and prepare our hearts and minds for Christ’s birth at Bethlehem just as we prepare for and await his promised second coming, has been how our scriptures and readings have focused our attention not on the past or our future, but rather, on the presence of God in and around us today; to look for and to see God; to slow down in order that we might hear and listen to what God is saying to us in fresh ways. All of this has been in preparation for tonight’s celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth: the Messiah, Christ, the Lord. 
 
      And so we have arrived at Christmas. This parish church is bedecked in elegance. Trees are decorated, our homes – well, maybe most of them – are prepared for gatherings of friends and family. Some of us are still scurrying around and yet, Christmas is here and for the next twelve days we will celebrate "Emmanuel:" God with us; Christ is born. Yet, I look around and I wonder what this birth means to us today. Our world continues its downward spiral in political and economic chaos. Nations continue to war with each other and here at home our own people seem even more divided politically, economically, racially, and in so many other ways.

     The Prophet Isaiah, from whom we read this evening, promised that the arrival of the Christ would usher in a new kingdom of peace and prosperity: that this kingdom would continue to grow until it embraced the four corners of the earth. St. Paul, in his letter to Titus, a portion of which we also read this evening, tells us that the birth of Christ brought salvation to all people and that Christ taught us how to live in love and unity with God and each other. But, where is that promised peace and unity? If Jesus Christ did not bring that which was promised then, what did  he bring?