Christmas Midnight
24 December, Anno Domini 2016
St. Luke 2:1-14
Pr. Kurt Ulmer
In the Name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
“Now the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep…” “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger…” “And there was light.” On that first Christmas the divine light of God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, shone forth from the manger enlightening the whole creation. And in the face of that light, the shadow of sin and death that had been cast over all men since the fall was driven back into the abyss of hell forever.
Tonight, as we gather together, surrounded by the darkness of night, to hear that most familiar of stories, I want us to spend some time meditating on darkness and light. One of the sharpest contrasts is that of darkness and light. When you wake up in the morning and flip that first switch, the onslaught of light is practically painful. Your whole body recoils and your eyes snap back shut trying desperately to keep out the unwanted intruder. There’s nothing more you want in the moment than to shut the light off and rest again in the darkness…until you run into the door.
Light is really only valued when we don’t have it. When the power goes out and we are plunged into darkness and can’t even see our hand in front of our face, there isn’t anything more coveted than light, even the tiniest amount. Suddenly a match or candle become saviors, showing us the way, repelling the darkness, and illuminating danger.
Therein lies the beauty of Christmas. There IS light. Into the midst of deep, deadly, suffocating darkness, the darkness that drives men to despair and lie and kill and steal, flooded the pure bright light of God’s truth and mercy. We are no longer forced to blindly stumble around in fear, grasping desperately for something or someone to save us from the dark terror of death and judgment. God hasn’t left us to perish in sin’s dark shadow, as we deserve. He has sent the Light of Light to illumine the path that leads to life and expose the great dangers that skulk around in the night to devour us. This light, the source of eternal day in heaven, burning pure and bright with the full glory of God, a glory which we poor sinners could never look upon, wrapped Himself in the humility of our flesh so that we could see and know the love and compassion of God, so that we could look upon the face of God and there find the compassion we so desperately need. This light, Jesus Christ, brings hope to the hopeless, comfort to the mourning, and life to the dying.
It’s no wonder, then, that Scripture is filled with the language of light and darkness. The contrast reflects so well what our salvation is all about. The prophet Isaiah wrote, as we just heard, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” And that is wonderful news…unless you love the darkness. That’s the rub of Christmas. If Christ is the light, then everything that is not of Christ is darkness. The world with all of its power and splendor and wisdom and shiny things are shown to be nothing, complete and utter darkness. Why else would God despise all of that and send His Son wrapped in everything the world hates and despises – weakness, humility, children? He despises the power and prestige of kings. He despises the self-righteousness of those whom the world judged most holy and pious. Instead He humbled Himself to the deepest depths of degradation to point of death, even death on a cross…for you.
That is light, the light that makes sin and death flee, the light that reaches into the darkest, coldest corners of your life to bring you hope and peace. In the warm glow of that light we see that life lies in weakness, humility, and death – the death of Jesus to sin and our death to self.
But there isn’t anything more repugnant to the world. Nothing angers the world more than to be told that the very best it has to offer is worthless, that nothing it counts as precious or worthy or holy buys them anything from God. The world prizes strength, power, praise, domination, and self-preservation. And while that seems to make sense, it only shows how darkened our “light” is. The devil, his world, and our reason are so consumed and ruled by darkness that even the slightest amount of light, the mere mention of Christ, drives them insanely mad. If you still need proof of the world’s darkness just look around and see if the world is drawing you to the light of Christ. Hardly. At every turn the world is trying to block out this light and remain in its darkness. Where would the world and even your own flesh have you be right now or tomorrow morning? Are your television screens filled with what is good and holy and edifying? Does the world encourage you to call upon Christ and to share the Gospel? Does the world invite you to live and participate in the public square according to the Word of God? Does the world very carefully guard the Lord’s Day and urge you to be here receiving the gifts of Christ? Of course not. Instead, the unbelieving world does everything in its power to keep you far away from Christ and His Word. In the courtroom, around the watercooler, in the classroom, in legislative chambers, and on the battlefield the world is working feverishly to silence Christ and His Church.
Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” The light in us, what we like to call light – our reason and our wisdom our works- is not light at all! It is pure darkness. Just look around and see what the “light” of human reason has produced! All is most certainly not calm or bright. Men driving trucks into crowded markets in the name of their false god. People who want to call themselves doctors and healers administering drugs to kill and ripping children from their mothers’ wombs. Those charged with providing for the general welfare instead destroying holy marriage, grabbing at personal power, denying justice and aid to the weak and vulnerable, undermining the God-given and God-defined gift of human sexuality. False preachers spewing out their lies from pulpits and over the airways and internet leading people away from the light of God’s rich mercy in Christ and down the dark rabbit’s hole of your own righteousness. And here we are, right in the middle of it all. We are surrounded by the darkness of evil and it constantly threatens to consume us.
And perhaps the most frightening part of it all is that the darkness isn’t just around you. The very same darkness resides within your own heart, constantly trying to snuff out the light, constantly trying to drag you back into the darkness from which Christ has set you free. Your sinful flesh abhors the light because in the light of God’s word it’s evil is exposed for the deadly filth that it is. Your flesh doesn’t want to hear that anger is murder or that lust is adultery. The last thing your flesh wants to do is gladly hear and learn the Word of God. It is pleased as punch when week after week work and play keep you out of God’s house and out of earshot of God’s Word because God’s Word is the bright light that drives away sin’s darkness. As Jesus said “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (Jhn 3:19-20) What darkness must dwell within us when our Savior comes to us to forgive our sins, to speak peace to our bruised and burdened consciences, to teach us the will and work of God, to freely give us the love and mercy of God, to feed us the bread of His own life-giving flesh and we are nowhere to be found? If we will not be where the light is, then we will be in darkness. And when we walk in darkness, when we try to make our way in this world without the pure light of Christ and His Word, we stumble, we fall, we die.
The darkness is definitely great. But even greater is the light of Christ and darkness must retreat in His presence. Dear children of God, you have been called out of darkness and into the eternal light of Jesus. On you the holy light of Bethlehem has shined. The glory of God has shone upon you so that you might no longer stumble through the darkness into eternal judgment. In this light, nestled in the manger, overlooked by the world, the mercy of God shines upon you and the darkness flees. This light brings peace and healing. This light makes angels sing and demons flee. This light reveals the will of God to save you, to give you hope in the midst of your sorrow and your pain, to set you free from the darkness of this world that you might walk in the light of Jesus. This very evening, this sanctuary will be plunged into darkness in remembrance of this truth. And then, we will take our little candles and light them with the light from the altar, reminding us that it is the light of Christ that illumines our darkness. No amount of darkness can overcome this light. Your own darkness may seem impossibly dark, but it is brought to nothing in the light of the Son of God lying in the manger.
God grant us by His Spirit that we would walk always in this light, that our hearts may find rest and peace in Christ, and that we may enjoy the light of unending day in the kingdom of God.
In the Name of +Jesus.