December 24 – Luke

LUKE 2:1-14

I think you will agree with me that there’s just something about Christmas that is uplifting.  Despite the fact that we have spent the last several weeks getting ready, decorating, shopping, wrapping gifts, and perhaps even attending holiday parties, and despite being somewhat frazzled, there is an element of joy in our hearts as we approach the big day.   There is a sense of wonder as we come out at night on Christmas Eve; a wonder of listening to the Word of ages past and finding comfort in the familiar story of the birth of the Christ Child.

The greatest announcement ever made in the history of the world is, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”  One wonders if even Mary and Joseph realized the full significance of Jesus birth that night in the stable.  Perhaps the bigger question is whether we today realize the full significance of the Christ Child’s birth.

Tonight we celebrate not only the birth of merely a wise man, not only a great teacher, and certainly not simply a prophet of God; we celebrate God in the flesh, the promised Messiah; the Christ Child who came into the world to save the world.  A child being born in accordance with God’s promise from the beginning.

In today’s society Jesus would most likely be voted as one of the most unlikely to achieve much of anything.  After all Mary was a teenage mother, and Joseph only a lowly carpenter.  Jesus was born into poverty, lying in straw in the feed dish for the animals.  Yet, it is the birth of Christ Child that brought hope to a world that was hurting then and is still hurting today.  Without the birth of Jesus, His death and resurrection, there would be no hope for eternal life or for peace in our hearts.

Peace is not just the absence of conflict but the presence of something very special: justice, beauty, goodness, wholeness, and God’s very spirit.  The question I ask you this evening is, “Do you truly have peace with God?”  Are you secure in your daily walk and relationship with the Lord?  If your faith is in Christ, then Jesus has not abandoned you but has come to live in you by his Holy Spirit. And he offers you his peace. As John 14: 27 tells us, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Tomorrow many of us will gather around the table with family and friends.  Ten to one, some of us will have a family members at that table who are opinionated or argumentative.  So, my second question is, “Do you have peace with others?”  Can you let the peace that only God gives, keep you calm and positive no matter what happens in any situation. Let me assure you that if your faith is in Christ, then he has given you all the resources you need to do your part in living in peaceful relationships with those around you. And after you have done your part, you may ask Jesus in prayer to work in the other person’s heart that you may live in peace.

Tonight, in this beautiful sanctuary, together with family, friends, and neighbors, we sing the familiar carols, and thank God for the most precious gift we can ever receive, the Christ Child.  As we light and hold our candles tonight, let us never forget that Jesus is the light of the world.   Without Him, there could be no peace or hope in our hearts. Let us never forget that no matter what happens around us in the world, the Christ Child born so long ago still remains with us and will forever more.  God’s blessings to each of you on this most holy of night, and “peace on earth and good will to all men.”                                            Amen