December 24, 2022 (Christmas Eve)

Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2022

The song, sung by Andy Williams, as I recall, says, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I agree, but not because of the lyrics of that song, but because of what Christmas means. First of all, it comes at almost the DARKEST day of the year, and what that says to me is that God is with us (Emmanuel:  God with us, as Isaiah 7 reminds us). Even in the deep darkness, God is with us. How wise of the early church to celebrate Jesus's birth at this time of year! And we have been celebrating on December 25 since at least as early as 429 A.D.! True, I have heard the story that early pagans before Christianity celebrated the Returning of the Light (meaning the sun) at the darkest time of the year when the days are the shortest - and so Christianity tried to convert pagans by saying they could STILL celebrate their Winter Solstice. But so what! We celebrate the Return of the Sun or the SON at the darkest time of the year. Again, we are reminded:  God is with us, even at the darkest time.

Another reason I like Christmas is that God comes to us NOT in the best of times. Look at the war in Ukraine! What a terrible time for God to visit us in the flesh....or is it? Maybe this reminder is EXACTLY what we need. Look at the enmity we Americans feel for each other as shown in our political squabbles. Most of us are NOT ready to feel palsy-walsy with those with whom we do not agree - but maybe that's exactly why God comes to us as a little child! We ALL can agree on the innocence of a sweet, sweet baby!

And if you aren't in the best of moods, neither were the folks of ancient times when Jesus was born. Rome was in control of the earthly situation and would be during the entirety of Jesus's life. What a TERRIBLE time for God to come to earth....or was it?

And maybe one more reason I like Christmas is that its coming reminds us that GOD is in control, not Vladimir Putin or the Chinese government or even our own leaders, Democrat and Republican. "God with man is now abiding", says one of our hymns. And the fact that God comes to us WHEN God wants is another sign that God is running things, not you, not me, not Washington, not Moscow, not Beijing. Let me close with this poem, written in 1926 by James Allen Francis.

It's called "One Solitary Life".

One Solitary Life

This is a popular poem about the life of Jesus Christ. Although the author is frequently cited as "unknown" the poem is actually attributed to James Allen Francis.

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.*

*Attributed to James Allen Francis.