December 24, 2008 Sermon
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Christmas Eve - 2008
December 24, 2008
Allan Conkling Emmanuel, San Angelo
Year after year, no different are we than the animals of the forests or birds of the air: Something within us innately draws us back to our center, our home. Something primal, almost migratory urges us in certain seasons to reconnect with our roots, to revisit paths we have trodden before, some not walked on for years. William Blake speaks to us of this mystery :
"I give to you the end of a golden string;
only wind it to a ball.
It will lead you in at Heaven’s gate,
Built in Jerusalem’s wall."
If you have felt yourself particularly drawn to this night or feel as though you have been bidden to take up the golden string of life...then welcome. God has been waiting for you.
From the beginning Christians have affirmed that there is a goal in life. We believe that everything has its final and ultimate meaning in God, who is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ. This night brings us as it always does to an intersection of God's time and our time.
It is no accident that the church celebrates the birth of the Christ Child just a few days after the winter solstice. We are as far away as we can get from the sun. And there for a moment the world holds its breath.
In the popular Narnia Series, by C.S. Lewis, the White Witch cast her spell over the land, decreeing that it must always be winter. When the children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first arrive in this amazing place, the fields are covered with snow. But Aslan, the true king, the royal lion, returns to save the Narnia and free the kingdom from eternal winter. When the spell of the White Witch was broken the melting began. Then Father Christmas arrives:
"I’ve come at last," said he. "She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move."
Images of snow melting, of lengthening day is how Lewis described his own experience of faith. Many can relate.
In the months since last Christmas each of us have had our share of good times and successes, but also rough spots, trials, and disappointments. You have led a charmed life if you were spared from sickness, sadness or tragedy over the past year. Personal difficulties have a way of wearing us down, hardening us, freezing our heart. We become weary, even defeated, in need of hope.
It was in to a moment not unlike our own at a time when the world seemed at its darkest that God entered into our history. Author Mary Earle writes:
The wonder of the Incarnation is that in Jesus we are told that God and humanity are meant for each other.
Out of the stable comes a cry: It is the cry of a baby. The cry of God. It is the cry of God who says, Enough. Enough of hurt, Enough of suffering. The dawn is coming!
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined."
Light does shine in the smile and touch of a loved one. It shines as we kneel in prayer in this holy place. It shines when you extend your hands for bread and wine. It shines when you extend your hand to help another. Year after year, no matter what our age or stage in life we find ourselves drawn back to this place, and to these stories we hold so dear. It can be life changing. It calms our fears and fills our hearts with hope. This is a story for everyone. It matters not who you are or where you are from; whether you are rich or poor, sad or happy weak or strong. There are no strangers on Christmas Eve. In the words of Rudyard Kipling:
"Call a truce, then, to our labours--let us feast with friends and neighbours."
Thank you for being here tonight. May God bless you and your loved ones and may you have a most joyous Christmas season.
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Revised: 01/04/09