Christmas Eve - The Magic of Christmas

Christmas is magic.

‌Children know it.

‌And we used to know it – as we used to be children.

‌And we can sometimes think that we have grown out of that – that we know better.

‌And we are wrong!

‌The word gospel comes not from the Greek words good news – euangelion – but from old anglo Saxon – good spell

‌This is the magical book containing the true spell that has the power to transform the world

‌Think of snow – why is it connected to Christmas?

‌For us it means that we are going to have to work to clear the driveway and that the drive to work will be trouble – but it was not always this way.

‌Once we saw what children can still see – that snow transforms the dark and dreary world of winter into a fairy kingdom – that everything familiar is magically changed – that a spell has been cast

‌And that to see this as a problem – that is the illusion – the winter wonderland of frost and snow is the reality – and every child knows it

‌We are catching a glimpse of the way the world really is

And this is why Christmas is magic

‌Because what we call the real world is the illusion – we were not made for desk work and drudgery and office politics and soul destroying spreadsheets – we were made for life and for adventure – we were made for reality.

‌And in this good-spell book as our ancestors called it we find the heart of the magic and the reason why tonight is so magical

‌One night a poor carpenter and his young wife who are secretly king and queen of Isreal as the direct descendants of David are driven out of their home by a wicked usurper and they have to have hide their child in a cave - a child conceived by pure divine magic – and real magicians from the east are drawn to them – by messages sent by a star – and angels are seen in the skys of this world – and it turns out that the child who is not only a child – is also the great creator god of the world himself who has turned himself - by magic - into a human being to come and begin a life of wonders and to heal the entire world – again by magically taking on all the worlds sins and pains and dying – and incredibly – magically rising again from the dead to ascend to heaven and live forever.

‌This is an incredible and magical tale – and yet it is absolutely true.

‌In fact no historical event of the ancient world is better documented and attested to with all the rigor of science than the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

All ancient cultures knew that this time of year was highly magical – and celebrated the moment that the darkness and cold were halted, the night was turned back and the light began to grow again in the world.

‌And this was actually deeply true – and the God who made the the times and seasons came among us to show us in Jesus Christ the true and hidden nature of the world.

‌This is why Christmas is magic.

‌Because it shows us what we always guessed – that trapped as we are in this dark world of sadness and fear – this is not our home. We are lost and exiled here - and we catch glimpses of our true home shining through – and if as we grow older we lose the ability to see them its not because they are not there – but because we are no longer looking.

‌But God came to dispel this world of shadows and dark spells woven around us by that evil enchanter, the enemy of all things.

‌He came to break open our dungeon doors of darkness and let the light stream in.

‌He came not to make a new world – but to show us the way our world really is – underneath its dark spell - that it is a place of wonder and magic.

‌This Christmas – remember the magic that you experienced when you were young – and if you are young still let the magic flow through you - let it touch your hearts – enter now into this magical world of the liturgy in which we are transported through our ancient ritual to the birth of Christ.

‌And remember, remember, remember the magic.

‌Remember what is real – remember that today the spell of the darkness was broken, today the night was overcome, today the world of dust and sin was washed away.

‌And rejoice – for a child has been born to us – a son has been given to us – and he, king of kings, lord of lords, our true prince and ruler, the king of all the world, Christ has broken through every obstacle, thrown down every barrier and has at last come. Amen. Alleluia!