Christmas Eve 2021

Luke 2:1-20

Luke says “In those days” a decree went out and Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem.

I would guess most of us have had “one of those days” in our experience. You know, ‘one of those days’…

when you’re trying to balance family and work, and everything is lopsided;

or when the last thing you want to do is plan a long and arduous trip;

or when bad news hits too close to home.

Certainly, the last 21 months of pandemic have felt like a string of “those days” and we almost certainly have more ahead.

Here in the gospel, Luke tells us that “in those days” when everything is not always merry and bright, God shows up and “does God’s saving work with a lullaby and a baby’s cry.”

The birth of Jesus doesn’t happen without birth pangs and mess, but in Jesus, we see God enter the world as an infant and we witness the birth of hope.

Hope promises us that God is with us even “in those days.” It is not the same as being merely wishful. Hope is grounded

in who we know God to be;

in knowing what God has already done; and

in believing that God will continue to act for us.

Indeed, that is the “good news of great joy for all” that the angel proclaims to the shepherds. That in Bethlehem was born not just a child, but a Savior for every one of us.

It is Good News that

God chose to be born among everyday people, like the shepherds, not kings;

God chose to be born in humble surroundings, not a palace;

God chose to be “born in the places where people need him most.”

Joy comes when we recognize God’s love for us. It is not just warm fuzzy feeling, but something planted deep within us by God that abides in us and enlivens us.

The news that we have a Savior who loves us brings great joy not only to us who celebrate Christmas in a warm sanctuary filled with candlelight and poinsettias, but to those who are by themselves tonight; to those whose lights were cut off yesterday or who don’t know where their next meal will come from. It brings joy to those who are in bunks at the emergency shelter, or in beds over at the hospital.

We have a Savior who meets us where we are so that we will know how much we are loved.  

So, this Christmas, no matter where you find yourself, may you have great joy, knowing God is here now to be your Savior.

Amen.