Christmas Day
December 25, 2007
The Rev. James Richardson

Luke 2: 1-20

Merry Christmas, and welcome! Thanks for being here.

Maybe your being here at All Souls is your Christmas tradition, or maybe a someone invited you. Or maybe the music brought you here, or the chance to be with family and friends on this Christmas Day. I would venture that all of us are here because somehow, some way, being here represents the Hope of Christmas for each of us. Not the hope of tinsel and trees and egg nog – though I certainly have enjoyed my share of all that this year.

As good as all of that might be, the Hope of Christmas that I speak of is about our deepest longings for a better world to come for ourselves and for all of those we love, for peace on earth, for good will among women and men – and justice for all people everywhere. Our Hope of Christmas is that the sick will be healed, in body, mind and spirit.

Our Hope of Christmas is that the hungry will be fed and prosperity will fill the land. Our Hope of Christmas is for things we have never seen. That is an outlandish hope. Maybe it is a little hard for you to have that kind of hope right now. There is a war in Iraq, and right or wrong, the end of that conflict is not in sight. The economy is stumbling and, it is hard to see much cheery news on that front.

Or maybe someone you know is ill or troubled. Maybe there is something weighing on you. Maybe it sounds just a little too idealistic, a little too cheery, to be talking about Hope right now.

And that is exactly why we are here this morning – exactly why we must speak of the Hope of Christmas – right here, today. “Hope” is a curious word. My dictionary defines it as “A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.” Where do we find this kind of hope? Where can we place confident expectations for fulfillment on this Christmas Day?

Do we place our hope in all of our possessions, in all of our stuff? Is our hope to be found in our grudges and our complaints and prejudices and in our knee jerk reactions to things? Well, maybe, for some.

I think by our being here today, we are saying something very different about where we find our Hope. We are saying – whether you think of it this way or not – we are saying something really very counter-cultural. We are saying, that our Hope is in the birth of Jesus in a manger. And the angel said to them: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Ours is the Hope of Christmas, ours is the Hope of this baby born to a peasant woman long, long ago. All of our hopes, all of our dreams, are embodied in this small baby whose birth we celebrate today. We are drawn together because of that one fact, the birth of Christ Jesus into our world, and how his birth has changed everything in our world.

What an amazing faith this is – to see all of the hopes of the world in a tiny baby born in as lowly a place as a human being could be born – in a barn. What kind of God is this who would come to earth in such a place under such conditions? A God who is with us – Emmanuel – that is the meaning of the name – a God who lives with us, all of us, everywhere, no matter who we are, or where we live – from the lowest depths to the highest heights.

I heard a preacher not long ago say that when God came to earth as Jesus, God temporarily “suspended” his divinity. I have to say, no, that is not it. God never stops being God. God’s supreme demonstration of love for us is coming to earth as one of us. In this one ultimate divine act, this creator God shares with us our deepest hopes, and then does something more:
Our God asks us to be partners in bringing heaven to earth. Jesus, who is the divine light of God coming among us, tells us to give him our burdens, hand over our worries, give him the load – because he loves us that much.

This Savior born today will carry us even when we don’t see it. And this Savior walks with all of us. And then, you know what else? This Savior of ours prays to us – to all of us – prays we will pick up the tasks before us, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick and bring peace to earth. Can we hear that prayer?

Our God is telling us to be active in the world, not to retreat but to get out there, and live a life worthy of this extravagant love our Creator has for us this Christmas. This Savior of ours places hope in us even when we don’t have much hope in ourselves.

Whether you have been coming here for 50 years, or whether this is the first time you have been here, don’t let Christmas end for you today. Keep Christmas alive when you leave here. Look for something truly unexpected this year, something new in your life, something new in the world. Look for the Hope of Christmas every single day. Have the courage to let the Hope of Christmas change your life – and then have the courage to change the world around you. The Hope of Christmas is alive with you every day.

And the angel said to them: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

AMEN