Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14-20

December 24, 2025 Sermon by Kit Allgood-Mellema

Thank you all for being here tonight – it’s so good to see everyone! You may not know this, but

you are here because you said ‘yes’ to a special invitation. Did you realize you were invited here

tonight? We’ll come back to that in a moment.

The books of the Bible are filled with stories of people who said ‘yes.’ Our Advent and Christmas

traditions are no exception. Elizabeth, the mother of John, known as the Baptist, had long

prayed for a child, and in her elder years said ‘yes’ to bearing that child. Mary, mother of Jesus,

in her teen years, said an emphatic ‘yes’ to the angel in her prayer that we know as the

Magnificat. Joseph said ‘yes’ to an angel in a dream and took Mary as his wife. A group of

shepherds, surrounded by their flock, didn’t surrender to their fear – they said ‘yes!’ and with

their sheep, came trooping through the streets of Bethlehem looking for a baby. The people of

Bethlehem, crowded in together with family and friends, found a space for Mary and Joseph in a

home – because the manger would have been inside a family home to help keep the livestock

and the family warm together – as they said ‘yes!’ Midwives and experienced mothers said ‘yes,’

and showed up with their wisdom, knowledge and all that Mary would need for the birth,

including the swaddling cloth for the newborn. It was a resounding ‘yes!’ Even the angels of

heaven, sometimes rumored to be a rather unruly and mischievous group, said ‘yes’ as their

songs of praise echoed across the skies! And in less than two weeks, we will hear the story of

royal visitors who heard the voice of love and said ‘yes!’ They braved a perilous journey and

risked the displeasure of a vengeful king to find the source of that love.

Creation said ‘yes!’ and came alive with the joy of new life, new hope, new peace. The world

heard every ‘yes’ and began to listen as it journeyed toward the simple beauty of love and light

and hope and truth and peace. And then the world said ‘yes!’ Every yes was a holy ‘yes,’

responding to a holy, sacred invitation from God.

The ‘yes’ that brought you here tonight was a holy ‘yes,’ an answer to God inviting you to join

the journey of love that began centuries ago. God’s invitations to love don’t usually come with

angel choirs and brilliant stars. Most likely they show up in the most unlikely places and times,

and in ways we don’t expect – in the needs of a stranger; in a plea for help; in the tiny body of a

hungry child; in the fatigue of a person who doesn’t know where they will spend the night or

find their next meal or how they will stay warm; in the eyes of someone who is alone and lonely;

in the fear of someone who is the victim of injustice or violence; in the need to make our voices

heard.

In a world of uncertainty, pain, hunger, violence, oppression, disaster and fear – a world very

much like the one Jesus was born into - the sacred invitation to join the journey of love may feel

overwhelming. Please know that you are not alone. Every one of us has hesitated in the face of a

holy ‘yes,’ wondering if the invitation was really meant for us, questioning if God knew what God

was doing. Please know that every kindness, even the smallest one, is a holy ‘yes.’ Please know

the invitation may seem insignificant, but your ‘yes’ may change a life. Please know that the

invitation comes with God’s hand outstretched to take our hand, to guide us on the way, to

provide us with the help we need. And when we all answer with a holy ‘yes,’ we support and

carry each other.

In the quiet moments of this special season of ‘yes,’ as we immerse ourselves in the miracle,

wonder and love of Jesus’s birth, take some time to ponder the echoes of ‘yes’ from years and

centuries past. Then listen for God’s invitation to you to say a holy ‘yes.’

Merry Christmas! Thanks be to God! Amen!