Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2007

Grace and peace to you from our newborn savior, Christ the Lord. Amen

This is the hour we’ve all been waiting for, the parties are over, the presents are wrapped, well, probably for most of you; the groceries are purchased, the roast or turkey or ham is thawed and oven ready, the cookies are baked; maybe even the table is set and the tree is most certainly trimmed. Now is the moment we sit back, take a breath, sing some carols and meditate on the holy family in the stable. We’ll even take the time to light some candles and relax before Santa must get to his chores and the grand rush to get dinner on the table tomorrow afternoon begins. And then…and then it will all be over. The mad, frenetic Christmas rush will be finished. For by this time tomorrow the wrapping paper will be cleaned up, the dishes done, tummies full and there will be nothing left but to get a good night’s sleep in anticipation of getting to the stores first thing Wednesday morning to get those great bargains that will enable us to do this all over again even bigger and better next year. (Whahoo). At least that’s what every sign in our culture tells us, that once the retail crunch is over and the unwanted gifts are returned, the world returns to normal and Christmas is over for another year.

But we in the church know better. For tonight, we celebrate not the end of a season, but the beginning. A brand new beginning to life. For a baby is born. According to Luke, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” To you.

With so many “to you’s” sitting in the pew, this is a night of limitless possibilities. A baby is born and a new world is opened in front of us.

For when a child is born we always look ahead to a future full of hope. We always assume the best. We ponder whether each new infant will be the one to find the cure for cancer, or bring peace to the world, or win the Nobel Prize. With the first cry of a newborn, anything could happen and all of life becomes new and hopeful. When my girls were tiny I used to sing them a song, “I am a promise, I am a possibility, I am a promise with a capital P, I am a great big bundle of potentiality.” The potential, the possibilities, the promises that go out this night are amazing.

And yet with the birth of a child and all the promise that is contained in that little body, also comes responsibility. For in the first years of life, for many years of life, someone must nurture and care for that child. The infant in the manger was no exception. When we read on in Luke we find that Jesus didn’t raise himself. We all know that without love and care children fail to thrive; they wither and die. In both Matthew and Luke we find that the savior was the responsibility two persons, two parents -- Mary and Joseph. Under their guidance and direction he became wise, with their nurture he grew, with their love he came to know the favor of God that rested upon him. They brought the child to the temple, and taught him to know, love and honor God. They expected obedience from him and at great peril to themselves they protected him from harm. Even as an adult we find Mary at various points in Jesus’ life offering advice and watching over him.

This child is born for us this evening. To us is given a child. What will we do with him? If the Son of God is to grow in might and stature, it will now be up to us to raise up this child. How shall we accomplish this awesome task?

Shall we murmur to him, lavishing praise up on praise in his ears? Will we whisper of the marvelous things he will do, the miracle of life that he is for us, how sweet is his very existence? Will we tell him these things at every opportunity? Will we hum songs of praise to him? Or will we sing a carol here this evening and then assume that he will remember the melody and need not hear the sound of our voices raised until the next year is over?

Will we show him off? Will we tell our friends and our neighbors all about him? I’ve only been here a few short weeks, but within days I saw photo’s of the Borque’s new grandson, heard squeals of glee as the Dennis’s announced the upcoming birth of a grandchild, saw the glow of pride as the VanAuken’s talked about their twin grandchildren. Baby pictures appear on emails at the church office on a regular basis as you are always eager to share the news of a new arrival.

This baby, this Jesus, is a new arrival for us. Will you bore your friends to tears with his exploits? Will you enthusiastically encourage family to know him better? Will you teach your children and grandchildren to cradle this gift of life? Or will you assume that 2,000 years ago the angels sung it all and the shepherds told it all and so nothing more needs be said?

Are you prepared tonight to give of yourself so that Christ’s ministry and continue to thrive and the Kingdom of God can continue to grow? Mary gave Jesus life through her own body and Joseph fled all that was safe and known to keep his wife and the baby safe in Egypt. Are you willing to attend first to the needs of this child?

After tonight the angels will return to heaven, Mary and Joseph will move on to Nazareth and the shepherds will return to the hills. Their voices will be silent for another year. What will become of the baby? We can’t just leave him lying in the manger, cold and alone. Not if he’s to grow and minister and give his life for the salvation of the world. This child born to you is given to you to carry from here to tonight, to dwell in your hearts and your homes.

Tonight is a new beginning, full of promise and possibility. Tonight the world of the salvation of the world begins in the infant who is called Emmanuel. In the words of Howard Thurman:

When the Son of the Angels is stilled…

When the Star in the Sky is gone…

When the King and the Princes are home…

When the Shepherds are back with their flock…

The work of Christmas begins:

To Find the Lost

To Heal the Broken

To Feed the Hungry

To Release the Prisoner

To Rebuild the Nations

To Bring Peace

Among the brothers

To Make Music in the Hearts

Tonight with our brand new baby, with our brand new infant savior, we are given a new beginning. Amen

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