“Christmas Eve Meditation” 2012

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Has this been an incredibly busy Christmas season this year for you,

with much to do, so many places to go and people to see?

I bet for some,

this may be the most peaceful moment you’ve had for some time;

and with all you’ve got planned, it may be a while,

before you get a chance to be this still and calm again.

The days and weeks before Christmas,

can be wildly hectic, stressful and demanding ---

- with gifts to buy, decorations to hang, cards to send out,

friends to visit, and family gatherings to arrange…

… which can leave us feeling

a bit overwhelmed, stressed and stretched too thin…

… frazzled and too busy

even to welcome Christ, the new born king.

I used to run some office supply and stationery stores,

and a lot depended on our sales at Christmas each year.

I started planning and preparing for Christmas in early May,à

and spent the next months preparing for the final sprint,

that began on the Friday after Thanksgiving

and ran hard and continuously until Christmas Eve:

getting all my stores decorated for the busy holiday season,

Christmas merchandise all neatly stacked and displayed,

the advertising coordinated and starting to run,

our extra seasonal employees hired and trained…

… and all the other details of running a retail business

set for that long and exhausting race toward Christmas eve.

It all ended with an explosive Christmas Eve sales crescendoà

a final push on that day of our highest sales volume all year--

-- for on that day,

all the stores would be especially wild, crowded and hectic,

packed with pushy and demanding Christmas Eve shoppers,

desperate to find gifts for those remaining on their lists,

a shopping frenzy with everyone racing to finish on time.

Then by late afternoon, after the last customer was gone,

and the final dollars counted into the cash registers,

with a tired sigh, we could finally lock the doors,

and the Christmas selling season was over at last.

After we closed and all my employees had finally gone home,

and having completed the last of my responsibilities,

it all finally calmed down, everything I could do was done;

and with a sigh of relief, at last I could sit and relax.

* In that quiet, in the eerie stillness of a darkened empty store;

as only a stressed and harried retailer can know and appreciate,

there was a wonderful moment of indescribable peace & calm.

That quiet moment after the endless hustle and bustle was the best.

I’d collapse almost like I turning off a light switch,

and all the pressure of business and profit-making,

and the 8 months of preparation came to an end.

That was the moment,

I would remember that there is more to me than just my work,

that some things matter more than success in this world,

that I am worth more than just what I accomplish in life,

and that I matter to God, who sent Jesus because He loves me.

It is often in such quiet places of silence and solitude,

that God comes to His weary, besieged and fatigued people.

As the psalmist wrote, Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know, that I am God"

The literal Hebrew word here is, "stop, cease and desist"

'just stop whatever you are doing, listen and know I am God'

* And, that is the important task to be accomplished here tonight.

'be still and learn ---- that I am your God

'be still and discover - what it means that I am, your God.

* And, that is the important task to be accomplished here tonight.

In this over-stimulated, overly-hectic and overwhelming world

let us gently put on the brakes and slow down our pace à

so we can be more aware of our relationship with Christ

who loves us and is crazy about us even with

our flaws and failings, all our scars and wounds.

I remember, in the stillness and in the solitude of my thoughts,

in the tranquility of the quiet and deserted store;

I would begin the think about the Christ of Christmas.

and I’d rediscover that indeed I did still have a soul.

Our God of gracious love, of mystery and mercy, is sometimes:

most visible in moments of deepest darkness and shadow,

most easily heard in the quiet stillness of the silence,

most comforting when we are most in need,

& most present at times when we feel most alone.

I think I hear God best when he speaks in my private, quiet moments

in the solitude rather than in spectacular displays of power.

It might be this longing of our spiritual nature for a quiet place,

that makes Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ birth

so compelling in its powerful understated simplicity.

Matthew’s gospel doesn’t tell:

of angelic pyrotechnics or loud heavenly proclamations.

There is no report of choirs of angels filling the silent night,

or sounds disturbing the shepherds watching their flocks.

In Matthew’s gospel,

Joseph simply awakes from his dream,

and complying with the angel’s message from the Lord,

he takes Mary for his wife,

and when the child conceived by the Holy Spirit was born,

Joseph names him Jesus, just as the Lord commanded.

The author isn’t interested in all the other stuff going on.

Jesus is the center of all the action,

it’s his birth that’s important and matters.

Sometimes, our plans and busyness, the demands we try to fulfill,

can so command and consume our attentions and affections,

that we get distracted from what truly matters most.

Sometimes, we are so caught up in the getting ready - our goals,

so busy in our activities, in accomplishing and succeeding,

that the main event -- the arrival of Jesus,

gets lost in life’s frantic rush and confusion.

Our Christmas can become just a calendar date,

a deadline for having all the preparations done

more than the holy celebration of the birth of Jesus.

And we may ignore or deny our hunger that we fill and feed our souls…

… forgetting that Christmas is so much more that

just a season of busy activity, or even the good we do.

Christmas is far more than just the best of human kindness,

and it is not the warm oozy feelings

that we sometimes misname, ‘the Christmas spirit’.

Christmas is not really a human activity at all.

It’s not something we can do, or a feeling we can generate.

It is entirely God’s doing. It is entirely God’s gift to us…

… and it’s nothing God expects us to arrange, accomplish or improve.

Christmas is God himself, coming down to earth in Jesus Christ,

to be present with us, so we can receive God’s grace and love.

Christmas is the story of eternal and infinitely powerful God,

shrinking himself all the way down to a little human baby.

And it is in this act of grace and compassion

that the glory and love of the Lord is revealed…

… the promise and truth that God is with us, that God is for us.

The birth of Jesus opens up to us the possibility of knowing God,

for us to receive something worthy to fill-in our emptiness,

feeding and satisfying our spiritual hunger and longing.

Christmas Eve in particular is a very special time and place.

A quiet reflective space, a quiet peaceful place,

where we can think, wonder and amaze about God and His love,

and experience God’s comforting and welcoming presence.

The birth of Christ means that God’s not angry or against us,

God is not upset, or frustrated or disappointed with us,

and coming as a powerless little baby shows that

it’s not about harsh judgment, wrath or condemnation.

We don’t need to have all the answers, to be living perfect lives,

for tonight is not about God making demands for

some radical life change in order to receive God’s gift.

It's enough to know that the God who came as the Christ child,

is the God who loves each one of us, calls us precious beloved,

who welcomes us by his mercy to yet another second chance,

and who offers us the possibility of a glorious future

one that is shaped by His abiding love in J Christ.

And it would be tragic to leave here tonight without allowing

the Lord’s loving and healing touch to bless us …

… so let us pause in the gentle silence of divine presence

to listen for God’s message of grace and promise and hope.

For God alone my soul awaits in silence, for my hope is in Him.

……………………………………………………………………

Lord Jesus

you are the love that fills the void that troubles our soul.

You are the light that came to brighten our darkness,

and it is in reflecting that light that we make a difference

and our lives can reflect your healing and hope to the world.

amen