The
Light of This Night
Sermon preached by Rev. Patricia Farris
Christmas Eve Service
December
24, 2005
Scripture:
Isaiah 9:2-4 and Luke 11:1-20
The
Holy Word of God on this Christmas Eve brings us news of great comfort
and joy. The prophet Isaiah proclaims: “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
for us…and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.” The Gospel of John phrases it all
in theological and philosophical terms, “The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness
has not overcome it.” And in Luke’s version, we hear the
same promise fulfilled in the nitty-gritty real life version of how
God came to live among us, in the story of Mary and Joseph, shepherds,
angels and a babe lying in a manger.
Every
version of the Christmas message has been carried forward through
the ages in words, to be sure, the story told over and over again
to those eager to hear its message of hope and life. But maybe the
story is best told through the music of this season and I’ll
tell you something: I love it all. I love the most ancient chants
of the early church. I love the great Christmas Oratorios and Handel’s
“Messiah.” I love all the carols we sing, the carols from
around the whole world and the Christmas music of contemporary songwriters
who give us the old, old story in fresh, new ways.
One
of my favorites is a simple song called “Light of the Stable.”
Written by a Canadian team in the mid-70s, it pulls together the biblical
theme of light and the birth of Christ, King and Savior. It goes:
“Hail, hail to the newborn King. Let our voices sing him our
praises. Hail, hail to the guiding light that brought us tonight to
our stable.”
The
guiding light of that night so long ago has brought us here tonight,
the place where Christ is born anew. Only you know what light guided
you here to this stable, now made over into a gleaming sanctuary,
alight with the special light of Christmas and candles. Whatever spark
is within you, it is the light of God shining in you, in each one
of us tonight - light in our hearts, light in our souls and light
in our hopes and in our longing.
We
long for the light at this time of year. Many of us look forward to
the lights that go up all around our neighborhoods. There’s
something magical and special about loading everyone into the car
and driving around to see. Some homes have very simple lights, just
a few. (continued...)
"The
Light of This Night" by Rev. Patricia Farris, December 24, 2005
Some places are completely lit up, like the amazing house here on 14th
Street just south of Montana, created, I am told, by a woman in her
nineties who no longer drives. She has amassed an incredible assortment
of lights that fill her year and cover her house and she’s done
it all on foot and riding her bike.
We
all come to this stable tonight knowing that we will find the light.
And while we will fill this space in a few minutes with the light of
all of our candles together, it’s really the one small candle
that each one of us will light that can push away the darkness in our
own heart. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive
out darkness. Only light can do that.”
Now
I want to give a little disclaimer here. Some of you may have noticed
a small news item that appeared a couple weeks ago claiming that Dutch
researchers have concluded that the smoke of candles and incense in
churches can cause harmful air pollution.
In
case you saw that story, I want to tell you not to worry. First we rarely
use any incense here. Secondly, I don’t think a few hundred church
candles lit once a year can hold a candle, as they say, to the real
problems of air pollution in all the major cities of the world. So if
you’re going to worry about the air we breathe, please direct
your energies to cleaning up planet earth. That’s work we should
all get behind.
So
we’re going to go ahead in a few minutes and light all our candles
and fill this place with the light Christ. Through the Sundays of Advent
we have lit the candles of love, peace, hope and joy. Tonight we light
the Christ Candle representing Christ, the Light of the World. From
the light of that Christ Candle we will share the light all through
this stable as we light our own candles from its flame. The holy moments
of this worship service provide each of us tonight with the opportunity
to let the light of God shine in our hearts.
The
song continues: “Come now, let it shine so bright to the knowing
light of the stable. Kneel near to the child so dear. Cast aside your
fear and be thankful.”
Christmas
does have a special, magical quality to it, especially on Christmas
Eve when we have this once-a-year experience of coming through the darkness
late at night to worship in the beauty of this stable. But remember,
too, and this is what makes it so powerful, life-changing, earth shaking,
is that while it may feel magical and wonderfully mysterious, even so,
it is true.
That
is why the biblical story is presented in the most basic of human terms.
It is the story of what happened that night in a dark, dank, smelly
stable where real live warm, farm animals were kept. Of those rag-tag
shepherds up on the hillside with their flocks of sheep, and if you’ve
ever been around sheep you know how smelly and stupid they are. Of that
young, poor couple, Joseph and Mary, and a real birth, with blood and
pain. There was that crying newborn baby laid to sleep in a cattle trough.
In this very ordinary, very familiar, exceedingly (continued...)
"The
Light of This Night" by Rev. Patricia Farris, December 24, 2005
human
way, God came to live with us - the promise of the ages and light
coming into this very world. Told through flesh and blood characters
to bring home the point that God came right into the very life we
know and experience, the life we sometimes celebrate and sometimes
just endure - our life of joy and laughter, of pain and tears and
of birth and death. No matter how hard it can sometimes be, how scary,
how overwhelming, how confusing, how disappointing, that same light
now shines in our every darkness. And the darkness, the Bible says,
has not overcome it.
“Hail,
hail to the guiding light that brought us tonight to our stable. Come
now, let it shine so bright to the knowing light of the stable. Kneel
near to the child so dear. Cast aside your fear and be thankful.”
The
birth of Christ is not simply about light; it is about light in the
darkness. Light pushing away the darkness. Light transforming the
darkness. Light coming into the darkness of our lives and of this
world to cast out fear and to bring forth hope and new life.
You
know those dark places. You know the places in your own life, your
own heart, where you long for this light to shine. You know the needs
of loved ones, family, friends, co-workers, and all the places this
light needs to shine for them. You know the places of darkness in
our world that you would lift up to this light.
The
light of Christmas is more than a little bit defiant, you see. It
is a stubborn light that refuses to be extinguished. It is a strong
light that claims power over every darkness. It is an intense light
that is as powerful in one small candle as it was in the star of Bethlehem
that lit up the whole sky and guided the way to that birth. All of
us here tonight are seekers after the God who sends this light into
our lives. All of us are here tonight because we believe in the power
of this light. We stake our lives on this truth and we claim it tonight
for ourselves and for our world.
This
is the light that is strong enough to show the way to peace amidst
violence and war. This is the light that can show the way to healing
in every place of discord and brokenness. This is the light that can
show the way to hope amidst sadness and despair. It is the light of
Christ—the light of peace, healing and hope.
So,
when the light comes to you, I invite you to pray three things: to
cast aside your fear, to give thanks for the coming of the light and
to believe that this light can change your life and make whole our
weary world. Cast aside your fear, give thanks and reaffirm your faith
in the power of this light to bring peace, healing and hope. (continued...)
"The
Light of This Night" by Rev. Patricia Farris, December 24,
2005
“Hail,
hail to the newborn King. Let our voices sing him our praises. Hail,
hail to the guiding light that brought us tonight to our stable.
"Come
now, let it shine so bright to the knowing light of the stable. Kneel
near to the child so dear. Cast aside your fear and be thankful.”
In
the beauty of this night, in the light of this stable, in the full
promise of this holy birth, may your life be forever blessed.
Notes:
"Light
of the Stable” by Steve Rhymer and Elizabeth Rhymer. Recorded
by Emmylou Harris.
“Have a Defiant Christmas”, sermon by John Shea, Roman
Catholic storyteller and theologian.
©Patricia Farris, 2005. Permission is given for brief quotation
with attribution. All other rights reserved.
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