God Reigns - A Homily for Christmas Eve (Isaiah 52, Matthew 1)

 

Isaiah 52:7-10, Matthew 1:18-25

It’s Christmas once again and even COVID can’t stop it from coming. That shouldn’t surprise us if we’ve paid attention to the story of the Grinch. Things may look different this year, but we can still celebrate the coming of Emmanuel into the world. We can still proclaim the good news that God reigns through the one born in a manger in the Little Town of Bethlehem. 

This is my thirteenth and final Christmas Eve as pastor of Central Woodward. It’s also my twenty-fourth Christmas Eve as a senior pastor. Of all the festivals and seasons of the Christian year, this is my favorite. This Christmas Eve service is what makes Christmas Christmas for me. 

My love for Christmas Eve goes back to my childhood. As soon as I was old enough to serve as an acolyte on Christmas Eve, our family participated in the 11:00 P.M. service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Klamath Falls. It’s likely my younger brother stayed home with our Grandmother for the first couple of years, but eventually participating in Midnight Mass was our family Christmas Eve tradition. While the service itself was beautiful and inspiring, there were other elements to the experience. This included coming home from church and opening one gift from under the tree before going to bed. Although we usually got to bed around 1:00 in the morning, Jim and I still got up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought. This also means we often fell asleep around 4:00 in the afternoon on Christmas Day.  

It’s been a while since I went to Midnight Mass at an Episcopal Church, but the power of this night continues to stir my heart. I love the carols and the stories that go with the service. That begins with the biblical story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem that we heard from Matthew. But there are other stories that also resonate with me and help define this event. 

Over the years I’ve regularly turned to the stories of Charlie Brown, the Grinch, and Ebenezer Scrooge as I prepared my Christmas Eve homily. These stories all speak about transformation and even salvation. They each offer, in their own way, the good news that Jesus embodies for us, news about peace and goodwill toward all.

While I’m not sure Charlie Brown heard Linus recite the Christmas story from Luke, Linus did help him discover the joy of Christmas by giving that scraggly little tree a bit of loving care. While the Grinch tried to stop Christmas from coming, his heart grew three sizes when he heard the Whos down in Whoville break out in song. He discovered that Christmas is more than food and trees and presents. As for Ebenezer Scrooge, well his story is probably my favorite. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mr. Magoo, Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney, or Alister Sims, each version has left a mark on me. They continue to remind us that redemption is possible even for one like Mr. Scrooge, even if it takes visits from three ghosts to get the point across!

In the Gospel of Matthew, an angel appeared to Joseph and revealed to him that the child Mary carried in her womb was a gift of the Holy Spirit. The angel told him to name the child Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Then the angel drew a word from Isaiah to inform Joseph that this child would be called Emmanuel, “God is with us.” And, indeed, in Jesus, God is with us always. 

We also heard good news in the reading from Isaiah 52. This word was originally delivered to exiles living in Babylon. It celebrates the good news delivered by the messenger of God, whose feet are beautiful, that God reigns. When the sentinels at the gates of Zion heard the news, they broke out in songs of joy because God had redeemed Jerusalem. Therefore, all the earth “shall see the salvation of our God.”

The messenger of God has invited us to heed the call of the angels and “go tell it on the mountain,  . . .  that Jesus Christ is born.”  Yes, and Merry Christmas to all because no matter how things may look, God still reigns. Let us, therefore, join with Tiny Tim and proclaim:  “God bless us, everyone!”    

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall, Pastor

Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 

Troy, MI

December 23, 2020

Christmas Eve