| The Rev. Catharine W. Montgomery | Christmas Eve |
| Grace Memorial Episcopal Church | Year A |
| December 24, 2007 | RCL |
Welcome home to Grace Memorial. Did you feel a rush of memories as you walked in the door? Welcome to the house of the Lord all of you who have come to be with us tonight because church is where you want to be on Christmas Eve. Are you ready for Christmas? If you think I mean shopping and wrapping decorating and baking and all that - thank goodness we are all as ready as we are going to be.
The truth is…. I am never ready – never prepared for what I find on this night. Tonight we are all invited to lay aside the cares and busyness of our lives – to come in out of the darkness and surround ourselves with the light and beauty of this church. We are invited to pray for our needs and the needs of the world. We are invited to sing the hymns and carols and hear once again the story of the birth of Jesus. We are invited to open our hearts to the rush of Christmas joy and be astonished at the gift of God’s grace given to us in a newborn child.
Christians look back to the words of the prophet Isaiah and find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah said, “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.” Isaiah’s words were spoken to an oppressed people whose land had been devastated by conquering kings and military leaders. But Isaiah’s words leap across the centuries to speak a word of hope to us who walk in our own darkness. Darkness? You might not agree - We are Americans – we are free and prosperous and powerful and yet deep inside, we know about darkness and I think that is one reason we come tonight to hear what is our hope.
For all of us, Christmas is a season of contrasts between light and darkness. After all we cannot see the light until we know we are in the dark. At Christmas we try to create a time for light and joy while the darkness of violence is reported in streets and homes. Prisons are full and bread lines are long. Like the people of Isaiah’s time we live under the dark cloud and gloom of war. Ironically we are still at war in the very land in which Isaiah prophesied. His message of hope for the ancient people of the holy land is a prophecy for our time.
The prophet says the Lord is going to bring a time of justice and peace. In these last few weeks Isaiah has given us powerful visual images of what that will look like. Weapons will be turned into farming tools. Lions will lie down peaceably with lambs. In verse four and five tonight Isaiah has a vision for a future time when there will be no more war – there will be no more instruments and agents of destruction. For unto us a child is born, a son is given. What a contrast!
In his time Isaiah was speaking about a king from the line of David who would bring peace. The Lord of hosts – God Almighty will make it happen because justice and peace is his goal for us. A child will be born. It is on his shoulders, not kings and war lords, that ultimate authority rests. There is no country – not even America – there is no power or person who can claim to provide the whole truth and light of salvation for the rest of the world. The authority of the Prince of Peace will grow continually and someday there shall be endless peace. The Lord of hosts will see to it, says the prophet. The birth of a baby is a sign. A baby is God’s way of saving the world. And that is why we are here tonight.
So God comes to us as a tiny helpless child knowing that a child is the surest way to reach our hearts. The taking on of human flesh by God is the holiest of mysteries, and each year I am surprised yet again by new ways to understand God’s purposes by adopting us by - taking on our humanity – our skin.
A colleague of mine told a story about resourceful sheep farmers in his family. He said a female sheep who had a stillborn lamb could be persuaded to adopt an orphaned lamb whose mother had died in childbirth. An orphan lamb in the pasture would have no chance of survival without a surrogate mother. The farmers took the skin of the of the one that had died and tied it onto the newborn orphan and the ewe would recognize the lamb by its smell and she would quickly adopt it as her very own. A ready supply of mother’s milk found a hungry lamb that needed it.
Then there is a stunning reversal of the image, “God took on skin for us, not so that we would adopt him, but in order that we might be adopted and saved from certain death. God put on skin and came to find us as we were wandering aimlessly about, lost bewildered and hungry.” And I would add…in the dark.
On this holiest of nights, we have been given prophecies and visions of a time of peace and joy. And you might ask, ‘Will these images have any power after tonight?’ We know that good visual images can change moods and feelings. But images alone cannot change the world, lead to peace instead of war, justice instead of oppression or bring peace to our troubled lives. We know that sound planning and careful consideration and hard work are required to make good things happen. But first you have to have a vision of hope. The vision sparks the imagination and stirs the heart and leads to action. The vision we hold in our heart help to shape our reality.
May all that you see and hear and taste in this holy place tonight stay close in your heart all year. May a vision of peace inspire you to make peace anywhere and everywhere you can. Tonight accept the Lord’s invitation to change your life. Let him shape your future. Let the great shepherd of the sheep invite you to come to his table to be fed and strengthened. The one who invites you is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince who will bring endless peace. Isaiah foretold it long ago, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. (40:5) Amen