Luke 2:1-20; Titus 2:11-14; Isaiah 9:2-7
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the
Holy Spirit.
It is dark, and it is cold. There were many reasons
for you to stay at home and to not venture out tonight, many did. It’s been a
tough year. Aren’t they all? Some of you have lost loved ones, some of you have
health complications, many of you are living paycheck to paycheck. You are
anxious about having enough money. You are anxious about war and terror. You
are anxious about your health and the health of those you love. You are anxious
about your children. You are anxious about your marriage. It is dark, and it is
cold. It would be easy to stay at home and be warm and safe, many did. You have
a lot of expectations about this night – what you will hear, what you will see,
what you will feel, what you will sing, who you will see and who you won’t see.
Most of you will be disappointed. For He grew up
before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no
form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire
Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we
esteemed Him not.
It wasn’t all that different, the night that Jesus was
born. The earth turned round on its axis. The silent stars went by. People
watched their p’s and q’s around the Roman occupiers. They made their ways to
their ancestral hometowns to be registered in a census so they could pay their
taxes. Shepherds went about their shepherding, the hotels were full, and a
young woman, pregnant outside of wedlock, was about to give birth. How
silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.
But, it wasn’t Mary alone who was great with child.
All of humanity, all of human history, all of God’s creation had been waiting
for this moment, groaning in the pains of childbirth. For, creation and
all human history were not so unlike a virgin womb or virgin soil, lifeless,
with no ability to produce life on its own. When all was still, and it was
midnight, Your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne.
For, when the fullness of time had come, God sent
forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were
under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. What a marvelous image,
time being full. It gives us the impression that time had been filling,
well, for some time. Yes, that’s it precisely! Just as from the moment of
conception the child begins to grow and the mother begins to grow, so too, from
the moment of the conception of the universe, when God spoke His creative Word
into the virgin nothingness, His plan of salvation began to grow and time began
progressing towards ever greater fullness. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made
that was made.
He by whom all things were made was made one of all
things. The Son of God by the Father without a mother became the Son of man by a
mother without a father. The Word who is God before all time became flesh at
the appointed time. The maker of the sun was made to be under the sun. He who
fills the world lay in a manger, great in the form of God but tiny in the form
of a servant; this was in such a way that neither was His greatness diminished
by His tininess, nor was His tininess overcome by His greatness.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. In the hour of man’s deepest darkness, in the deadness
of human hope and possibility, once again, into virgin space, virgin womb, and
virgin heart, God’s Word is spoken, “Let there be light.” And there was
light. Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light radiant beams
from Thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
He was in the world, and the world was made through
Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did
not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He
gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of
the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son
from the Father, full of grace and truth. O God, You make this most holy night
to shine with the brightness of the True Light.
In Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb lie down together,
perfect God and perfect Man. And, this Lamb was slain from the foundation of
the world for you. Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising
of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, so that thoughts from many
hearts may be revealed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned,
every one of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of
us all. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for
you. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our
iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His
stripes we are healed.
It is dark, and it is cold. Today was difficult,
tomorrow is uncertain. Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a
great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Yes, He was born unto you, He
was born for you. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among
those with whom He is pleased! Yes, He is pleased with you. He assumed your
flesh. He took your sins upon Himself. He suffered your stripes. He died your
death. For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which
is united to His Godhead is also saved. Thus, there is joy in this world,
and there is peace on this earth. God and man are reconciled.
While the nations rage and people plot in vain, while
the kings of the earth set themselves and rulers take counsel together against
the Lord and against His anointed, He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord
holds them in derision saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy
hill.” When all was still, and it was midnight, Your almighty Word, O Lord,
descended from the royal throne.
Behold the Lord’s holy hill. Behold His Zion. Behold your King who is present
for you in flesh and blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins, for
life, and for eternal salvation. This is the Christ Mass. O come, let us
adore Him, Christ the Lord!
In the + Name
of Jesus. Amen.
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