Eternal God, in the stillness of this
night you sent your almighty Word to pierce the world’s darkness with the light
of salvation: give to the earth the peace that we long for and fill our hearts
with the joy of heaven through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We
are Christmas people. Yes, I realize that all Christians celebrate Christmas,
but it’s been said that Episcopalians are Christmas people. Through the season
of Advent, I preached about the importance of the Incarnation in our Anglican
tradition and tonight, the Feast of the Incarnation, is where we celebrate and
glory in that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The
reason why we know that we are Christmas people is evidenced by the way we mark
the season. The great Lessons & Carols service is a thoroughly Anglican
tradition. Midnight Mass is a hallmark of the liturgical year in most Episcopal
congregations. And your very presence here tonight is a testament to this
Incarnational priority in our tradition. Even if you didn’t come here tonight thinking,
“We need to mark the Incarnation by going to church,” something in your soul
knows the importance of Christmas. Why else would you be out so late to sing
songs with people you may not know, listen to readings that are, in the case of
Isaiah, 2,500 years old, and partake of a meal in which we say that we are
receiving the Body and Blood of an executed man?
There
is something uniquely holy about Christmas – as it is at the very foundation of
our Christian faith. It is the radical claim that the God who created all that
is, the God who called Abraham to leave his home, the God who brought the
people through the Red Sea, the God who gave the Law to Moses, the God who is
being itself became human and was born of a lowly mother and laid in a manger
in Bethlehem. And once God dwells with us in the flesh, the rest of the New
Testament unfolds from there. God in the flesh teaches us and shows us the way of
love. But that message is a threat to those in power, which leads to the Cross.
But love cannot be defeated, and so on the third day, Jesus is Resurrected and
then gifts us with the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The fulcrum for the
entire story of salvation is the Incarnation, when God became flesh and dwelt
among us.
And
it’s not merely that God visited us in Incarnation, but something happened in
the Incarnation. As we know from John’s depiction of the nativity: “The Word
became flesh.” God did not issue a treatise, God did not make an announcement.
Christmas is not an idea nor a philosophy; Christmas is an event. What the
Incarnation of God in the flesh of Jesus did is to inaugurate a Kingdom.
In
the reading from Isaiah that we all know so well thanks to Handel’s Messiah, we heard that the people were
walking in darkness. Israel was being threatened by invading armies – it was a
time of fear and uncertainty when Isaiah prophesied this message of hope. When
Jesus was born it was also a dark time. Luke wants to make sure we know that –
and so he begins by reminding us that Jesus came during the days when Emperor
Augustus was making decrees and when Quirinius was governing. The land promised
to people of Israel was being ruled by foreigners who did not follow the Lord. The darkness of oppression and
injustice surrounded the people. We heard that a census was ordered. We’re getting
ready for the 2020 census, which gives us the data to help us allocate
resources and representation. But that’s not how a census functioned in those
days. A census was like taking inventory – it was a reminder that you were
property to be taxed, conscripted into military service, or put down in the event
of a rebellion. A census was a reminder that you were ruled over.
But
the people had hope. They remembered how Gideon had led them to victory of the
Midianites. They remembered the Exodus. Though Babylon would conquer Israel,
there was still hope that God would remember and save his people. And God did.
Throughout history, the people learned that God saves. That was the hope that
people held in their hearts as Caesar and Quirinius were taking stock of them.
One
evening, while some shepherds were watching over their flock, a band of angels
came and announced a message of Good News to them – that a Savior, the Messiah,
had been born. This Savior’s name is Jesus, which, in Hebrew, means “God saves.”
From their Scriptures, they knew that God saves and now a child has come
bearing that very name – God saves. The hopes and fears of all the years are met
in him – that he might be this Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, and Prince of Peace. And indeed, this child, as God Incarnate, is all
of those things. But Isaiah also said that “his authority shall grow
continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his
kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.”
On
Christmas, something happened. A Kingdom was inaugurated. The coronation ceremony
will not come until Good Friday, but on Christmas the rightful King has come.
Christmas is a deeply political event, not in the sense that it’s about bickering,
but it is about our citizenship and allegiance. Luke makes no mistake about
this. The angels tell the shepherds “I am bringing you good news.” That word, “good
news,” is exactly the same word that Caesar used to make royal decrees and when
that word is translated into English it is “Gospel.”
And
Gospel is such a wonderful word to announce the Incarnation because it is news.
Christmas is an event and so it is announced not as an argument or a theory,
but as news. Christmas means that our King has come and that we live under the
rule of his grace and love instead of the darkness of the world. Christmas
means that there is an alternative to all of the stories that we try to live
our lives by. We do not have to measure our worth by how well our kids are
doing, or how many degrees we have, or how large our bank account is, or how
well respected we are, or how many people like us. There is another way, and
that is the way of God’s gracious love.
Last
week, as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was on the radio, our 7-year-old daughter
asked “Am I naughty or nice list? I think I’m a little of both?” Unbeknownst to
her, that’s actually quite solid theology. But I told her that it didn’t matter
if she was naughty or nice because the most important thing is that she is loved.
Christmas is the announcement that a different sort of Kingdom has arrived – it
is a Kingdom where your sins have been forgiven, so categories like “naughty”
and “nice” don’t mean a thing; it is a Kingdom where humility is a sign of strength;
where love makes all things well; where generosity is more natural than greed; where
death is defeated.
The
Kingdom that is announced in the Incarnation changes everything because if God
has come in the flesh, then anything is possible. The poet Malcolm Guite has a
wonderful Christmas poem that says, “Christmas sets the centre on the edge; the
edge of the town, the outhouse of the inn, the fringe of the empire, far from
privilege and power… Christmas sets the centre at the edge. And from this day
our world is re-aligned… We are healed, the end begins, the tomb becomes a
womb, for now in him all things are re-aligned.”
Christmas is an event, it is the
realigning of all that has gone astray. Sometimes though it’s hard to recognize
this Kingdom because the center has been moved, priorities have been shifted,
up has become down, and down has become up. We see this in the fact that the
Messiah is born in a cattle stall. But that’s the Good News, that God is
transforming the world through Jesus. And this is the Gospel – that God has
come to us to establish his rule of love, peace, and mercy.
But
notice that I’ve been saying that Christmas is an event, not “was” an event. In both the readings from Isaiah and Luke, there is a refrain that I
want you to take with you this night and it is that Christmas is “for you.”
Isaiah makes it clear that “a child has been born for us” and that “a son is given to us.” And the angels in Luke announce, “I am bringing you good news for all the people: to you
is born a Savior.” Christmas was not an event, it is an on-going event because
of the “for you-ness” of Christmas. Jesus was born for us all, but, specifically,
Jesus was born for you. This is the message of God’s grace – that long before
you could have ever prayed for God’s salvation, before you did anything to
deserve love, despite any mistakes that you’ve made, God came for you.
And
this happens because of what Isaiah calls “the zeal of the Lord of hosts.” “Zeal” is an interesting
word – it comes from a word that means “deep red.” It is a word of passion, as
if God’s face were burning red with desire and even a sense of jealousy. God
wants you to encounter the abundant life intended for you in Jesus. God has
come to establish a Kingdom and is zealous about you flourishing in the love
and peace of that Kingdom.
Christmas
is happening in your life because Christmas is the light of God coming into the
darkness of our lives and our world. At St. Luke’s, at the beginning of our
identity as a parish is the phrase “come and see.” This is also the message of
Christmas – the shepherds say “Let us go now and see this thing that has taken
place.” Whether you are a regular member of St. Luke’s, or have come out
tonight because of tradition, or nostalgia, or at the invitation of a friend,
or if you are visiting from out of town, whoever you are – I urge you to come and see more.
Christmas is for you and it is a gift to continue to open and enter into
throughout your life. Whatever joy or peace you get from this night, even if it’s
just one note of a hymn, know that there is a limitless love for you to come
and see.
The
Incarnation is at the core of who we are as Christians in the Anglican
tradition and the Incarnation is the ever-unfolding Good News of God’s love in
our world and our lives. A Kingdom has been established to lead you into the
fullness of life that the God of love intends and desires for you. May God
bless you this Christmas that you might spend your lives in the grace and favor
of Jesus Christ. “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.” Thanks
be to God.
