Chrstmas Eve Service Of Lessons And Carols Transcript

Loving God, on this night of all nights, we give you thanks for the birth of your Son. The light in the darkness that dispels the darkness away that we can turn to and know that you will not be overcome. May that light shine in our hearts. May it shine through our words and our deeds. And may we be transformed and reflect your light into a world that is still caught in darkness.

Yes, it's all in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, light of the world, word made flesh. Amen. This evening, we celebrate the birth of Christ. God made flesh. God incarnate. The light of the world that came to the darkness.

And that darkness did try to overcome it. That darkness did try to remove. That darkness still today tries to remove and snuff out the light. And it tries its hardest. We gather this evening to not only celebrate the birth of that light in the world, but celebrate that it is still shining bright.

And there are times in our lives where that darkness seems so great. There are times where we cannot find the light. Where we cannot see it. Where we cannot see it for ourselves. And that darkness seems so strong.

And there are times within our spirits where we think the light is not there anymore. We are caught in sin. We are caught in loneliness and despair. We are caught in grief over the loss of loved ones. I don't know how many people I talked to over the last few weeks. And that question that keeps coming up. Are you feeling like you're in the Christmas spirit? Are you ready for Christmas?

And sometimes, and it felt more often, than usual, people would say, I'm just not there yet. I'm just not feeling it. It's not what I felt like years ago. I don't know why. But it's just not there. I'm just not there.

Now there are many reasons for that to be the case. There are a lot of anxieties and fears in the world right now. There are a lot of dangers and a lot of acts of violence. There are people living in fear. Because of where they were born. What they believe.

They are at the whims of their leaders. There are people in our community who are hungry. Who are cold. Who are unsure of whether they will pay for their medicine, their food, or their heating bill. There are people who are home alone in their houses right now. Wondering if anyone cares about them. Anyone loves them. And if it would even matter if they were here at all.

There are people everywhere. Caught in darkness. And they need to see the light. But that light can be so hard to see. But why would we expect today for it to be easier to see than it was 2 ,000 years ago?

Why do we think today that light would be easier to find, easier to see, and more noticeable in our world than it was 2 ,000 years ago? Because 2 ,000 years ago that light was not easy to find. That light was not easy to see. That light did not shine for everyone in the earth to see all at once. In fact, it was so small that it was born in the form of a small child to a virgin mother.

Betrothed, engaged, but not yet married. The cultural stigma that came with that is great. There was no room for the Savior to be born. He was forced to be born in a manger. For there was no room in the inn.

And just as there was no room in the inn. Just like that inn, there is very little room in this world for our Savior to be born into. And yet God still pushes through. Christ still pushes through. And for many, Christ pushes through without too many people noticing.

This newborn king that was born on this day, away from the palaces, away from the thrones, away from the crowns, brought fear to the rulers that wanted to hold on to power. They had no idea he was born until the wise men came and asked around looking for them. And the fear that struck them was tremendous.

And in that town where he was born, no one really noticed. No one was given the big news. And yet you have to go outside of the town to the shepherds. Those who were outside of the town, those who spent their time away from society, in many ways were looked down upon. Because of that, they were watching over their flocks. So they were awake and watching and ready for something to appear.

Now in their minds it would be the wolf, the lion, or some predator for their sheep. But they were ready for something to appear to them. And what appeared was an angel. Giving them the good news that so few had actually heard and known. Giving them the good news that a Savior had been born. That very night.

That the light of the world that they had been waiting for for so long. The darkness had been pushing back for so long. Had finally been born. And the way they will know this is true is if they go and find a baby that had been born.

Now this is a little humorous to me. I don't know if it's to you. A baby has been born. It's the Savior of the world. And a sign that this baby has been born is that you will go and find a baby that had been born. And yet they took the angel at their word.

They left the sheep that they had been watching. Now I know a lot of you may have manger scenes and creches in your home. Where they bring at least one sheep to show that they were there. But they had left all those sheep behind. They had left their tasks. They had left their job.

They had left everything that they were supposed to be doing. To answer the good news of this angel. To find out for themselves if what the angel had said came true. And what they found was what the angel described. A man and a woman. The woman having just given birth. And a child lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.

They knew and they believed. They saw the light for themselves. And they went back to their fields. Rejoicing for what God had done. They had been transformed in the presence of that light. And they carried that light with them back to their jobs. Back to where they were staying. Back to their flocks. Back to their everyday or in this case every night living.

Transformed because they had seen the light. And I can only imagine the stories that they shared after that night. We don't hear them in the scripture. But you know they had to have been telling everyone they met that next day. The craziness that they had just seen. Not only the appearance of one angel. But the heavenly host. The skies full of the heavenly host. Singing praises to God.

Being told that a savior had been born. And then going and finding that savior. Just as the angel had said. What they had seen and what they had witnessed was surely passed on. That next day. was probably ridiculed as well. It was probably pushed down. Pushed against. And tried to quiet.

But when you've encountered the divine. When you've encountered God in such a powerful way. How could you do anything but share it? And so they did.

That light was hard to find. Those shepherds would not have found it. If the angels did not tell them where to look. If the angels had not guided them to where to go. That night would have passed quietly. For most of the world. Other than a baby. A mother. And a father.

So again I ask. Why do we think today that light should be easy to find?

I suspect that we have to do what we saw in this story. We have to be keeping watch. We have to be ready. We may not know what we're looking for. But we have to be ready. When we hear the good news. When we see the light. We have to be willing to go. To drop everything behind. To go and see it for ourselves. And find out if what the Lord has told us is true.

And when we find that light. When we have caught glimpses of it. should praise God. Give thanks to God for all that God has done. And will do. may not know the full extent. Of what God is doing. there are places in our dark world. Where light is shining through the cracks. Where there was no room for Jesus. Jesus is still pushing through. Being born again in people's hearts. And minds and spirits.

And then. When we see that light. And we go back to our lives. We might. We must be willing to share it. So that others can hear about it. And hopefully see the light for themselves.

There is great darkness in our world. There is great suffering. But there are places. Where that suffering is alleviated. There are people in our world. Working for peace and justice. There are people in our communities. Seeking to feed the hungry. And make sure they have shelter. And a warm place to stay.

There are people all over the world. Who have seen the light. That came into the world. Have been transformed by it. And then share that light with others. And if anything comes. About our gathering this evening. I pray it is that. At the end of the service. We will take our candles. We will light them. And we will sing joy to the world. And pass that light. And hold it up high. Dispelling the darkness in this room.

My prayer is that. Even as we put out our candles. We carry that light. As we leave these doors. And enter into whatever celebrations. You have in store this week. With however you meet. we are not willing to do that. If we are not willing to be. Like the shepherds. And go out praising God. And sharing the good news with others. Then what was it all for?

Will we do it? Will do so broadly. Shining Christ light. Seeking it out. All the year long. And making room for it to shine.

That is the question. For each and every one of us. That we all have to decide for ourselves. Amen.