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?
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?
Our answer lies in tonight’s gospel reading: Jesus did bring all that was promised in a way that was not expected. In fact, he has brought that much more: he has brought God to us. Jesus has brought God because, beloved, Jesus is God. The Creator of the universe, the source of all life and being; this God whom all faiths claim to worship; and to whom the forefather of the three great religions of this world: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – our forefather Abraham - was privileged to glimpse only as a terrifying sound from a burning bush and whom Moses heard as a thundering voice on Mount Sinai, suddenly comes to his people not with flames or thunder, lightning or quaking earth, but in the silence of a night two thousand years ago and wrapped in simple bands of cloth, God’s voice is heard among us in the cry of a newborn human being. The world greets its Creator who has come not in power and glory, but in all humility as a vulnerable baby begging for milk from its mother and dependent upon humanity for protection. Our Redeemer and Messiah has come to us in a way that no one could have ever imagined: He is God incarnate and he has come as a child.
And it is through this child that we can know God and see God face to face because, in Christ, God has become one of us to live and die among us; to journey the human life with its joys and sorrows. This same God will descend into the depths of human suffering and emerge victorious over death itself. This is the promise of Emmanuel: God with us.
At Bethlehem, the ancient and great promises of a Savior and Redeemer, the Prince of Peace have come true. For this same Jesus will grow in stature and teach us that loving God with all our heart, soul, body, mind and strength means that we must also love our neighbors; love one another, and all that God has created. Jesus will show that reverence for God and reverence for all life is of equal importance. This is God’s way and it can lead to peace and prosperity where all are filled and all dwell in harmony as one united people.
And so, the arrival of this child at Bethlehem, Jesus of Nazareth, establishes not a political kingdom that, like all kingdoms and dynasties will pass away, but rather, a kingdom of God that works quietly in this world saving, changing, and redeeming women and men one heart at a time.
This is the glory of Christmas and it begins with the humble self-sacrificing glory of God’s love lying in a manger: A love which will never pass away. Where is this promised kingdom, where is this universal peace and prosperity? It is found in the hearts, minds, and souls of those who know and see the face of God: Jesus Christ our Lord. And so, dear people, on this night, as has been celebrated on thousands of Christmas Eves before us, with the Psalmist we can shout, “Let the heavens rejoice, and the let the earth be glad, let the sea thunder” for the Lord has come!
God is with us. God is in our midst and his name is Jesus Christ. Now, in Jesus Christ, God speaks no longer from the shadows of a burning bush or a mountain top, but intimately, face to face, as one human being to another and we are not afraid. As the Angel said to those shepherds long ago, so says the Angel to us this night, “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.” Oh, Thanks be to God! Amen.
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