Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
11:00 p.m.
Isaiah 9:2-7
Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have you ever been afraid of a certain room…or of the dark? I remember when I was younger how I detested the basement of our house. I was just scared of going down into the basement…especially by myself in the dark. The basement….it was just so dark, and had that basement smell and had these strange noises that came out of nowhere…or so I thought. But, the interesting thing was…I had no fear of going down there if the lights were on and my mom was with me or already down there. I guess there are a lot of things that are scary when its dark and your alone.
Yet this is often what our world and our lives are…dark, lonely, and scary. We are quite simply in the dark. Our condition is far more critical than being without physical light. It cannot be penetrated by spotlights or laser beams. It is the darkness that Jesus describes when He says, “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
The only fitting comparison to our condition is what astronomers have termed a “black hole.” Their theory suggests that deep in space there are collapsed stars so dense and with such strong gravitational pull that they literally swallow up everything—planets, moons, and stars. They all disappear into this dark abyss, and not even light can escape.
Such a black hole is right here, as the Lord says, within us. It’s the black hole of our sin. It’s the darkness of death itself. Pointing to the heart of our problem, the psalmist cries: “Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.”
This is our desperate state of life. We have rebelled against our God by sinning… we have forgotten the poor and the destitute, we have ignored the hungry. We despise life…and live for ourselves. We are a selfish lot that are in deepest gloom and prisoners to our own mistakes…our own desires. We have turned our backs on God and all those around us.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Yes, this evening we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ as a baby. This baby, born of the virgin Mary…came to live a life of suffering and death on a cross. This baby came knowing what his life would be like. Jesus came…not crying…not despising his life… but living a life happily…looking forward to freeing his people. Jesus was born…in order to die for our sins…the sins of the world. Yes, Jesus came as the light into this dark and dingy world of ours so that we would be welcomed into the light of heaven.
It is unfortunate how quickly Christmas comes and goes. Yet we live in a world that is afraid to celebrate Christmas…and is afraid to say “Merry Christmas.” The focus changes to gifts, and Santa, and being politically correct…. “Happy Holidays.” Yet this loses the true meaning for the season…this loses the true meaning of Christmas. We know that Christmas is about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We know that Christmas is about a baby…that would die on the cross and rise on Easter Sunday. We know that the focus of Christmas….the greatest present of all time… is Jesus.
As you leave this place and go back out into the dark world…remember to “Let your light shine before men” and share the joy of our Savior’s birth to all those around you. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Comments