In the name of the One who is Emmanuel, God with us, the child whose birth
we remember so richly this night, who sits enthroned at the Right Hand of the
Father, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns now and
forever. Amen.
Friends, grace and peace, and always, always to wish you a Merry
Christmas. Much merriment and warm hospitality, tender
memories. May this Holy Night, and the birth
of our Savior,be a sign for us of all joy, healing, renewal of life: turning a
corner, a new page, fresh beginning. He
was born for us as perfect gift. Of the
Father’s love begotten. The gift of his
own person, God from God, Light from Light, very God from very God. He
lived for us. He died for us. His one
oblation of himself, once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice,
oblation and satisfaction. In his victory over sin and death, in his
resurrection life, there is the one and only victory of our lives. Chosen by him, names inscribed in the Book of
Life from before time and forever. Living in him, dying in him to the old world
of sin, setting aside the rebellion of our hearts, lifted by him from the realm
of the Prince of Darkness and raised in him to new and everlasting life. In him, grace and peace, forgiveness, and
the sanctifying gift of his Holy Spirit.
To strengthen us in all goodness, to prepare us in heart and mind for
the life of the world to come. A world
where Christmas is no longer simply a day on the calendar, but a present and everlasting
reality and state of being, around the throne of the King. Where it is always Christmas.
In our reading from the Old Testament, Isaiah the Prophet. Standing in a moment of crisis and conflict,
looking forward to a certain immediate future of defeat, devastation,
exile. Enemies from beyond the borders
pressing down with relentless and overwhelming ferocity. And a
corruption eating away from within. Just
as bad as it can get. The ancient
heritage of God’s chosen people, the memories and values and loyalties of the
Patriarchs, of Moses and Joshua, of Samuel and David, all passing away. Greed, deceit, false-dealing, in the highest
places, and an insidious disease and rebellion in the hearts and minds of men
and women of every station of life. Every
false god. Moral failure. Loss of faith. Sin is a condition, but it is also a choice,
and with consequences, and those consequences now about to cascade upon
them. A massive implosion. The falling of the House of David and the
ruin of Jerusalem not simply a geo-political disaster, though it is that, a
national catastrophe, defeat, the brutal destiny of slavery and exile. But a
catastrophe for thousands upon thousands, home by home, family by family. The end of every hope and plan and
dream. The Holy City in flames. All in ruins.
And yet even as this horrible darkness gathers, for Isaiah, looking far
ahead with confidence in God’s goodness and God’s faithfulness, there is
hope. So the vision of the prophet. Beyond the catastrophe. How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who
brings good news, who announces salvation.
Even as the darkness gathers, he can see them. The early Sentinels, the dawn of the new day
and the Dayspring from on High, the return of the Lord to Zion. God himself entering his throne room. Ascending in glory. Restoring the ruins of
Jerusalem, raising them to a new magnificence.
And not just that Holy City. All
creation. Time and space. Eternity itself.
And this is where it happened. Returning
to the source, to the place of beginning.
The great convergence, every holy promise and prophesy. This holy night. And Bethlehem. Where the ancient Prophet Samuel saw the hand
of the Lord rest upon a shepherd boy, and where God’s Chosen, David, was
anointed to serve and lead God’s people.
Here: Mary and Joseph. Shepherds abiding in the fields. Angels singing. A Savior who is Christ the Lord. The
King shall come when morning dawns and light triumphant breaks; when beauty
gilds the eastern hills and life to joy awakes.
And here he is. As Isaiah said, foretelling. Tonight.
In majesty. Ruling heaven and
earth from his manger throne. For his royal court, the rustic
shepherds. For his palace a stable. Don’t let appearances deceive you even for a
minute this evening. He is turning
upside down and inside out all our expectations. Power
in weakness. To win victory by forgiveness. Whose
absolute power is known as perfect mercy.
To rule by blessing. To govern in
love.
The Law and the Prophets in grand procession, all shown this night to
be true and reliable and given for us, for our encouragement and our benefit. The word to Eve in the Garden. The promise to Abraham. That through his seed all nations would be
blessed. In fact, every word of
Scripture pointing us to this hour. In
all truth. To guide our lives and to
fill our vision. When darkness gathers,
hope. Fulfilled on this bed of straw. Wrapped in swaddling cloth. The ancient story not distant anymore, but
now perfectly present. Not about people
long ago and far away, but about us, about the world we live in. Who came for us, to die on the Cross, taking
in himself our brokenness, our sin, and then to rise from death. In the mystery of this midnight hour of
Christmas, the fullness of Easter. For
us, for our salvation, he came down from heaven.
So, St. John: He was in the world, and the world was made through him,
yet the world knew him not. He came to
his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in
his name, he gave power to come children of God . . . .
This is not a children’s story, though it is the story of a child. Encountering and mastering every hard
reality of our lives and of our world.
Bending back the darkness, overcoming the force of evil that rides so
high in the world around us and in the secret corners of our hearts. Forgiving sin, as we return to him in faith;
bringing peace and reconciliation. Come: bow down and bend the knee and kneel
before the Lord our Maker. Like the
Shepherds. For we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Let the whole earth stand in
awe of him.
To know that this story is our story--not because we try through some
act of will to make it true, to convince ourselves, but because his Spirit has
prepared us, come to dwell in us, cleared a space for this gospel good news to
be planted and to take root. To know who
we are by knowing first whose we are. Is
there a place prepared in you, ready to receive him now?
An invitation. If we’ve never
heard it before, perhaps we will hear it now.
There is a right time to receive this gift, a providential moment. And perhaps tonight, as we listen
carefully. Scripture and song and the
ancient prayers of his holy Church. What
do you hear? What is the news? For to
us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his
shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Of
the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the
throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with
justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.”
Blessings this night. Peace in Bethlehem
and in all the world. Let this
invitation be fresh and new for each of us this evening. Listen carefully, as the angels sing. He comes to us so that we might come to
him. Christ the Lord, the Newborn King.
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