+ The
Nativity of Our Lord – December 24th, 2019 +
Christmas Midnight
Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus
2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20
In the Name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
people who walked in darkness…
Although Isaiah delivered
these words in the 700s BC, they remain a fitting description of life in this
world.
The darkness of winter is
upon us. We just passed shortest day of the year on Saturday and the darkest
day in 20 years.
And yet, we know that Isaiah
says isn’t simply giving us the time of day. Darkness in Scripture is always
more than the physical absence of light. It is a spiritual darkness too. The
presence of disorder, chaos, and wanton evil. The darkness of sin. The shadow
of death. The tenebrous shroud that overshadows God’s creation once proclaimed,
“very good”.
Isaiah is right. We live in
darkness. A fallen world full of fallen men, who, Jesus declares, “love the
darkness rather than the Light.” Humanity follows the broken compass of our
fallen flesh, a needle constantly pointed inward by the gravity of our sinful,
selfish desires. Such is the darkness of fallen mankind, a mind, will, and
heart of darkness whose thoughts are continually evil. No wonder, when C.S.
Lewis wrote his science-fiction space trilogy, earth was known as the silent
planet. Silent and dark.
We live in darkness. Where
everything and everyone, including our every thought word and deed dwells in
darkness and the shadow of death. Spiritual darkness of despair and doubt. The
black night of mental and physical illness. The gloom of guilt and shame and
regret. The dark scarring of old wounds and hurts.
And yet, for all of our
sinfulness of thought, word, and deed; for all of humanity’s fallen, benighted
ways; for a world perpetually dimmed by the curse of Adam, our Lord begins, and
accomplishes some of his most glorious, saving, and gracious work in the dark. When
all was still, and it was midnight, your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from
the royal throne.
O
Dayspring, Splendor of the Eternal Light, and Sun of Justice. Come and
enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. those who dwelt in a
land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
In the nothingness and void
of creation, God spoke his creative, powerful, living and active Word. A Light
in the darkness that spoke light into being. “Let there be light, and it was
so.”
In the night skies above
Abraham’s head, the Lord spoke and the light of his promise shimmered in
myriads and myriads of stars. Look now toward heaven, and number the stars if
you are able to.” And the Lord said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
In the burning bush that
was aflame, yet unconsumed, the Light of Christ appeared to Moses promising to
lead them out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. In the wilderness, the glory of
the Lord appeared again in smoke and fiery light, leading Israel on a great exodus
from slavery to freedom, from death, through the sea, through the wilderness,
to the promised land. A land where the glory of the Lord, the pillar of fire
and smoke, would assume our human nature and tabernacle among us.
In Isaiah and the prophets,
down through the years, the Light of Christ grew brighter and brighter,
undimmed by sin and rebellion and rejection. The people who walked in
darkness have seen a great light. those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined. Arise, shine. For your light has come. And the
glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
In the darkness of
Bethlehem of Judea, a stable becomes the greatest lighthouse the world has ever
seen. From the manger newborn light, shines in glory through the night. Radiant
beams from Thy holy face. God’s redeeming grace has dawned at last. The Light
has come. Jesus who is God of God is born of Mary for you. Jesus who is Light
of Light is born in the darkness for you, to bear the darkness for you. “The
sun’s light was made by this Light. And the Light who made the sun, under which
he also made us, was himself made under the sun for our sake. He hid himself
under the cloud of the flesh, not to obscure but to temper his light.”
(Augustine)
And in that same country,
there were certain shepherds, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they
were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this
shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger.
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, good will toward men.
God’s brilliant love for us
in Christ does not flicker or fade. God’s radiant redemption cannot be overshadowed.
Christ’s peace and mercy is no rolling blackout whose light comes and goes. No.
Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. In
his birth for us, his life for us, his death and resurrection for us, we have
received God’s true, enduring, endless, and eternal Light.
The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. those who dwelt in a
land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
For the light of Jesus’ birth reaches all the way from Bethlehem to the cross where Jesus the Light of the world will hang in darkness, to be swallowed up by death. He is born to let the shadow of death overwhelm him and to fill you with his life and light. And his love shines forth all the way from the cross to you. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Till he comes again. Jesus’ Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, the true Light that leads us in this darkened world to his table and his supper.
Christ is born and the True
Light of the World has dawned. Christ is born and we are rescued from the night
of sin. Christ is born and the ancient darkness is forever banished. Christ is
born and the shadow of death is overwhelmed by redeeming Light. Christ is born
and Jesus’ manger and cross are the great lampstand where he shines his light
and life for you. Christ is born and his light and life are yours.
O God, you make this most
holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that as we
have known the mysteries of that Light on earth we may also come to the
fullness of his joys in heaven.
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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