December 24, 2006 - Christmas Eve 2006
The Rev. Stephanie E. Parker+


"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-on them light has shined...For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

How many times had Joseph and Mary, growing up as faithful Jews, heard these words from the prophet Isaiah read from the sacred scrolls as they worshiped in their little synagogue in Nazareth. As they gaze down at the small and fragile infant whose first bed is made of straw, I wonder if they can even begin to wrap their minds around the knowledge that the great prophet Isaiah's words has just been fulfilled in their presence?

Yes, tradition tells us that God's messenger, Gabriel, visited Mary and Joseph both, but many months of ordinary life has taken them far away from the memory of that extraordinary experience. The long and arduous trip to Bethlehem by order of the Roman government has been backbreaking for them both, but especially on this very young child-woman who was about to give birth.

The mystery and power of Gabriel's visit must almost seem like a dream, a wisp of something wonderful remembered, but long since devoid of real meaning. How can it be, we might ask with them, that the Prince of Peace described in Isaiah's vision has just been born to a peasant girl and her carpenter fiancé?

In these last weeks of Advent, we, like Mary and Joseph, have been expectantly awaiting the coming of this child. Mary and Joseph's waiting was confused and hassled by the demands of the occupying Roman government for whom the birth of this child held no meaning. And most of us have at times during this holiday season, been confused and hassled by a culture that has by many accounts forgotten the true reason for the season, as the old saying goes.

Even amid good the deeds and warm thoughts generated by the festive air of Christmas, it is so easy lose track of that miraculous infant in the manger. If we were able to peer into one another's minds we might hear something like: "Has anybody seen little Jesus? I was holding his hand when I came into the post office, but I lost him when I was standing in that long line at the counter being pushed and shoved by the crowd."

I know how much I love Christmas, but even I lost track of this blessed baby a time or two even as I was looking forward to this glorious celebration tonight, "Andrew, did you see where I laid the baby Jesus, he was with me a second ago, but I lost him when I was rushing out to do some shopping during my lunch hour."

It is so very easy to forget this blessed child in the hustle and bustle we have created around the celebration of his birth. And let's face it; the pressure generated around Christmas can make this a hard time of the year. I'm willing to bet that sitting among us tonight are some families or a couple or two who have found themselves in petty arguments that are made a little bit more intense by the pressure of the season.

There are probably a few of you having Christmas celebrations for the first time with a new blended family--- and you are praying with all of your might that things will go well, but in the meantime the stress of it is making you crazy.

Maybe some of you are feeling the pain of old arguments that have never been resolved and the holidays just seem to open up old wounds you'd rather forget. So let's just admit that amid the joy there are moments when we smile and say, "Merry Christmas" even as we ache inside and wonder, if in the end, the birth of this miraculous baby has anything to do with us at all. -------And the good news my friends is that the answer is yes, yes yes, a thousand times yes! This is precisely the miracle of Emmanuel, the miracle of our God who has chosen to be with us.

God chose to bring us God's love in the flesh. The infinite, unknowable Creator of all things chooses out of infinite, boundless love to be born of a peasant girl, to be raised by a humble carpenter and draw his first breath in a stable filled with straw and most likely a cow, a goat and a sheep or two.

So often we can get lost in despair because we feel we must somehow be perfect or have perfect lives in order to be worthy of God's love. We think we must ascend to a state of some undefiled holiness in order to rise to God's presence. But on this night, in this child, our God says, my children, my children, it is I who will come to you. I come to you in a stable, I come to you in the crowded mall, I come to you in the busyness of your own making, I come to you in the midst of family stress and I especially will come to you in your grief, your pain, and your imperfections.

Emmanuel, God with us, means God with us everywhere, in any condition we may find ourselves in. In our happiness or sorrow, in glory or disgrace, God never abandons us. From crib to cross God has laughed, cried, suffered, grieved, and been confused by those he loves---- just like us. We are never so lost in our lives that Christ cannot find us-because in Christ---God has been there before us. This baby who was born in a stable is the King of Glory and our great high priest.

As we sit here tonight, let the true mystery and joy of this season penetrate your hearts and minds. Know that the Prince of Peace, born to a poor woman-child and raised by a humble carpenter is still among us. In the middle of all the chaos, boredom, and craziness of everyday life, we have access to his joy, love, and peace, not just sometimes, but always---not just when we deserve it, but always.

In the words of Barbara brown Taylor: "Emanuel is God-With-US. Not the God-Up- There somewhere who answers our prayers by lifting us out of our lives, but the God who comes in the midst of them-however far from home we are, however less than ideal our circumstances are, however much or little our lives reflect the Christmas cards we send. This is where God is born; just there in any cradle we will offer him, on any pile of straw we will pat together with our hands."

God in Christ comes to us not just tonight, but again and again in the midst of all this crazy, busy, and broken world has to offer. All we need do to receive him is bid him welcome and make a place for him in the crib of our hearts. On this night, just as God's prophet Isaiah proclaimed,

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-on them light has shined...For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace." And now as we know this child is Emanuel, this child is God with us. Amen.