December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
“An angel of the Lord stood before them.” The refers to the shepherds who were tending their flocks in the fields outside of Bethlehem. Luke writes, “they were terrified” (2:9). You would be too; so would I be trembling in awe if visited by a divine messenger. Whenever angels appear in the Bible, humans are overwhelmed. It is the reason the most common first word angels speak is “Fear not.” To Zechariah, the Father of John the Baptist, the angel had to tell him, “Don’t be afraid.” Similarly, to Mary, “fear not;” and the same to these shepherds.
Can we even hear the words of the message or are we simply too shaken from the encounter with something otherworldly? Hopefully, we can hear. “Angel” literally means messenger. When an angel comes, what he has to share comes straight from God. It’s a message we need.
That night in the fields near Bethlehem, the message was, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people; to you is born this night in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord (2:11). All people. The world is so big. Life along the North Carolina coast moves at a different pace than here in the triangle; and our daily experiences are not the same as our fellow North Carolinians west of here, in the mountains. And do some of our traditions differ from the folks in Cherokee, North Carolina? I think so. This vast diversity is just in our state. Think of the numerous cultural expressions in the the rest of the U.S., and the rest of the world! The angel speaking to those trembling shepherds promised good news for all people - including the millions we never meet.
In the mid ‘80’s our family had only lived in Virginia a few years. Every December we drove back to Detroit where we stayed at my Grandmother’s house. My’ mom’s mother lived alone on 7 mile road. On Christmas Eve, we would go out to the suburb of Clawson, where my Dad’s very large family lived. My mom’s mother would come with us. We stayed out late Christmas Eve every year, enjoying time with family.
One year, we returned to grandma’s Detroit home to discover there had been visitors: robbers. They opened all the presents and stole anything they thought was valuable. We felt pretty violated, but quickly we gained perspective. We weren’t hurt. The things they took were just that - things. We had each other. We had just enjoyed a night of great happiness with family. How broken were their lives that they thought the best way to spend Christmas Eve was to break into someone’s home and steal from them.
I am bringing you good news of great joy.
To you is born this day a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
It’s a message for all people because all people need a savior.
We’re here together enjoying familiar Christmas songs. Not 2-3 miles from here are families struggling so badly they have to decide whether to pay the heating bill or buy food. Forget presents and a Christmas tree and decorations. They just need to survive. But they can’t forget presents and trees and decorations. They live hand-to-mouth in this land of plenty; the wealth of others is in their faces as they struggle to make it through each day.
I am bringing you good news of great joy.
To you is born this day a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
It’s a message for all people because all people need a savior.
Maybe sadder than the desperately poor family is the wealthy one with $50,000 cars sitting in the driveway of their million-dollar home. Yet, love and laughter is absent from that home. This wealthy family has experienced divorce, suicide, addiction ...
I am bringing you good news of great joy.
To you is born this day a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
It’s a message for all people because all people need a savior.
Tonight, Christmas Eve, soldiers from our country and other countries are on duty. They carry rifles and look for enemies. They are far from home, far from the families they love. Why, why on this night is this the story? Because war doesn’t take a holiday. Nation against nation, man against man, we humans kill each other.
The angel promised this to all people, I am bringing you good news of great joy.
To you is born this day a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord, because all people need a savior.
Police are on duty tonight. Why? As my story from 30 years ago attests, crime doesn’t take Christmas Eve off. The world is broken and broken people either sit in their own hurt or do things to hurt others. We need that angel’s word.
I am bringing you good news of great joy.
To you is born this day a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
It’s a message for all people because all people need a savior.
We have had a lot of joy in and around our church throughout the holidays. There have been beautiful worship services, much laughter, meaningful moments, some surprises, and a full share of joy and good cheer. Our joy comes from the beauty and power of the story we tell - the story of Jesus’ birth. Right in the middle of this story, from the mouth of the angel, we are reminded that we need a savior and promised that he has come, for everyone. Even if you think you have it all together, you still have as much need for a savior as anyone else in the world.
This war-torn, crime-filled, drug-addicted, heartbroken, lonely world is the way it is because of sin. Sin cuts us off from God. Sin is the overall category for choices we make that hurt ourselves and others; and sin is the decisions we make in life that offend God and take us off God’s path. And every one of us sins every day. This is why Jesus had to come and be in the role he was in. To us is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.
This Christmas Eve, as I wish you happiness, I invite you to consider your own need for a Savior. As you ponder that, consider that the Gospel of Luke presents Jesus as the Savior you need.
Throughout his gospel, Luke repeatedly shows his sense of the salvation Jesus brings. Salvation is reversal of status. We were in tension with God, but with our faith in Jesus, we are in right relationship with God. We were enslaved by sin, unable to break free. Jesus breaks the chains. He is the truth and when we know Him, we are free. Right now we live in a world of war, crime, addiction, broken relationships, and death. He brings a new kingdom - the kingdom of God, a kingdom of justice and peace. When the Savior visits and we receive forgiveness, we then have new life. We become new creations and a part of a new community as we are adopted as sons and daughters of God.
When can we hope to begin to see this salvation? In Luke 4, Jesus, the baby grown up, says “today the scripture has been fulfilled.” It will be finalized at His Second Coming and we long for that day when pain and death are finally and completely overthrown. But even today as we live in the world with sin around us, upon giving our lives to Christ, we begin to lean into the eternal kingdom and live a kingdom ethic of love and grace right here, right now. Salvation begins the day we visit the manger, and recognize that the baby there is our Savior and thus we worship Him as our Lord.
Who is this salvation for? Trust God’s messenger, the angel. The promise made to the shepherds is good for each and every one of us. “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.”
Who is salvation for? For you. Only you know all the details of your story, but whatever the good and the bad, your story needs a Savior - the Savior. The same Jesus who will save the world from humanity’s attempts to destroy it loves you and wants to save you from the pain and heartache you have to carry. If you’d like to learn more about how this Savior, born Christmas night, can be your Savior who completely changes the direction of your life, I’d love to hear your story. Maybe together, we can talk and pray and ask the Lord to come into your life and change your life’s direction. Please see me after the service, or connect with me in the next couple of weeks.
I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We will close our service by singing together “Silent Night.”
AMEN
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