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Christmas Eve
[caption id="attachment_308237" align="alignnone" width="1500"]
The Nativity depicted in the South Stall Woodwork of Saint Thomas Church[/caption]
Eternal God, who made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of thy one true light: bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth, to see the radiance of thy heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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Christmas Eve
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Scripture citation(s): Luke 2:1-20
A Sermon by
Fr. Mead
on
Luke 2:1-20
✛
The Baby is Love Almighty
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…the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass…
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
First the shepherds came to Bethlehem. Then at some point came the Wise Men from the east. Then the Holy Family had to run for their lives from Herod and take refuge in Egypt. Then after a few more extraordinary childhood episodes, there was a hidden period of two decades, until Jesus began his public ministry which culminated in his death on Good Friday and his Resurrection from the dead three days later.
But wait; let us stop for a minute. The Church gives us Christmas, the Feast of Christ’s Birthday, to give us a chance to visit Bethlehem too. And what a procession of us there has been and is! Here we are just in one place, about a thousand or so of us. And what efforts you have made to be here – probably more than those first shepherds, although not so much as the Wise Men. Let me take a moment to acknowledge some of you.
The people who were sitting inside for an hour and waiting are regular, pledging, contributing members of Saint Thomas. We give them tickets to get in early so they have a chance to go to their own Church on Christmas. There are also families of our Choirboys, children who sing their way through school from fourth to eighth grade and who board at Saint Thomas Choir School.
Then there are so many of you who waited outside till the doors opened. I went out to greet you. You are such good sports! Welcome to every one of you. A special welcome to President Clinton and Senator Clinton. No matter what the state of your faith, this is for you. The babe lying in the manger is for you; he is in fact God’s word to you.
The Church teaches (and firmly I believe and truly) that the Babe in the manger is none other than Almighty God in the flesh; that he is our Savior on two essential counts. First, he is the Son of God – the Divine Word, who is God, by whom all things are made, who has taken our human nature on himself in order to show us the way back to God. Second, he is the Son of Man, who has lived the one truly flawless, perfectly fulfilled human life, and who shows each of us what life is really about.
But if this is too much to take in, let us distill the word to its most basic, accessible simplicity. The Babe in the manger is about Love; self-giving, self-forgetting sacrificial love. He shows us that until we learn to love a little, we have yet to live. All the genuine love there is in the world has a connection to him.
We are about to recite the Creed of the Church, which centers on the Babe in the manger; namely, his identity and his work as a Savior. The Creed is important. But far more important is this business about love. You can have all the faith in the world, but if you don’t have love, you have nothing. So it is better to doubt and question and to love, than it is to believe and assent and not to love. “Love came down at Christmas,” says the poem, “Love all lovely, love divine.”
I invite all baptized Christians who wish to receive the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, no matter what your denomination, to come forward to receive Holy Communion. If you are not baptized, I ask that you remain in your place during Communion and pray with and for us. If the idea of being baptized attracts you, Hallelujah! Please speak to one of the clergy, and we can arrange that easily. Not tonight, but as soon as may be.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, the babe in the manger who is Love almighty in our flesh, bless you. May he win his way in your life. And on this, his birthday, may each one of us take to heart the commandment he gave his friends at the end of his life: Children, love one another, as I have loved you.
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
