Sermon for Christmas Eve
December 24, 2009
Texts:  Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20

It is a night for light,
For light shining in the darkness.

It is a time of year
When we, particularly those of us,
In the northern reaches of the hemisphere,
With our short days and weak sunlight, crave light.

For centuries before the birth of Christ,
The solstice was celebrated,
As a return of the light to the planet earth.

Like moths, we flock to candles, fires and lights on a Christmas tree.
You may even be planning an expedition this evening see the Christmas lights.
And here in this area,
We trek over to Lasalette and in spite of ourselves,
Allow ourselves to be wowed by the collection of lights. 

And so we come to church on Christmas Eve
And we think of the words to ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’:
“Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting light.” 

And we breathe a little easier

And we hear as we do every year,
Those words from the prophet 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.”

We sing those words in that well loved Christmas carol,
And we hear Isaiah’s words and we ponder the darkness,
The mystery of the darkness.

We wonder about what the people Isaiah were talking about.
We wonder why they lived in darkness,
Was it a physical darkness, a spiritual darkness,
An emotional darkness,
Or maybe a combination of all three?

And then your minds shift to your own life.
And you wonder about the darkness in which you live,
And your mind toys around for a moment or two,
Thinking about whatever darkness threatens your life tonight.

Maybe you see the darkening cloud of an ill parent or grandparent,
Or perhaps there’s trouble on the horizon for a teenager you love,
Or maybe you feel the specter of unemployment threatening your life,
Or perhaps the deep gloom of grief traps your soul,
Or maybe you long for a meaningful relationship to brighten your days.

But tonight you don’t want to dwell in that darkness long,
You push those dark, threatening thoughts right out of sight and mind,
Because, you think, this is a night for light,
A night for great joy,
And a night for celebrating. 

You try to hold that darkness at bay.

And maybe you ask yourself ,
What was the experience of that great light?
What did it mean to Isaiah’s people?

How did the light change their lives?

Then you hear those words prophesied by Isaiah
At least 700 years before Jesus was born,
For a child has been born for us
And he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

The baby, that baby is a source of the light.

And then inexplicably you are drawn to Bethlehem,
The city of David,
And a time some 700 years after Isaiah
To a stable
And the birth of a tiny baby
In an animal’s feed bin.

And over that stable, there is a star,
Shining brightly, shining for all to see,
Bringing light into darkness.

And then the shepherds show up,
Bringing the amazing stories
Of their encounter with the angel of the Lord.
The angel had told them all about the baby,
But perhaps, for the shepherds, even more surprising than her words
Was the brilliance that had surrounded her and the rest of the heavenly host.

These shepherds had been out in a dark field
On a hill outside of town.
Nobody came to see them out there.
Like always, they had been all alone.

They had been huddled around their fire,
Swapping stories and trying to keep warm.

They saw the light before they saw the angel
How could they not see the light?
It was like a dozen suns.
There, in the middle of that deep dark night.
They could have sheared their sheep and separated the wool
In the brightness of that light.

Since these shepherds would have grown up
Hearing the Hebrew Scriptures,
You have to wonder if Isaiah’s words came to them
“The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light.”

And then they finally heard the angel’s words
About the tiny babe, born down the hill in Bethlehem,
“For unto you has been born this day
In the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

When they heard the angel’s message
Did they think about Isaiah’s other words
“For a child has been born for us.”???

But even as they were listening to the angel’s words,
They couldn’t get over the brilliance of the light.
The splendor of the Lord shone all around,
Brighter even than anything they could imagine

The light held them nearly motionless.

Only after the angels had departed
And the brightest light had receded,
Leaving only the afterglow,
Did they make their way with haste
Into Bethlehem to see the child.

All the way to Bethlehem,
They could see that light in their minds’ eye.
Once you have seen light like that,
How could you forget it?

It was as if in their mind’s eye,
The words were lived out,
“Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting light.”

And when they finally reached Bethlehem,
The stable did not appear totally darkened.
There was that star high in the sky
And there was an otherworldly light glowing around the child.

These were not literate, well spoken men.
But when they saw the child,
And his parents Mary and Joseph,
The words just streamed out of their mouths,
Describing the angels and their message.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David,
A Savior who is Christ the Lord.”  

And then they described the light,
These illiterate shepherds
Described the how the splendor of God shone all around them.

That light shining in the darkness
Who could forget it?!!!

The shepherds couldn’t predict
What the angels’ message meant,
And Mary could only ponder the words in her heart.

But the signs were clear
This child was marked by God for greatness.

Many others would see the light
And the signs and wonders about this child.
The Wise Men and the prophets Anna and Simeon
Would all see this child’s greatness.

The prophet Simeon would describe this child
As light for revelation to the Gentiles,
Or in other words, having the job of bringing the light of God to everyone,
Including  you and me.
In the dark streets shineth,
The everlasting light!

So on this Christmas Eve night,
That same everlasting light shines
Casting brightness into all those shadows
That you felt when you heard the words,
“The people who lived in deep darkness.”

Into whatever deep dark thoughts haunt you tonight,
That light is shining.

The splendor of the Lord,
That light around the babe,
The great light shining in the streets,
Yes that same light,
Is the light streaming into the dark corners of your life tonight.

That light means you do not face the darkness alone.

As Saint John put it,
The light shines in the darkness
And the darkness cannot overcome it.

Those words and that light are for you
Shining into whatever darkness,
Personal or global,
Threatens your health and wholeness tonight.

Can you see the light,
That Isaiah’s people, who walked in great darkness, saw?

Can you feel the brilliance of the splendor of the Lord
That the shepherds experienced
On that lonely dark hillside?

Can you see the star
That guided the Wise Men to Mary’s baby?

Can you experience the light
That captivated the prophet Simeon
When he held the baby Jesus in the temple?

Can you feel the everlasting light
Shining in the dark streets tonight?

“For unto you is born this night in the city of David
A child who is the Christ the Lord.”

The Christ, the light,
The light that shines in the darkness
Is given for you and for me.

In the last year of the first decade
In the 21st century
After the birth of the tiny babe in the manger,
That light is still shining,
And the glory of the Lord still shines all around you.

Will you feel that light?
Will you let it penetrate the dark corners of your life?

Tonight in those dark streets, shineth,
The everlasting light,
A light to reveal God to you
And a light to overcome your darkness.

As we conclude this time of sharing God’s word together,
I would like to invite you to join me in singing the first verse
Of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”,  #279 in your hymnal

May you feel the wonder of the shepherds,
As the everlasting light shines for you,
In the darkness of these streets tonight.