Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Eve (2025)

Christmas Eve

“When Grace Appears”

Titus 2:11–14

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

THE SETTING: A NIGHT THAT FEELS FAMILIAR—AND IS ANYTHING BUT

Christmas Eve is a night we know how to do.

We know the hymns. We know when to stand and when to sit. We know the candlelight is coming. We know how this night is supposed to feel.

Families cherish traditions because traditions are predictable. They anchor us. They make the world feel steady, at least for a moment.

And yet—Scripture insists on telling us something unsettling tonight:

The first Christmas was not predictable. It was not safe. It was not gentle change.

It was God breaking into the world.

That is why the Epistle reading for this holy night does not begin with shepherds or angels or a manger. It begins with a declaration that sounds like thunder:

“For the grace of God has appeared.”

That word—appeared—means more than “was noticed.” It means burst into view. It means shone forth. It means entered history and changed it forever.

Christmas Eve is not simply a remembrance. It is a proclamation.

THE MALADY: A WORLD THAT DOESN’T REALLY CHANGE

The world Jesus was born into looked a lot like ours.

There were rulers grasping for power. There was violence lurking beneath the surface. There were ordinary people trying to survive. There were broken hearts, broken promises, broken lives.

And for all our traditions and songs, that world has not gone away.

Some of you come tonight joyful and at peace. Others come exhausted. Some carry grief that feels sharper during the holidays. Some come with guilt that hasn’t loosened its grip. Some come hoping—quietly—that maybe something will finally be different.

But left to ourselves, nothing really changes.

We repeat the same patterns. We fight the same sins. We make the same resolutions and break them again. We promise ourselves, “Next year will be different.”

And that is precisely why Paul announces what he does:

“The grace of God has appeared.”

Because the world cannot save itself. And neither can we.

THE EPIPHANY: GRACE DOES NOT EVOLVE—IT APPEARS

Paul does not say grace developed. He does not say grace gradually improved society. He says grace appeared.

This is the language of epiphany. Light breaking into darkness. Dawn shattering night.

Grace appeared in flesh and blood.

In the birth of Jesus, God did not send ideas. He did not send inspiration. He did not send advice.

God sent His Son.

Christmas is not about human progress. It is about divine intervention.

And Paul insists this grace is:

“bringing salvation for all people.”

Not just for the religious. Not just for the prepared. Not just for those who look like they have their lives together.

For sinners. For wanderers. For failures. For the weary.

For you and for me.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER: WHY THIS CHILD WAS BORN

Paul will not let us linger long at the manger.

He moves quickly to the purpose of this Child:

“[Jesus] gave Himself for us.”

That sentence pulls Christmas forward toward Good Friday.

The Child born tonight was born to give Himself.

To redeem. To rescue. To purchase us back from what enslaved us.

The manger already casts the shadow of the cross.

The One wrapped in swaddling cloths will be wrapped in burial linens.

The One laid in a feeding trough will be laid in a borrowed tomb.

And yet—this is grace.

Because the One who gives Himself does so willingly, joyfully, for us.

Paul says He gave Himself:

“to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people of His own.”

Christmas is not only about forgiveness. It is about belonging.

You are not just pardoned. You are claimed.

THE SHOCKING CLAIM: GRACE THAT TRAINS

Then Paul says something unexpected:

“The grace of God… trains us.”

Grace is not passive. Grace is not sentimental. Grace does not leave us unchanged.

Grace teaches us.

It teaches us to say “No”— to ungodliness, to worldly passions, to lives curved inward on ourselves.

And grace teaches us to say “Yes”— to self-control, to righteousness, to godly living in this present age.

Not because we are earning salvation. But because salvation has already been given.

This is not moral improvement. It is new creation.

A Savior is born to change the world— and that change begins in hearts reshaped by grace.

THE WAITING CHURCH: CHRISTMAS LOOKS FORWARD

St. Paul reminds us that grace has two appearings.

The first has already happened:

“The grace of God has appeared.”

The second is still coming:

“We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Christmas is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the end.

The Savior who came in humility will come again in glory.

The Child who was laid in a manger will return as King.

And so tonight we are a waiting people— not anxiously, not fearfully, but confidently.

Because the same grace that appeared once will appear again.

THE RESPONSE: WHY WE SING TONIGHT

So why do we sing tonight?

Not because the world is finally peaceful. Not because our lives are finally simple. Not because everything feels resolved.

We sing because grace has appeared.

We sing because a Savior is born.

We sing because God has stepped into history to redeem us, to reshape us, and to give us a hope that will not disappoint.

And so with angels and archangels, with shepherds and saints, with heaven and earth joined together,

we lift our voices and rejoice:

Christ the Savior is born. Glory to God in the highest. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray.

Gracious God, we thank You that on this holy night Your grace has appeared in the birth of Your Son, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We praise You that He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from sin, to cleanse us by His blood, and to make us Your own treasured people.

As we rejoice that Christ the Savior is born, train us by Your grace. Teach us to turn away from all that is not of You, and to live lives shaped by faith, love, and hope in this present age.

Strengthen us as we wait for the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of our Lord— so that, forgiven and renewed, we may live as people of the light until that day when faith gives way to sight.

Keep us in Your peace this night. Let the joy of Christ’s coming guard our hearts and minds. And receive our praise, as with angels and all the faithful we glorify You for the gift of Your Son.

For to You, O Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, be all glory, honor, and praise, now and forever.

Amen.