Christmas Sermons

CHRISTMAS EVE 4.00pm

We’ve just heard the story of how one little baby was born – a long time ago, quite far away.

It's one story of MANY that we hear - especially at Christmastime. We like Christmas stories.
Though these stories give us a LOT of information, they don't give us ALL the information.

They give us the words, and then invite us to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps.
We make it our own - we imagine how tall someone was, or what colour dress they were wearing, or what something smelled like, or how warm the room was.
Our imaginations will paint a picture in a way that is unique to us.

This is part of what makes a story a GOOD story - because it draws us in, invites people to make it their own, reflecting their own interests and experiences. When a story activates out imaginations, we want to make it even better.

That's why some stories get really complicated.
With a lot of characters, the more likely it is that we'll relate to at least one of them.
With complexities in the setting, the more we can feel what's happening.
With a lot of action taking place, the more we can visualise the events unfolding.

And sometimes, the more we get into the story, the more it grows bigger and bigger, every time we tell it.
Sometimes with many people there, we might interject more and more details.
Think about family stories - those good, funny, tell-it-every-year stories. Every time they're told, they get a bit funnier, a bit more descriptive, a bit more fascinating.
They get more fun as more and more people get involved in the telling and hearing and re-telling.

Well, our Christmas story tonight does this for us too.
For some 2000 years we have been hearing it, imagining it, and telling it.

And WOW do we tell it! We - Christians - always have done. Because this is the greatest story of all time.
Not because of the words on the page - let's be honest, those words aren't the greatest on their own…
The whole birth is ONE VERSE. One sentence. No special effects, no exclamation mark - just that Mary gave birth, wrapped the child in cloth, and laid him in a manger.

BUT! The impact is HUGE. We know that every child is a miracle; we celebrate every birth. And THIS birth changes the world. Jesus's birth is both the fulfillment of centuries of prophesies: and it’s where the story begins.

Because this birth: of the Christ child: immediately we see the story start to grow. Because the good news can’t be contained.
Even before Mary and Joseph can get word to their relatives that the child has arrived safely, the angels come and tell it to the shepherds.

Then the shepherds go and verify it - we know it's always best to tell a true story, to make sure it's not just rumour. And this story seems so fantastical to them that they want to make sure they've got it right!

And then the shepherds tell it - as much as they can.
And then the people who hear it tell it.
And then those people also tell it.

So each time it gets bigger and bigger, more people hear it, more people imagine what it was like (what colour were the bands of cloth Mary used? Where was the manger she laid him in? Who else was there to help with the birth?)

And over the years - these 2000 years - this has also become our shared story. We've embellished it with a stable, and animals, and a flowy angel at the birth scene, and all other sorts of imagery.

And so, now… tonight… we celebrate this as OUR story.
It's the story of a baby, small and vulnerable, who would grow into a great teacher and leader.
Someone who would preach love and forgiveness and peace and joy.
Someone who would remind the world to find ways to be kind to one another, to look for ways to get along, to always seek out the light.
Someone who promised us that the light is ALWAYS there.

And, divinely, someone who offers to us the gift of forgiveness of sins, redemption and salvation for our souls, and the hope of eternal life with all we love and have loved.

THIS is our story. The story that we have been told.
The story that we have been invited to connect with.
The story that we find ways to relate to.

A story that has been entrusted to us, given to us, gifted to us.
A story for us to tell - to everyone we encounter.
Using our words, using our prayers, using our actions.

This is a story of love - the perfect unconditional love that comes from God.
A love so astonishing that the heavens would open, and the holy messengers would burst into the scene to ensure that we all heard the good news of the story of Christ’s birth.
At Christmastime, and beyond.

So may we hear the story of God’s love, come to us, in the person of Jesus.
May we tell the story, with joy in our hearts!
May we go into the world bearing this love and this light –
glorifying and praising God for all that we have heard and seen, as it had been told to us.








CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON 7.30pm

We live in a world of words. They're everywhere.
We are surrounded by them. We are a profoundly literate society.
It's a gift - but it also means that sometimes we can be distracted by too many words.

Think about how many words you saw today. Words on a Christmas card. Words on the TV commercials. Words on your social media feed. Words on the street signs. Even words in your worship bulletin tonight.

Words. They're everywhere; all vying for our attention, all begging to be noticed, all wanting a tiny speck of our time.

And yet - this holy night - in this world where we are surrounded by words, where we are distracted by words, we are called to look for THE WORD.
The "Good News of Glad tidings for all the people"

And it's there. THE WORD is there. The GOOD NEWS is there, waiting to be known!
It's up to us, however, to be ready to receive it – and sometimes, that's not where we excel; we get distracted by the busy-ness of life. And this distraction is not a new phenomenon.

Throughout the ages, throughout the scriptures, we have been promised that THE WORD is coming - and we, as God’s people, have slowly slid into forgetfulness.

Even our scriptures tonight invite us to recognise that this is a common theme, throughout the ages – and that (like so many before us): we can benefit from a reminder.

Isaiah declares that the bringer of GOOD NEWS and announcement of deliverance!! There is a special messenger announcing peace!
The people were excited!! ...and then they got distracted by their normal lives again.

Then we hear the good news from the psalm - that there is so much goodness happening by God that we are invited to sing and rejoice, in a new song!
The people were excited!! ...and then they got distracted by their normal lives again.

The letter to the Hebrews is encouraging an entire community that KNOWS about Jesus to listen to God; sharing the history of how God spoke of good things, good things which were literally embodied in the person of Jesus the Christ!
The people were excited!! ...and then they got distracted by their normal lives again.

And then we have the beautiful, mystical, cosmological message from the Gospel of John –
and it is all about the Word. But not just any word - THE WORD.
The word of the Lord. The WORD become flesh.

This is the Word that spoke creation into being - in the beginning.
… the Word that spoke through the prophets - promising the hope of salvation.
… the Word that spoke through the messengers, those angels, that a child king would be born to faithful yet humble people.
… the Word that made John (later the baptiser) LEAP in his mother's womb when he sensed the mere presence of his cousin, Jesus – who was at that time new in Mary’s womb.
… the Word that spoke of healing, of compassion, of kindness;
… the Word that became the teacher of peace, of love, of empowerment;
… the Word that became and remains the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
The Word of the Lord.

This is the logos: the powerful reality of being the WORD that is with God and IS God; and encompasses so much more than our simple mortal words can convey.
It is word and reason and intention and belief and action.
It is the whole heart and mind and soul and strength.

It is the entirety of God:
… It is a light shining in the darkness that will not be overcome - no matter how dark the world may seem.
… It is a love burning through the apathy - no matter how angry or hurt the people it encounters.
… It is a forgiveness offered to every changed heart - no matter what the sins of the past.
… It is a peace that goes beyond anything we can understand - no matter what conflict exists in the hearts it surrounds.

This is the logos - this is the reality - the WORD of God, the good news come to earth in human form, humble and vulnerable and dwelling among the people!
So naturally, the people were excited!! ...and then, gradually, they got distracted by their normal lives again.

This time, though, can be different – if we choose - because this time WE are THE PEOPLE.
The ones hearing this mystery, unfolded;
The ones coming together to commit to the carrying the light in the world.
As Author Sarah Bessey wrote: “I want to be part of a people who see the darkness, know it’s real, and then light a candle anyway.”

We are that people:
invited to become excited by this great news - to truly hear it and believe it and embrace it and be changed by it.
We are the ones called to love and serve and continue the sharing of these words - of THE WORD - of the Light.

So this night; this Christmas:
May we delight in the reminder that the love revealed to this night
breaks forth into our normal lives and engages us to be changed by its Word and Light.

Let us carry that light:
In our hearts
In our homes
In our relationships
In our communities
In our world!
Into any corner where shadows lurk.

And then: we will know the power of Christmas: to give light and life to the world, for all time.

May we be excited by the good news of God in Christ – celebrated this night; and inspiring us every night to come.



CHRISTMAS DAY SERMON NOTES

Good news - Great joy - All the people.

No limitations on good news
Quirinius - timeline
Recording - trying to establish order
categories
neatness

Not about status
On the way to the first registration...
Not the only pregnant couple,

Boundaries: healthy,
parameters
limits - not always limitations

Yet: Good News not restricted.
Flows as freely as the light - the light in the world that the darkness cannot overcome
bending around corners,
brightening backgrounds,
shining indiscriminately for all to benefit from.

The light: is for all.
The nativity narrative reminds us of this:
the good news is for ALL.
Not locked in the palaces of the elite,
not as an invitation-only event.
For all.

All who would see it - receive it - believe it.

Shepherds - lowest - homeless, migrant, chasing wandering critters - perils of a hard life
Magi - highest - mystical,
Everywhere in between

And every time.

The beauty of light: it's there... in small amounts, in great amounts.
Always there
We just don't always see it.

Christmas reminds us of the light
its presence
its permanance
its delight.

May we be reminded of the light,
and celebrate that it continues to shine in and through us,


WHERE THE LIGHT BEGINS
A Blessing for Christmas —Jan Richardson
Perhaps it does not begin.
Perhaps it is always.
Perhaps it takes
a lifetime
to open our eyes,
to learn to see
what has forever
shimmered in front of us—
the luminous line
of the map
in the dark
the vigil flame
in the house
of the heart
the love
so searing
we cannot keep
from singing,
from crying out
in testimony
and praise.
Perhaps this day
will be the mountain
over which
the dawn breaks.
Perhaps we
will turn our face
toward it,
toward what has been
always.
Perhaps
our eyes
will finally open
in ancient recognition,
willingly dazzled,
illuminated at last.
Perhaps this day
the light begins
in us.