We are so glad you have joined us here at St Jude this evening to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are glad to have our parishioners, their family and friends, and any visitors who are with us this evening. We offer you a warm St Jude welcome and we are so glad you are here with us this evening. This evening, we hear the traditional Gospel story of Jesus’ birth in a humble manger in the town of Bethlehem because there was no room for them in the inn, of the shepherds honoring the newborn Christ child, of the heavenly host singing of the glory of his birth. However, we might notice that so few other people of the day took notice of his birth that first Christmas night. We might wonder why, at the very moment of salvation and hope, which had been so long expected and hoped for, when it finally arrived, it passed the attention of so many people.
I think it passed their attention because everything still looked the same to them. On the surface, everything appeared as it had been before: the occupying Roman government was still in power; there was no prosperity and harmony for God’s people; and there was no peace yet on earth. God’s people were waiting for a dramatic and life changing intervention from God in the coming of the Messiah. Although few agreed on exactly what the Messiah would be like, they agreed that when the Messiah came everyone would know. The moment would be not be missed.
When little baby Jesus came in that humble manger, it was not the spectacular event they had expected. Yes, there was an angel who appeared to the shepherds watching their flock and a multitude of the heavenly host singing their hearts out; that would have been quite an extravaganza. But, only the humble shepherds and the holy family saw those things. And it all took place in a small, insignificant village in the far off place in Israel in the Roman Empire.
Yet, this was indeed the moment for which God’s people had waited. The prophet Isaiah made clear that when the moment arrived in which God intervened in the world, it would be recognized because of two things: God’s glory would be seen and there would be peace on earth. This is what the angels proclaimed when they sang at Jesus’ birth: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the long awaited moment had come in the birth of our savior, the world had indeed changed forever, even if it didn’t feel any different than before. We need to remember this truth of the birth of the savior in the midst of all we have endured these past two years in the pandemic. Many people have gone through a lot of darkness and challenges in their lives. Many have found it very challenging to practice their faith. For many, the world and their faith do not seem the same as before. In happier, less stressful times, it is easy to imagine that we know that the world changed for the better with Jesus’ birth because of the joy we feel in our hearts or the justice we see around us. At happier times, we can might feel the joy of Christmas all around us.
When I was a missionary living in Winnipeg, back in 1992, I remember Christmas Eve being bitterly cold, somewhere around 30 below zero, colder than everything I had every experienced. I rode a mountain bike to church that night through the snow covered roads. As missionaries living in the inner city, we did not own a car, and we traveled everywhere by bicycle, even during the cold winter days. At the Christmas Eve church service at the church that sponsored our missionary work, I was asked to give a testimony of how I experienced Christ the light in my life as a missionary. That was not easy to explain, since I worked with the street people, drug addicts, and prostitutes who came to our inner city soup kitchen and and since I worked at an inner city food bank that helped the poor receive food assistance. However, I remember how I experienced the light of Christ in a very real way with my work and friendship with the poor and the street people in that ministry. Sometimes the gritty problems we faced overshadowed everything else, but the light of Christ was always there.
The world may seem dark and hopeless at times. Our lives may be very challenging at times. We may be very tired of dealing with the reality of the pandemic, wanting things to get back to normal, whatever normal is anymore. But just as baby Jesus’ birth entered the reality of Ancient Israel, the news of his birth enters our lives this evening as well. May our voices rise with voices of the heavenly host, proclaiming joy at the birth of our savior and glory to God in the highest.
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