Holy Christmas Eve ABABY! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious birth we rejoice this happy night! Amen. In tonight’s Gospel, Mary “gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger.” Dear Christian friends, We Christians owe our God an eternal debt of gratitude and praise, if for no other reason, then at least for the delightful manner in which He chooses to come to us. · Even if we should forget for a moment that our God came to destroy our ancient enemies of sin (1 Corinthians 15:56-57), death (2 Timothy 1:10) and the devil (Hebrews 2:14); · Even if we should overlook the fact that our God kept nothing for Himself, but rather, has given all things in heaven and on earth to us (1 Corinthians 3:20-22); · Even if we should trim away the First and Third Articles of the Creed—that our God has not only provided us with everything we need to support this body and life, but He has also provided us with many and great spiritual benefits in Christ, which include the Holy Christian Church (the communion of saints) the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting; All other things being set aside, we Christians still need to thank and praise our God with humble hearts and bended knees for this one thing: for manner in which our God chooses to descend to us and live in our midst (John 1:14). · Our God could have descended among us in some undescribed divine form, as He once did in the Garden of Eden. But that form of God is entirely too frightening for us. That is why Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8)—as if bark and twigs could offer us any protection. · Our God could have revealed Himself to us in glorious majesty, as He did to the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah saw … the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:1-4). Isaiah despaired at the sight of God in His majesty. “Woe is me!” he declared. “I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). How much more woe would you and I feel—despair at the same sight of God’s unbridled majesty—we who are unclean, not merely of lips but also unclean of eyes and ears, hands and feet, heart and mind! · Again, our God could indeed have made His appearance among us as a fully grown man, ready to do battle. This may have been the way He appeared Abraham by the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-2), and later to Jacob at the River Jabbok (Genesis 32:22-24). A fully grown man, armed for war, is indeed the manner in which our God promises to make His arrival on the Last Day (Revelation 19:11-16). “But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2). Our God knows our weakness and our frailty. He knows that our pride is nothing more than a billboard; that our strength is wet pasta. God carefully orchestrates His arrival among us so that we will not be bowled over and laid low, for it is written concerning Him, “a bruised reed He will not break; a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3). Our God must come to us, and not merely to overcome the fear of our enemies (Luke 1:71-72). Our God must overcome our fear of Him, whom we once made our enemy (Psalm 41:9, Romans 5:10). So God chooses a disarming, even charming form for His arrival in our midst. God arrives in the smallest package possible, so that we would not feel intimidated, overwhelmed, or even the least bit alarmed. God takes the form of a baby. The biggest fear that we could possibly have of a baby is not that he might break us, but that we might break him! No teeth, no strength, no ability even to focus His eyes in one direction. Mary “gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger.” That is our God’s arrival in our midst. That is reason for giddiness and mirth, thankfulness and loud singing. Merry Christmas, Christians! The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
