Christmas Eve (B) 2011

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 2:15
Theme: The Son is Made Known

Dear worshippers of the Infant King,

Jesus Christ was born into the context of struggle. We’re not thinking here of the fact “there was no room for them in the inn.”1 Though undoubtedly this was symbolic of the much greater picture. John tells us He came to His own but His own did not receive Him.2 There really was no room for this Christ in the world- at least not when people started to understand who He was. The long-established “powers that be” were not willing to give way. A child seems innocent enough. Even some secular-minded people may find nativity scenes to be harmless but Herod did not share that sentiment. The greater struggle continues.

The finite always tries to subdue the infinite. Temporary pleasures always seek to supersede promises that have timeless significance. The indulgence of our senses-what we can see, touch, feel, taste, experience (the things that tend to saturate modern holiday celebrations)- these always threaten to blind us to greater, more spiritual truths. Why do we exist? What lies beyond? How will these things come to pass? If we openly or ignorantly claim to be or act as if we are material beings only, then we deny the reality of the soul and we deny the Creator. This is a perennial temptation of sinners.

What really happened on that first Christmas? Are our efforts to embrace it too hollow? When customs become more important than the meaning they are meant to convey they become dangerous. What are our Christmas customs? God would have us to take the narrative of the gospel at face value without making it trivial. Few people would be so bold as to suggest the mind of God can be understood. Is the combined intellect and accumulated wisdom of humanity any more than rudimentary knowledge in God’s sight? Is our understanding of reality not just the tip of the iceberg? Do we not believe there are both wonders and dangers far beyond our ability to fathom or cope with?

In the event of the incarnation God comes to meet humanity at our level. Jesus comes in humility. He comes to meet head on those issues that are beyond our ability to resolve. If we’re not talking about God in human flesh, then we’re not talking about Christmas and we’re not talking about a Saviour. The Babe of Bethlehem was the Sacrifice of Calvary. Was that what we had in mind? A death and resurrection: The true gift of God’s presence among us? A baptismal inheritance?

Life knocks us around. Yet sometimes we think we can manage in the end. We might even think we are in control. We might wish He came to give a stamp of approval to all our pursuits, to validate our desires and to ease our consciences with a message of tolerance- and some make the celebration of His birth into this- but this is to celebrate a humanistic Christmas where Satan leads the Christ Child story captive for His own purposes. The devil too knows how to spread joy and merriment. He knows how to lure the heart. He knows people are always tempted to live for the moment. Christ comes to tackle the big problems for you- guilt for sin, Satan, death- so that our “little problems” of life can be borne with purpose and hope.

We have constructed in our memories an iconic scene of that first Bethlehem Christmas. We’d like the story to be packaged up with a neat, happy ending. Some hardship, but angels, shepherds- and parents and newborn live happily ever after. The Child of humble means becomes a great King. But behind the manger looms the shadow of the cross. The Christ must be sacrificed. He must die. That we can’t even pretend to understand. We can’t solve that riddle. We can’t consign it to fate or circumstance. We can only receive it on faith, believing something profound happens there and ultimate things are at stake. His death addresses the deepest crisis of reality- the crisis of separation from God for eternity- and this is far beyond our knowing. But it is not beyond our worship. It is not beyond our daily activity.

Your life- as one who bears the name of Christ- is a reflection of the incarnation. That is, it reflects the presence of sacrifice, truth , order, forgiveness, and love in world of selfish relationships, hard-heartedness and a climate of captivating falsehoods. It reflects the presence of the One who is the Prince of Peace. The greater struggle continues. But for those who find refuge with the ChristChild the outcome is not in doubt. Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”3

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”4
Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Eve
24December 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luke 2:8
2 See John 1:11
3 John 17:33
4 Luke 2:14