Sermon from 12/24/2022, Christmas Eve Worship, by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, Luke 2:1-8
I’d like to tell you a Christmas story.
It’s about two of our parishioners.
…who had two sons.
…then decided to share their love with a third, whom they would adopt
...not from the U-S...
But from Ethiopia.
They made contact. Laid the groundwork.
And after no small period of time...
...and no small sum of money... ...they found Nathan... …in an orphanage…
…in Ethiopia.
They weren’t told much.
Just that his mother was very young...
…and thought it best to give Nathan a home elsewhere.
So, Nathan was adopted...
...as an infant… …by two amazing adoptive parents... …and moved to Michigan.
…where he grew up with his older brothers.
…who were white... …while Nathan was not...
…which means he suspected he was different…
…he suspected he had another set of parents...
…and had left another sort of life behind…
All of which, was cloaked in mystery.
Then, a decade later, just this year, through a series of fortunate events, Nathan’s adoptive parents found Nathan's birthparents... ...living in Ethiopia.
…husband and wife…. …with two other children.
The parents of Nathan… ...their eldest…
…who had been adopted out at a young age and lived in Michigan.
What a discovery!
What a discovery for Nathan’s adoptive parents!
We can only imagine…
...the suspense, the excitement, and the growing anticipation...
...that was simmering… ...as they figured out how and what to tell their son!
This would be a new dawn for Nathan.
He was about to find out so much more about who he was...
…and whose he was.
He would get to meet people who loved him…
…and learn about a family he was a part of…
…a parallel life that was going on unbeknownst to him...
…that he always had some inkling existed...
...but had been shrouded in unapproachable mystery…
…that was not ever expected to be made known.
Until now!
What would this mean?
What possibilities would arise?
What new future would unfurl?
Now that his life’s biggest mystery had been solved?
----------------
Next scene…. …Bethlehem.
There are parents…
There is a birth…
There is a son… …who would also be suspicious of his parents...
At this birth…
…there would be no shortage of sign and symbol…
...saying this was no ordinary pregnancy, delivery, or child…
For into a world...
…that has always suspected something more was going on…
…is born a child… …who would confirm our suspicions…
…that yes, there is something else going on!
What a discovery for you and me...
It is no less than a new dawn...
As we discover who we are... …and whose we are.
In Christmas we discover a people who love us…
…we learn about a family we are a part of…
…a parallel life that was going on unbeknownst to us...
…that we always had some inkling existed...
…but had been shrouded in unapproachable mystery…
…that was not ever expected to be made known.
Until now!
Like Nathan, we ask:
What does this mean?
What possibilities now arise?
What new future will unfurl?
Now that his life’s biggest mystery has been solved?
--------------
Christmas is the assurance that something else is going on -
We are not alone -
We are not abandoned.
The message of Christmas is simple:
Love came down from heaven
To be born as one of us, to live as one of us, and to forgive us and teach us a new way of living:
The Way of Love.
Our response to Christmas is just as simple:
It is to accept this love and to put it into action.
In a few moments we will kneel and light our candles - knowing that, as Volodmyr Zeleski recently reminded us, that "When Ukrainian people celebrate Christmas by candlelight this year, it will not be for romantic reasons. It will be because they do not have electricity.”
Christmas is about taking in the Good News, and taking it out:
We’ve been given warmth,
We’ve been given food,
We’ve been given a savior.
And We’ve been given warmth to share warmth
We’ve been given food to share food
We’ve been given a savior to share the savior.
What does that look like to you and me tonight?
If you're like me, God is asking you to do something difficult right now... something selfless, and sacrificial that just might change the course of someone's life - and might give us a sense of fulfillment, purpose, and joy, that we've played a role in God's plan to heal the world.
So don't ignore that generous urge.
Christmas confirms our deepest suspicions -
And challenges our every action and intent from here on out.
May the year ahead see us growing in faith…
…that that ‘other world’ is there…
…that we can trust more dearly in its promises…
…full of more confidence and joy than ever, because life’s biggest mystery has now been solved.
Amen.