Sermon for Christmas Eve 2019 - The Rev'd Elise A. Feyerherm

Isaiah 9:2-7 - Titus 2:11-14 - Luke 2:1-14

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the world began to be, he is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he, of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see, evermore and evermore.

This first verse of my favorite Christmas hymn is one continuous sentence. A single sentence that contains all that we need to know, at least on this night, at this particular time; a sentence that harbors the seed of every possibility, every hope, and yes, even every sorrow, as they are all held in the arms of God.

Of the Father’s love begotten…This is the night to remember that the story we call our own, the story of creation and the people of Israel and the coming of Jesus, is a story born not of anger and retribution, but of love. It is love that has brought us here, love that is the very nature of God. Before anything else came into being, God was – is – Love, because Love is the only thing powerful enough to be the Source of everything. That is what Love does – it brings life and abundance into being. Salvation can only be begotten of Love, because it is only Love that makes us free.

Ere the worlds began to be…This is the night to remember that the birth of this displaced and vulnerable baby was not so much a new strategy in the mind of God but the flowering of a Love that has always been pulsing throughout the cosmos. This is the night to call to mind what we pray almost every Sunday of year, that the Word made flesh is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father, through whom all things were made.”

This is not the night to parse the details of the Trinity, though you know I would like to. It is, however, the night to receive the gift of this ancient testimony as a pledge and promise from God. It is a reminder that God does not see us as dangerous alien creatures to be handled with safety goggles and bulletproof vests, but as beloved children to be embraced and nurtured. There is no barrier, because we are created to belong to God. The Word that is born as Jesus is no intermediary, but is God in the flesh.

 He is Alpha and Omega, he the source and ending he, of the things that are that have been…This is the night to remember that nothing that would trouble us has any power over us, neither chaos nor corruption, neither anger nor anxiety, nor anything that seeks to degrade or diminish the value of our lives and the lives of any creature under heaven. The Christ who is born of Mary holds all things in himself and draws all things to himself. This is the night to remember that who we are meant to be finds its beginning and end in the union of God and human, no matter how weak, no matter how humble, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Jesus is born not so much to rescue us from ourselves, but to invite us into who we have always been in the eyes of God.

 And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore…This is the night to remember and claim hope, for God’s love did not just come to earth for one night, only to retreat back to heaven the next. The Incarnation is grounded in eternity and flowers wherever Love takes root. It will not stop as long as there is any fear or sorrow or pain. Because the Word of God was born long ago in Bethlehem, it can be born anytime and anywhere.

This is our inheritance, the salvation offered not just to us but to anyone who wishes to claim it – that God in love seeks to be with, around, and in every speck of life that exists and will exist. Luke’s gospel is, of course, very specific about, all those centuries ago, the circumstances in which that displaced middle eastern baby was born – in Bethlehem, far from his Galilean home. Under Caesar Augustus and the governor Quirinius, representatives of a violent and oppressive foreign power. Of a single mother, with a man who is not the baby’s father.

Very specific details, but perhaps those details are a door into a much larger truth, as Lutheran preacher and bishop Craig Satterlee writes, that “Jesus is being born where people need him most.”[1]

We need him the most wherever we are far from the safety of home, or imprisoned within it. We need Jesus most in places where people are crushed by political or economic power, and we need him most when we are the ones doing the crushing, however unintentional it may be. We need him most to be with those who are alone in the dark, and we need him most when we cannot muster up the energy to sit in the dark with them.

Refugee and citizen, poor and affluent, marginalized and privileged – there is not one among us who does not need Jesus to be born in and among us this day. This good news, as the angel proclaimed, is for all the people – each and every one of us. Where is Jesus needed most this night? He is already there, already here, of the Father’s love begotten, not just tonight, but always:

Let the heights of heaven adore him; angel hosts, his praises sing; powers, dominions, bow before him, and extol our God and King; let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring, evermore and evermore. 

[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1522