Year A - Christmas Eve - December 24, 2022
A Glorious Christmas Eve
To honor the Gracious Trinity: God, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Isn’t this glorious! The Cathedral bedecked with greens and joyful red and gold and white? Our Altar Guild put in hours upon hours of prayerful planning to create this lush scene. We hauled nature inside because growing things are inherently sacred. Our God creates and delights in the beautiful chaos of this world.
Isn’t the choir glorious! And the organ and bells and our strong voices raised in song. Glorious! Unless you are Alex Hoefling, you have no idea the work it takes to corral this many personalities and pipes into a cohesive musical program. God delights in the beautiful chaos we create in this world.
Isn’t the Nativity glorious! The carved figurines of our Arni nativity set were a loving gift to you many years ago. Watching Deacon Ellen measure the space, arrange the pieces carefully to provoke energy and the holy story is a privilege few people enjoy. Each figure adds more depth to the Christmas story in the gospels. The Holy Family is there in the crèche, the shepherds and angels are gathering, there are lambs leaping over one another, a pack of sheepdogs looking on, and even a bagpiper! How like our God we can be: loving, creative, and full of delight.
My friends, Joy is holy. Delight is sacred. The psalm instructs us:
Ps 96:1 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein.
To declare “good news of great joy”, a messenger of God appeared to shepherds calmly, but the heavenly host burst into the scene praising God with an ancient hymn. Their gleeful display at the coming of the Messiah could not be contained.
Christmas isn’t simply a feast day to announce the arrival of a miracle child. We aren’t here to commemorate the birthday of a sage teacher. Tonight, we remind each other that The Eternal Godhead looked upon human society groaning in despair and yearned to heal us.
Yearned to turn us from fear to trust. Yearned to put away our violence and train us in tenderness. Yearned to transform hearts made hard by anxiety and greed into hearts filled with gladness, open and welcoming.
That yearning of the Godhead was drawn into the body of a woman named Mary. Held safe in her womb and protected by her beloved Joseph, God secretly became incarnate – as tangible as this poinsettia or our blessed figurines. Real, enfleshed, and vulnerable the Spirit of God lived beside us and cried, and walked, and taught, and died: Emmanuel.
THAT is glorious.
This universe is no experiment of a detached Divine Scientist. We aren’t perpetually tested in a cosmic game of “Gotcha!” with the Almighty dangling salvation in front of our perpetual failings. No, the Godhead slipped into history to bring us close.
The beautiful chaos of human society too easily descends into mayhem and violence because we gallop away from divine relationship, but God does not force our obedience. God delivered Jesus like an engraved invitation to the heavenly banquet.
That feast will be served right here, in the good earth, Creation will be perfected and we will reflect only peace and love. God lived so that Jesus could teach us the way to abundant life; a life of joy and delight for every person those we adore and despise.
You see, each of us is created holy – like the poinsettia or sunlight – we inhabit Creation to reflect some facet of God. Human beings, Jesus teaches, are created for love. In all this excitement, and beauty, and glorious celebration, recall the good news declared on that hillside: a Savior is born. A Savior who overcame death. A Savior who draws us into spiritual communion. A Savior, who is God’s gentle and persistent enticement to a godly life.
God waits on us. How do we reply? It is simple, but hard: Love God, love your neighbor as yourself, and in all things act accordingly.
Ps 96:1 Sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; *
proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Amen. Merry Christmas!
Dean Vanessa Clark+