Christmas Eve A

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Christmas Eve, Year A

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
To all of you who are loved by God and called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Believe it or not, it was 1983 when the iconic movie “A Christmas Story” came out, and we all got to learn about an 8-year-old boy named Ralphie Parker and his desperate quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas in the 1940s. It became so iconic that it now runs straight for 24-hours on Christmas Day.
As we start to get to know Ralphie in his hometown, we learn quickly that he’s quite a dreamer. Among his dreams are what he would do once he actually acquired his “...official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot, range model air rifle.” Ralphie is suddenly dressed head-to-toe in bright-colored cowboy attire, radiating the aura of a true hero, air rifle in hand, ready to take on the bad guys - a gang of criminals led by a dastardly villain named Black Bart. But as bad as Black Bart appears to be, Ralphie saves the day with his trusty “official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot, range model air rifle.
Now, I’ve watched this movie a few dozen times over the years, and I always just assumed that Black Bart was a fictional character. I’ve since learned otherwise: “Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard.” [Today in the Word, August 8, 1992.]
Imagine that - Bart’s reputation alone was enough to cause havoc and strike so much fear into people’s hearts that he never actually had to use his guns. He never took a hostage, nor did he need to. Law enforcement didn’t even chase him. That’s some serious power. And fear is a potent weapon of that power.
Fear is one of those powerful emotions that makes us do un-Christian things. We cower and flee out of fear. We find ourselves not thinking about right or wrong, but thinking instead about safety versus danger, when we should be thinking about virtue. We are distracted thinking about comfort versus hazard, when we should be thinking about what’s right. We are trapped into focusing on security while concerned about threat, instead of thinking about what is God-pleasing and morally right. Just look at what’s happened to us as a society since March of 2020. We are a nation absolutely driven by fear. Just the scenes of people getting into fist fights over toilet paper was enough to tell you how much fear drives us.
And what is the opposite of fear? It’s not courage or bravery. The opposite of fear is FAITH. I still remember the definition of faith that my pastor gave me in my Confirmation class: “a relationship to God based on trust.” I also like the description in Hebrews 11:1 - “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This word “faith” involves a few other religious words that are also important. To have faith means to believe, to obey, to trust, to hope. Notice that all of those verbs have an object: to believe something or someone; to obey someone; to trust someone; to hope in something or someone.
In the years leading up to Jesus’ birth, God’s chosen people had been in very dark times. They had been conquered and scattered. They had been nearly wiped out as a society and culture. Their capitol city had been sacked and the very center of their faith - their Temple - had been robbed and badly damaged. They had very little hope, and their faith was deeply troubled.
But let’s not forget - and this may be the most important aspect of this word - faith is not something we come up with on our own. We don’t just close our eyes harder, or pray harder, or anything else to muster our own faith. Faith is a gift from God, given to us by the Holy Spirit. Think of it this way: faith is something God does in us, not something we do on our own.
Since God knew that His people were also driven by fear, and had done some things that were very much not God-pleasing, He decided to fix the problem in the only way it could be fixed - by an act of God. He sent His Son to do what we could not - to pay the price for all of the sin and disobedience and ungodly behavior of all other human beings for all time. Quite simply, God’s Son came to save us from ourselves and our own stupidity and selfishness and stubbornness and arrogance and fearfulness. Because without God, that is exactly what we are: stupid and selfish and stubborn and arrogant and fearful.
But this is the beauty of God’s gift to us: now we don’t have to be that. We have been set free from being stuck in that darkness. We have been given the light of the Son of God Himself to shine into our hearts and to light up our path.
As hard as the world tries to smother and hide the true meaning of this world-changing event, we will never forget what it’s all about. And let’s remind ourselves every year to keep that meaning at the forefront of our thoughts. It’s not about how many presents you can give or receive. It’s not about how tall the tree in your living room is, or how many decorations you put up. It’s not about how many family and friends you can fit around your table for a big holiday feast.
Do you remember Charlie Brown struggling with this question? “‘I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree,’ said Charlie Brown. ‘Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don't really know what Christmas is all about. Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?’” [A Charlie Brown Christmas]
What does the arrival of the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah foretold by the prophets really mean? What does it mean that a young poor woman named Mary became pregnant with a baby whose father wasn’t her fiance Joseph? What does it mean that Joseph decided to listen to the angel in his dream and not abandon Mary, even though it might mean shame and dishonor for him and his family? What does it mean that when Joseph took Mary to the city of his family to be registered for the census, and he had to put her in an outdoor shelter surrounded by smelly farm animals to give birth to her infant son? What does all this mean?
It means that God’s plan is always to give us a way to find Him. God always is looking for a way to get into our hearts and battle the fear that the world is constantly assaulting us with. God is always working to bring our hearts closer to Him, to help us to be ever more the way He created us to be. God’s Son “became incarnate” - that is, he took on our flesh to help us in exactly the way that we needed to be helped, so that we could be close to God, to have the faith that we need, and to enjoy the eternal plan that God has for all of us. That is what the incarnation of the Son of God means. It is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to us. Jesus was and is the walking, talking proof that God always keeps His promise. Jesus taking on our flesh and facing suffering and death is the proof that God’s plan is greater than anything the world can threaten us with, even greater than death itself. God’s plan is for eternal life, and we see that in the resurrection of His Son.
Looking around at the world today, it’s easy to get caught up in the fear. Most of our media is focused on it. They want us to be afraid of many things: of wars overseas and violence here at home; of guns and knives and psychotic people who might run you over with their vehicle; of germs and bacteria and viruses; of terrorists both foreign and domestic; of corrupt police officers and power-hungry politicians; of defective household appliances and everyday items that suddenly develop unforeseen hazards… the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? “Be afraid” the world tells us… “Be afraid, because you’d be crazy not to be.”
“Not tonight,” we say to the world and its prince - the prince of lies himself. Not tonight. Tonight we know that we are not afraid. And tonight we know why we don’t have to be. Tonight the very reason for our faith was born. And he didn’t have to come in as a mighty warrior king to fend off the forces of darkness. He came as a tiny baby, helpless and vulnerable. And he still saved all of us.
And so tonight we’re not afraid. Tonight we have hope. Tonight we are as brave as Ralphie with his BB gun. But we have something better than an “official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot, range model air rifle.” Tonight we have God’s answer to the world’s problems. Tonight, on this holy night, we have our Savior.
And now the Peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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