Christmas Day:
December 25, 2024
Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 96; Timothy 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
Merry Christmas. This is a night of wonder, a time of great mystery. We hear about Joseph and his pregnant wife journeying to Bethlehem to comply with the Roman census. Jesus is born on a starry night that led shepherds from the surrounding hills to acknowledge the child who is believed to be God. Wise men from the East see the star and are guided to the stable. The universe is aligned to receive this child, born in obscurity, in shabby conditions, when the immensity of God enters human time, when the God of the cosmos is revealed for all peoples. God has become flesh for all creation, and we still live in creation’s dawn when the morning stars will sing together, and our earth, while still being made, becomes more beautiful each day.
We Christians celebrate the Nativity, also called the Incarnation, because God, through Jesus, takes on human flesh, and because of that, all humanity is raised to a new dignity. Jesus taught his followers about the One he called Father, Abba, and he lets them know that his Father can now be regarded as our Father, Parent, as well. We have found favor with God. We experience a union with God, where our lives are mingled with that of Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ living within us. This is the reason we sing songs like Silent Night, Joy to the World, and songs of Comfort and Joy. All creation has been brought into reconciled union, which gives us pause, which slows us down, where we can take a moment in stillness within the quiet.
We are raised to a new dignity of being. We are luminous beings, made of both spirit and starlight, bearers of the light of love, who has entered the world. Through our love, darkness is driven away. Through our courage to ask for forgiveness and to engage in reconciling work, we participate in God’s project of union and communion. We are different today than we were yesterday, and we choose love, hope, and goodwill as our way of life.
We visit family and loved ones and we raise them up in dignity. We hold them in higher esteem because of this day, and we leave behind our judgments and experiences, as we grasp onto hope and the promise of new beginnings. Each day is an encounter of the God who was born to us, the love that is freely given. Our hearts are lighter because God has healed them, and helped them to open more widely, and we sincerely seek communion with others. We even spend time in nature because we sense the harmony God desires for us.
So, when we go to our gatherings or make our visits and we greet each person, let’s take some time, pause, look them squarely in the eyes, and as you do so, wish them the peace, comfort, and joy of this day. Let them know that you care for them and appreciate them, especially when the spark of life has been dimmed a little. Let God revive the love that once was there. We have been raised, we are luminous beings, and the God of love has been born into our hearts. We stand at the dawn of a new day, a new creation, and our voices are filled with the song of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to people of goodwill.”
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