Christmas Eve, 2008

December 24, 2008
The Rev. Susan J. Latimer

Promise fills the sky with light,
Stars and angels dance in flight;
Joy of heaven shall now unbind
Chains of evil from mankind,
Love and joy their power shall break,
And for a new born prince’s sake;
Never since the world began
Such a light such dark did span.
-- (Ursula Vaughn Williams - from Fantasia on Christmas Carols – Vaughn Williams ).

Grace and peace to you, in the Name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid:
for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior….”

We are here on this most Holy Night, surrounded by beauty that engages our senses - the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmas Eve – yes, even incense!

On this Holy night, we, like the shepherds, come to kneel before the manger.

We come here tonight because we believe,
or we want to believe,
in the astounding promise of God.

Emmanuel. God-with-us.

God is with us. We need not fear.

On this Holy night we celebrate the goodness of Creation.
God created all things and called them Good.

Then, as if we doubted the goodness of Creation,
God gave us the Incarnation, so there would be no doubt.
God became part of our world, flesh and blood, as an infant born this night.
He was born into a poor family, in a place reserved for animals, a stable or cave that looked and smelled very different from this place!

The miracle of the Incarnation – God enfleshed
-gives us a message of hope.
We are holy.
Life is holy
God created everything to be holy
And then risked everything by taking on human form.

Emmanuel. God-with-us.

In the ordinary things of life, God walked among us.

In the ordinary things of life, God is still with us.

And so in these days, when the economic realities of our world threaten to overwhelm us, we can say No to Fear.

God is with us. We need not fear.

And so in these days, when things we cannot control – war, poverty, terrorism, illness, when these things threaten to overwhelm us, we can say No to Fear.

God is with us. We need not fear.

And so throughout all difficult times, God calls forth the best from us, and we can say No to Fear.

Emmanuel. God-with-us.

As Julian of Norwich wrote:
“Betwixt God and ourselves there is no between”

As our family celebrates its first Christmas in West Virginia,
I am reminded of that Christmas 7 years ago when we were newly in Maine. Our youngest son Hugh had just turned four years old, and he had a favorite night-time ritual. After we tucked him into bed, almost every evening, he would creep down the stairs and say:

“Mommy, I had a dream”.

Most of the time, that meant that he was a little scared and wanted us to tuck him in again. And so usually his dad or I would scare away his bad dreams and send him off to bed again.

One evening near Christmas that year, when I heard those feet on the stairs, I was so tired that I suggested that we both try to go to sleep right then.

“Have good dreams”, I said.

“I will”, he said – “because you’re here and we can hold hands and you will know my dreams, and I’ll know yours.” And he held onto my hands, and fell fast asleep.

On this night, long ago, God came to be with us.
Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
God is close enough to hold our hands and know our dreams
the bad, and the good.
God reaches out to hold our hands.
God knows our longings and desires.

And we, in turn, can reach out to others, so that all people can know the joy and fullness of life that God intends for us.

God is with us. We need never give in to fear.

A blessed Merry Christmas to you.
Amen.