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Sentence

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; for to us a child is born, to us a son is given.

Isaiah 9:2, 6                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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Collect  

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Eternal God,
who made this most holy night
to shine with the brightness of your one true light:
bring us,
who have known the revelation of
that light on earth,
to see the radiance of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

   

  

Readings

• Christmas Eve
• Isaiah 9:2-7
• Psalm 96
• Titus 2:11-14
• Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Next week:

• Christmas Day:
• Isaiah 62:6-12
• Psalm 97
• Titus 3:4-8a
• Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20

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A Thought to Ponder

Christmas Eve – Luke 2: 1-14
“For today in the city of David a saviour has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.”

Centuries of hope in God’s promise have come to fulfilment: the Messiah is born!

Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth (Gospel) begins by placing the event during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Augustus, who ruled from 27 B.C.-14 A.D., was honoured as “saviour” and “god” in ancient Greek inscriptions. His long reign was hailed as the pax Augusta: a period of peace throughout the vast Roman world. Luke deliberately points out that it is during the rule of Augustus, the saviour, “god” and peacemaker, that Jesus the Christ, the long-awaited Saviour and Messiah, the Son of God and Prince of Peace, enters human history.

Throughout his Gospel, Luke shows how it is the poor, the lowly, the outcast and the sinner who embrace the preaching of Jesus.The announcement of the Messiah’s birth to shepherds – who were among the most isolated and despised in the Jewish community – is in keeping with Luke’s theme that the poor are especially blessed of God.

Christmas Day – John 1: 1-18
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us . . .

The Gospel for Christmas Day is the beautiful Prologue hymn to John’s Gospel. With echoes of Genesis 1 (“In the beginning,” “the light shines on in darkness”), John’s prologue exalts Christ as the creative Word of God that comes as the new light to illuminate God’s re-creation.

In the original Greek text, the phrase “made his dwelling place among” is more accurately translated as “pitched his tent or tabernacle.” The image evokes the Exodus memory of the tent pitched by Israelites for the Ark of the Covenant. God sets up the tabernacle of the new covenant in the body of the Child of Bethlehem.

The humility and selflessness of Jesus that will be the centrepiece of his ministry and mission as the Messiah are first seen in his simple birth among the poor.

The true miracle of Christmas continues to take place in the Bethlehem’s of our hearts. In the emptiness of our souls, God forgives us, reassures us, exalts us, elates us, loves us.

Christmas is more than a birth of a child; it is the beginning of the Christ event that will transform and re-create human history, a presence that continues to this day and for all time.

In Jesus, the extraordinary love of God has taken our “flesh” and “made his dwelling among us.” In his “Word made flesh,” God touches us at the very core of our beings, perfectly expressing his constant and unchanging love.

© Connections/MediaWorks

Sermon

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