Christmas Eve
December 24, 2007
The Rev. James Richardson

Isaiah 9: 2-7
Titus 2: 11-14
Luke 2: 1-20

“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.”

Tonight we gather together to tell the story – the story you’ve heard maybe a hundred times, or maybe only a few times. It is the story I’d like you to hear as if it were the first time:
An angel comes to Mary and tells her she will have a son and he will be the savior of the world (and, yes Kristin, tonight you get Mary). And an angel comes to Joseph and tells him to love and cherish Mary, and take care of this baby, and that everything will be fine even though they are not married. So they go to Bethlehem, and there is no room for them in a house, so Mary has her baby in a stable, and wraps him in swaddling clothes, and put him in a manger, and calls him Jesus. Ok, I know, the current translation says “bands of cloth.” But, really, it is swaddling clothes.

Back to our story:
The shepherds hear an angel tell them to be not afraid, and so the shepherds, these lowliest of peasants, are the first to come see the newborn king. And they praise God for all they have seen.

And the world is somehow very, very different this night. The world is very, very different because this one tiny baby came into the world long, long ago.

We all know the story, the story of Christmas, and I suspect that is one reason you come tonight – to hear the story of Christmas and hold it in your heart tonight.

Yet, as familiar as the story is, please do not loose sight of this one basic fact:
God chose to be with us born as a helpless baby and not as a majestic Zeus-like figure. That is surprising then as it is now. Some of the prophets expected a regal king who would bring righteousness to earth with a mighty sword. But we get Jesus, born in poverty in a stable. Instead of a warrior, we get the Prince of Peace.

What kind of God is this? Not the God the world expects.

God’s power comes in a tiny helpless baby, who grows up and brings great acts of kindness and healing and demonstrates to meaning of salvation for all. The birth of this one baby compels us to see the world through new eyes. To truly hold Christmas in our hearts is to see the world differently than much of the world sees itself.

We live in a very troubled world – you don’t need me to tell you that, and it doesn’t sound particularly Christmassy to mention it. But here is the Christmas part:
God comes to be among us to show us a new way of seeing, or in the words of the prophet Isaiah, so that we might “see a great light” in the night. When we hold this story in our hearts, something very, very wonderful is happening: We are different.

Look for the great light in yourself and everyone and everything all around you tonight. Instead of seeing with the world’s values of greed, see with the eyes of sharing. Instead of seeing with the values of force, see with the eyes of the peacemaker.

Instead of an argument, God asks us to listen to each other, to lower our voices and to hear especially those who have no voice. Linger with Christmas awhile tonight. To hold Christmas in your heart is to look into the eyes of this baby. God comes to be among us – Emmanuel – as a human being, and by so doing, God tells us a great deal about the true values of Christmas.

The values of Christmas compel us to see that every human being counts, no matter how powerful or how lowly you are. All of us are valued and loved by God just as we are, and for who we are the process of becoming.

Some of you have come tonight with your families, some with friends, and some of you have come alone. Maybe you’ve been here many, many times before, or this is your first time here at All Souls on Christmas Eve. Maybe you know a everyone here, or maybe you don’t know a soul.

To hold Christmas in your heart is to see that God loves us enough to dwell among us as one of us, to knit us together as one community with many members. We all count. In a short while we will do something to show ourselves as one community of people who count – we will come together to share in the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Whether you have been to communion a hundred times or this is your first venture into this sacred shared meal, tonight take the opportunity to see and taste this bread and wine in a new way. Taste it as your connection to each other and to the God who brought you here. This communion is Christ’s Christmas present to you and to me.

So please don’t be shy in coming, all are invited tonight to share in this wonderful communion with each other and the Christ child who brings it to us. And don’t let this Christmas communion end tonight. Make tonight a new beginning, leave here with new eyes and new ears – for you are Christmas people, and you can see the world in a new way.

And we start again right here, this Christmas, by telling the story again:
Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, where there is no room for them, so Mary has her baby in a stable, and wraps him in swaddling clothes, and puts him in a manger, and calls him Jesus. And the shepherds hear an angel who tells them to be not afraid, and they come to see the baby. And the world is somehow very, very different because this one tiny baby coming into the world.

Rejoice! God is with us, Emmanuel the Prince of Peace. Rejoice! And Merry Christimas! Amen.