+ Christmas Eve, Service of Lessons and Carols – December 24th, 2019 +
Genesis 3:8-19; Genesis 22:15-19; Isaiah 9:2-7; Isaiah 11:1-9;
Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-12; John 1:1-14
Beautiful Savior Lutheran
Milton, WA
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wherever you find God’s people in Scripture, you’ll find them singing. Shouting God’s praises. Chanting his promises. Bursting into the great song of salvation of Jesus’ birth for us.
Miriam sings of God’s rescue in the Exodus and through the Red Sea. “I will sing unto the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
King David plays his harp and sings his psalms. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Isaiah and the prophets join in their sacred harmonies. For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.
All holy Scripture rings out with the good news. Christmas is for singing this great song of salvation: Christ is born for you.
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s people fill the pages of holy Scriptures like a troop of choristers, a holy band of minstrels, stretched across time, assembled from all people, tribes, languages, all singing with one voice the same good news we hear and sing tonight. The angel chorus cues up the great melody line of the holy Scriptures,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
This is a song our world is in desperate need of hearing. For we live in a noisy world and where we do not hear much good news. Rather, a bedlam of suffering and sorrow bombards us daily. Our ears ring with cries of pain and agony from without and within. The siren’s call of temptation drums in our ears. The din of sin and death throbs in our hearts and minds. If life is a song, all too often it sounds like a funeral dirge, a constant lament.
But all of that changes tonight. The din of death and sin is drown out by the heavenly chorus, the company of heaven joins in the great song of salvation. The fields, rocks, and hills repeat the sounding joy. The trees and rivers clap their hands.
“For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
Christmas is for singing this great song of salvation: Christ is born for you. It is a wondrous, joyful mystery. God is made man for you; He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised. God descended for us. He redeemed us. This day He Who Is, is Born; and He Who Is becomes what He was not. God is man to save you. The Ancient of Days as become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infant’s bands.
When the angels in heaven behold this mystery and reveal it to the lowly shepherds, they can’t help but sing. And neither can we. Christmas is for singing the great song of salvation in Jesus, born for us.
Tonight we sing with Adam and Eve, that the long-expected Seed of the woman is born of the Virgin for you. A second Adam who is born to trample on the serpent and to rescue, redeem, and restore all creation.
Tonight we sing with Abraham and Sarah, that the Lord has provided the sacrifice for us in his only-begotten, eternal Son. A greater Isaac who is Abraham’s offspring, and his Savior and ours. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Tonight we sing with Isaiah and the prophets, that a Righteous Branch has sprouted from the stump of Jesse, the Root and Shoot of Jesse who is born to bear our pain, sorrow, suffering, agony, and sin on the tree of the cross.
Tonight we sing with Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, that the composer and conductor of life and salvation rests, cuddling in Mary’s arms and worshiped by humble shepherds in a feeding trough.
Tonight the angels song is our song. The song of heaven fills the earth, resounds in this place, and echoes in our hearts and voices. Our ears resound with the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing! The Archangels blend their voices in harmony! The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise! The Seraphim exalt His glory!
Tonight the angelic choir bursts into the night as God fills our ears, hearts, minds, and voices with a new song. Our Lord turns our songs of mourning into joy and gladness. We sing the praises of him who calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light that shines forth from the stable in Bethlehem.
Christmas is for singing this great song of salvation: Christ is born for you. So, let us join Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, angels, saints in heaven and on earth in singing the unending hymn, our song of hope and joy and salvation: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
A blessed Christmas to each of you…
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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