“Christmas Eve Meditation”                2010 7pm

Luke 2:1-20

 

Christmas ---  Christmas Eve ---

            you know there is something special,

                        something mysteriously wonderful about this night.

 

Tomorrow the newspapers  will print heart-warming stories,

    about how kind and generous things that have been done:

              *        Christmas carolers visiting hospitals and nursing homes

                        *          Christmas presents for children of needy families

                                    *          Christmas dinners served to the homeless

                                                *          Hospitality toward strangers in need.

 

Whatever your opinion concerning religion, God and Church,

            there is no denying

                        that something is different at Christmas time,

                                    something that touches the human heart and soul.

There is something is about Christmas,

            quite extraordinary that is both mysterious and wonderful.

                                               

Yet, the story we read from the gospel of Luke

            begins in a most ordinary way

                        with simple shepherds watching their flock by night,

                               shepherds out working the night shift, quite ordinary.

 

Yet in hearing the Christmas story, I can get lost,

            and then find myself in the gripping power of the word of God

                        where I am at last drawn into the presence of God…

 

…where we are invited to join in the journey with the shepherds,

            and to mix their world and concerns with ours,

                        where God speaks to us, and where God is present to us.

 

In those days,

            shepherds were not religious icons as on our Christmas cards;

                        they lived rough lives outdoors—

                                    quite apart from religious ritual and ceremony;

                        they were considered unacceptable to religious people

                                    viewed as cultural misfits and shiftless scavengers.

 

But I am glad to see how they are featured in the story,

            these misfits and outcasts are specifically invited by God …

                        … which is Good News for me, since even on Christmas eve,

                                    sometimes I feel a bit dirty and unworthy myself --

                                                for I am not always faithful in my Christian walk.

 

Sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable --- in God's presence,

            so the shepherds help remind me of God's unmerited grace,

                that God accepts me, though I haven't earned it or deserve it.

 

The shepherds are a reminder that by God's love, grace and mercy,

            each of us is specifically known and invited, though unworthy.

                           Since God specifically invited the Shepherds,

                                    surely each of us can feel invited and welcomed too.

 

The shepherds also remind me about responding to God’s invitation,

            for they were given a choice to respond or ignore God’s call.

                        And in response to the angelic invitation,

                                    the shepherds leave their flocks behind,

                                         journey to Bethlehem, to go and see for themselves.

 

Tonight,  having gathered in God's presence,

            we can leave behind our worldly concerns ----

                        we can stop worrying about feeling guilty or unworthy,

                                    and at least for tonight, we can set our burdens down;

            just come into the quiet peace of God’s Holy presence,

                        and leave all the rest of our worries and troubles behind .

 

My guess is that maybe more than a few of us came needing and wanting     

            to leave some of our world and concerns behind tonight…

                        … perhaps some fear, anxieties, or important issues,

                                    maybe a problem, or a secret grinding at your heart.

            perhaps needing to let go of a guilt and feelings of unclean,

                        or just need to rest, think quietly in God’s holy presence.

 

Or, maybe like Joseph and Mary seeking a place to rest in Bethlehem,

            so too, sometimes in our hearts and lives

                        there is too little or no room or place for Christ.

 

Have you may be allowed too little room in your life,

            in your heart, in your world for the coming of Jesus  ?

                        is something blocking your joy - disturbing your rest ?

 

Do your busy days, crowds out your relationship with Christ ?

            Are there some things in their life would have to change ---

                        to make room in your life for Christ?

Tonight is a very good time to make a little more room for Jesus.

 

Sometimes, like being so busy popping the bubble wrap of life,

            we neglect or ignore the significance  of God’s gift,

                        and miss out on the relationship of love our Lord intends.

 

Surely we all come to the stable as sinners in need and in hunger,           

            but  this night especially,

                        don’t be intimidated by the power and glory of God ---

                                    don’t be fearful of coming into God’s presence,

            for tonight - God comes as a baby, peacefully lying in a manger,

saying: “I don’t want you to fear or dread being with me,

            for I created this world for you to enjoy and walk with me.”           

 

Tonight, come as you are  - there is no dress code in the stable,

            even with dirt on your hands or guilt in your heart,

                        tonight, there’s no religious etiquette necessary,

                                    just come, and see for yourself.

 

This Luke text is a birth announcement of hope and renewal;

                                    its our Christmas invitation to Bethlehem.

                                                and for tonight, let us all journey to Bethlehem,

                        to see what God is up to with this birth of Jesus,

                                    to see God’s  love and faithfulness in the flesh,

                                                to see for our own selves, God’s hope and mercy.

 

Tonight is a chance at a fresh start,

            to begin again, and that is what it means to come to Bethlehem.

                        But how do we get to Bethlehem??

                                    Bethlehem is that place where God comes down to us,

                                                the Creator descending to the level of creature.

 

            Bethlehem is where Christ is born into our lives…

                        its the place of mystery and wonder and miracle

                                    its that quiet voice, stirring in your heart.

            Bethlehem is where we are invited and welcomed,

                        and where we are acceptable and loved by our merciful God.

 

            We get to Bethlehem by listening to God,

                        by responding to God's invitation - that tug at our soul.

           

We may have questions or doubts about the Christmas story,

            but don’t rely on the opinion of skeptics or other people,

                        but go in and see for yourself;

                                    go in and make your own determination.

 

I urge you to join with the shepherds:

            look and listen deeply and carefully, 

                         what is it  that the Lord is making known to you, tonight?

 

For me, Christmas Eve is the perfect time to go see God for myself,

            a time to lose myself,  and to find myself.

                        By honestly asking myself:     How is my life really going?

                                    and where am I headed in this life ?

                                   

This birth in Bethlehem,

            is call to leave behind our flocks - our world,

                        our trouble and concerns, our ambitions and strivings;

            and come to see the God-baby in the stable for ourselves …

 

… I urge you, please don't just walk on by;  but pause à

            and consider for yourself  just who this Jesus really is,

                        and what changes and purpose in your life,  He might bring.

He didn't come to bring you shame or regret, to make you feel guilty.

        Jesus came that we might have meaningful life, more abundantly.

                       

Jesus came to fill in the gaps and potholes of our lives;

            between who we are,

                        and that wonderful person God created us to become.

                                    Jesus came to fill in the emptiness and spaces

                                                we feel in our hearts, our souls and our lives.

 

On Christmas Eve of 1944, a pastor, Martin Niemoller was permitted

        to preach to his fellow prisoners at Dachau concentration camp:

                        We are not alone amidst the horrors of these days, cut off though we are from the outside world.  We are in the hands of God, the God of Jesus Christ, who, in this dismal and lonely place, is with us, to save us from our sins, to comfort us and keep hope alive in our hearts.  We do not know what the future holds.  But if it is true that Jesus entered into human life, then something is now at work in the world; and we may be entirely sure that God’s purpose of good is ultimately beyond defeat.

                                   

So, now that God has come and invited you to see for yourself

            how will that truth shape your future and your life?

 

As the shepherds recommend:               “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”