| Sermon for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2004 |
THE LIGHT BEYOND THE MANGER
December 24, 2004
One of my favorite things to do at Christmas has always been looking at the lights. When I was a child, I can remember sitting, for what seemed like hours at a time, just staring at the lights on the Christmas tree. I was especially fascinated by the old fashioned ones that bubbled as they gave off an array of different colors. The old farmhouse seemed especially warm and cozy bathed in those beautiful lights. Even this Christmas, I still find myself ohhing and ahhing as I drive through Denver’s neighborhoods checking out the lights! Reading the newspaper the other morning I came upon a story in Joanne Ditmer’s column about how Denver has gone down in history as being the first city to have colored electric lights on outdoor evergreens. It was really a beautiful story. Maybe some of you read it. It was a story that took place in 1914. There was a six year old boy named David Sturgeon who was ill and confined to a bed in an upstairs room. He could not see the Christmas tree that was downstairs. His father was an electrician and had an idea to bring the light of Christmas to his small son. He painted some light bulbs red and green and strung them on a tree outside his son’s window. He not only brought the light to his son, but the neighbors, who knew why he had strung those lights, came by to look and marvel at those lights. It started a whole new tradition…even a whole new industry! We cannot celebrate Christmas without light! A couple of weeks ago, when Harvey was speaking at our special Advent musical services he offered to give a prize to the person that came up with the correct number of times the word “light” was used throughout the program. Did anyone take Harvey up on that offer? We celebrate the symbol of light as we light our Advent wreath. We come together on Christmas Eve to light our candles We sing songs about the light that shone in the sky the night Jesus was born. We talk about the light of the star that guided the Magi to the manger. As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed in anticipation of the light that was to come, “The people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light. Upon them light has shined.” Christmas really is all about light, the light that has come to us from God through the Christ child. The other day, I looked up the meaning of light in Webster’s dictionary. There were about 35 different definitions of light but the first one said, “the essential condition of vision, the opposite of darkness.” We all need light because we need a way of seeing through the darkness…not in the literal sense that a person who is blind cannot see…but in the sense that all of us experience darkness in life that at times threatens to overcome us. What can save us from that kind of darkness, the kind of darkness that is or will be apart of each of our lives? How many families are experiencing darkness this holiday season because loved ones are lost or will be lost because they are fighting a war in a far-a-way place? How many people are experiencing darkness because someone is missing from our holiday celebrations? Darkness, because the diagnosis was not good…darkness because the way is not clear…darkness because a relationship or a career has ended. Celebrating Christmas does not make the darkness go away. In fact it is often around the holidays that the darkness can seem even more intense. Don’t believe that familiar Christmas song that says, “Our troubles will be miles away.” That is not how it works! But there is hope, there is love, there is light, that makes a way in the darkness. Maybe you are hearing me talk about light in the darkness this Christmas Eve because sense last Christmas Eve my family experienced a time of profound darkness. Most of you know, I do not have children of my own. But, I feel very blessed to have a wonderful extended family as my four brothers and their families have given me many nieces and nephews that are like my children and now great nieces and nephews that are like grandchildren. Last year at Christmas we were anticipating the birth of twins…the first twins for the Bates family for generations. My nephew and his wife had a little girl who had just turned a year old and they learned that in a few months they would have three little girls under a year and a half. We joked about three prom dresses and three consecutive college tuitions and three wedding gowns, we were all so much anticipating the future. A few weeks after Christmas my brother and his wife were here in Colorado visiting me when they got the call that Mandy, the twins mother was experiencing difficulty in her pregnancy. Something was going wrong and the twins were arriving in this world much too prematurely. My brother and his wife rushed back to Michigan and just a couple of days later the twins, Alyse and Audrey, were born. It was a great mixture of joy and anxiety. They were with us and yet they were so small, so fragile. Alyse lived for only 48 hours. My brother called asking if I could come and help them plan a service for her. When I arrived on a Sunday evening, I went immediately to the hospital where the family was surrounding Audrey, the other twin, who seemed to be doing well. Her vital signs were strong, and even though she was tiny, she seemed so full of life. I remember how difficult it was to be grieving the loss of one life while we were cheering on the life of another, somehow hoping she could gather strength from all the love surrounding her. We left the hospital, upon the urging of the nurses, to get something to eat and even before the order came, there was a call to get back to the hospital as soon as possible. Audrey was slipping from life. We took turns holding her until she too was gone from us. It was one of the hardest and yet most beautifully profound moments of life. I hope I will never forget the power of love in that room that night, the love of a parent for a child, a grandparent for a grandchild. Two days later we celebrated two precious lives and grieved that their time with us was so short. It was a very dark, painful time, as much of life can be. As we gathered together as a family we needed to remember what we had just celebrated a few weeks before when we had gathered for Christmas…those words from John’s Gospel talking about God coming to us in Christ. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness, did not overcome it.” I believe that with God there is always more…more love, more life, more light. Almost a year has passed, and even though the loss will always be a part of us, there is much to celebrate. Todd and Mandy are once again expecting. So far, everything is going well and little Zachary seems very healthy and should be arriving sometime in early spring. The words, “Unto us a child is born…” has even more meaning for us this Christmas. Tonight is a night of great celebration for all of us, not because there is no darkness in our world, but because God’s great love for us has overcome the darkness. We celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. It is like the story I shared earlier, of the six year old who was unable to see the Christmas lights. His father could not take away the boy’s illness but he found a way to bring the Christmas light to his son and transform his world. In a few moments we will be lighting our candles from the light of the Christ candle. As you look at that light, reflect on all of the ways that God has come into your life bringing light. May your light so shine…. |
