Christmas Eve

Daisy on her last Christmas 2017. She loved Christmas for some reason. She always knew there would be a present under the tree for her...but which one? We miss you, Daisy!

Welcome to New Church Sherman Oaks Christmas Eve service. This is one of the holiest of nights for the Christian churches in that it is a time celebrate the birth of Christ. As I reflect on this season of life I am reminded that life itself is an on-going experience of birth, death and resurrection.

Birth is the newness that comes with our daily experiences. Each day, is a day to be born anew. Death, of course is the end of one way that leads us into the newness of another. That pathway between life and death is resurrection, the adventure that gives birth to our new experiences. Birth. Death. Resurrection. This is the real Christmas story. Tonight I am going to read two stories of Jesus from Luke’s gospel. 

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The first comes from  Luke 2:8-16
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—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. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  

The second reading are excerpts from the 24th chapter of Luke:
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And they were startled and terrified. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, repentance and the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he lead them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. This is the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I bet you know what this is. This is a Christmas present. It’s the universal sign that the holiday season is upon us. In most houses the present is wrapped and put under the Christmas tree.

Some families open their presents on Christmas Eve. In our house, we wait until Christmas morning to tear through all that pretty wrapping paper to see if we got that new PlayStation or a fresh supply of socks.
In all the excitement of tearing and ripping open the gifts, I tend to forget the reason why these gifts are given in the first place.

It’s because of this...This is the family nativity set that we keep out all year long. Whenever I see it on our piano, it’s hard to for me to ignore the fact that this angelic child will one day be a man, who will die on a Roman cross. Christmas is about life, death and resurrection. They are one in the same gift that we receive from God.
 
I can’t imagine what mixed emotions God must have had at that Nativity. As a father, I wonder what God was feeling seeing this newborn just lying there all helpless, weak, and vulnerable? Did God cry, like I did when I first held my daughter Fiona?
 
I remember standing in the hospital room, balling my eyes out. It was the first time in my life I really felt and truly understood unconditional love. Life all of a sudden felt very real. And yet, in my greatest joy, the fear that something bad could happen to this precious innocent life loomed all around us. I held onto her and never wanted to let her go. I imagine that is what God’s love for us is like. He never wants to let us go. 

When sin and death pulled us away from God, a little baby was sent to us, bringing peace and justice to a world filled with war and violence. In the darkness of death burst the bright light of hope and peace and joy. The Christ child came to reconcile us back to God, who like a loving parent weeps with great joy when he welcomes us in his arms! There is no safer place to be. God is the perfect definition of unconditional love. His gift of the Christ child is proof. 

Amazing as this present is, it is still only half the gift. If God cried, then those tears weren’t shed because of what happened that night in the stable. God cried because God knew what that birth would eventually bring.
 
Christmas is just half of the gift. The other half would come at Easter. Christmas makes Easter possible. Just like the first Christmas gift was placed in an empty manger, our Easter present was placed in a grave. But when we open this gift, we don’t find a PlayStation or a fresh supply of socks. Instead we only find an empty tomb. This is the fulfillment of the real gift. 

Christmas and Easter, might be two separate holidays, but they are one gift. We can’t receive one and not the other. It’s Christmas that makes Easter inevitable. And Easter is what makes Christmas meaningful. A reason to celebrate! 

I hope that you will ponder these words and take them to heart. Christ is coming into our world. In us. With us. And through us, God is breaking through the heavens and the angels are singing. O come, let us adore him. Amen.

From our home to yours, we hope that you have a very, Merry Christmas.