Christmas Eve/Year C Sermon Reflection – Dec 24, 2024
Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-20
Let us pray: Emmanuel, God-with-us, with eyes open, hearts softened, minds listening, and spirits full, we rejoice that you interrupt what we have in mind in order to bring into being something more than we dare imagine. May your light shine upon us, in us, and through us, as we gather here together, and as we leave this place tonight, eager to share this love and light with the world, that is born again in us, on this Christmas Eve. Amen. (Peter L. Haynes., adapted)
One of my (several) favorite things about gathering on Christmas Eve every year, is that we get to hear the scripture reading from Luke, that describes, just a little bit, about that first Christmas, about the birth of the long-awaited Savior, the Messiah, that the prophet Isaiah, and many other prophets and sages had foretold would come into our world, as a light and a love that would pierce the darkness of the world they were walking in, that would infuse the world with a light, love, hope, peace, and joy that would have the power to transform hearts, and lives, and communities, beyond anything we had yet to imagine.
In this story we listen to each year from the gospel of Luke…we hear a few details, yes…the place, some of the people, the setting, the event, the birth of a child…
But there is so much more room to imagine and wonder about all the details that are not included in this story. As you’ve probably noticed, in St Peter’s nativity up front by the altar, we’ve done some holy imagining over the years…beyond what we hear in the gospel reading tonight…we’ve got some of the “traditional animals” usually associated with the Christmas Stories, such as deer and sheep and cows, we have just a handful of people, shepherds, angels, Mary, Joseph…and the wise men will be added in a couple of weeks…but as you look closely, you will see some dinosaurs, sea creatures, monkeys, polar bears, dogs, cats, chickens to note just a few….It’s been a joyous way to bring this nativity to life in new ways…over 2000 years after the birth of Emmanuel…God with us…
Some may think it’s been a little silly to add all these different creatures to the nativity…but I ask the question – why? Why put God in a neat little box? Why limit God’s desire to reach all of creation, to include all people and creatures in this beloved love story? That’s precisely one of the reasons we celebrate the birth of God’s Son, God’s coming to live among us, for ALL of us, as a love and light that has been poured out for everyone….
As we gather tonight, and as we leave this place…I invite you to take some moments to wonder and ponder further…who were the others that you imagine were there at the time of the holy birth…what were they experiencing in all that was happening? Were they feeling joyous? Were they struggling to be joyful, if they were feeling anxious, or afraid, or just not knowing how to make sense of what was happening? Who are the other ones that we don’t see in this gospel story tonight? Can you think of those you think should be there? How might you become more mindful of those who are not usually included, those who live on the margins, those tucked away in hospitals, homeless shelters, prisons…
And other places and settings and systems that are meant to separate us from one another, instead of bringing us together, as one beloved family of God…
There’s another detail that you won’t find in tonight’s gospel reading about this child born for us…(although the angel Gabriel had already disclosed this detail to both Mary and Joseph previously)…and that is…the name of this holy child whom we come to believe and know as Jesus…the light of the world…
I am filled with gratitude to be able to share this Christmas Eve with all of you…knowing that some of us here tonight, may be feeling joyful, and some of us, may be feeling a bit sad, anxious, afraid…and if we’re all being truthful with ourselves…it’s a probably a mix of everything for most of us…and that’s the beauty of the Luke Gospel story tonight…it includes a little bit of everything…some glorious announcements by the angels, some fearful shepherds, who then go on to glorify and praise God telling others what they had seen and heard, and the quiet detail that tells us, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
The message proclaimed in the Luke story this evening is for all people, for all places, and for all times…May it be so…
(Rev Julie Platson)
Closing prayer/Hymn: (H) 109 – The First Nowell (vs 1,2,4)
1 The first Nowell the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
2 They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east beyond them far,
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
4 This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o’er Bethlehem it took its rest,
and there it did both stop and stay
right over the place where Jesus lay.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.