Christmas Eve – Sunday December 24th, 2023 Worship

What does it mean to have “the Christmas spirit?” I’ve seen so many people posting over the past few weeks that they just haven’t been feeling in the Christmas spirit this year, for a whole variety of reasons. For some their hearts are being weighed down by all the violence in the world, for others it’s feeling trapped by grief and loss, still for others it’s burnout and the monotony of our day to day lives that is leading to this feeling of lack of Christmas spirit. For some, Christmas is finally just a much-needed extra day off from work; a goal point that got them through the last few weeks especially. Moreso than some other years, this one has just felt particularly long and difficult for many people. So, it’s had me wondering what the Christmas Spirit really is about.
As much as I love all the Christmas traditions of the music and the presents, the lights and the festivities, I think in many ways our sense of Christmas has become very commercialized. Now, don’t get me wrong because I also love a good Christmas Hallmark movie, but life doesn’t usually play out that way for everyone every single Christmas. The pain and heaviness in our lives doesn’t just cease because December 24th and 25th rolls around again. And, sometimes it’s difficult when we are surrounded by the joyfulness and lights of Christmas when we aren’t feeling that way too. I think it’s what’s leading to this feeling of not having “the Christmas spirit” for many because we’ve been taught that it only looks a certain way, namely joyful and filled with love, etc. We are not taught to think about how Christmas includes all of our lives, not just the happy, positive things.
Now, I’m not saying that to bring us down, and I certainly don’t want to take away any of the joy that you’ve been feeling because there is certainly joy at Christmas too. But, I want to return us to the promise that we are given in the birth of this tiny child. The promise of “God with Us,” Emmanuel. The promise of God’s closeness with humanity, of God’s being drawn into our very experience through the birth of Jesus. This is at the heart of Christmas in the church. In the birth of this baby Jesus, God is drawing the world even closer, all of the messy, awkward, painful bits of life too. It matters that Jesus was brought into this world the same way that every one else is and didn’t get to skip out on the growing pains of life. And, it reminds us that we are not alone if we aren’t quite feeling the same this Christmas as we have in other years.
As I have been spending more and more years away from my usual family Christmas traditions because of the nature of my work, I have been thinking more about Mary’s experience. For the birth of Jesus, she went with her soon-to-be husband to the town of his family for this registration. We don’t know if she has ever been to Bethlehem or if this overwhelming experience of giving birth is heightened by the unknowingness of this place. Because she wasn’t in Nazareth, I’m sure that her support system wasn’t there in this time of need for her, which probably heightened her very real fear of giving birth to this baby in the place where animals sleep. In an age of high infant mortality, it’s hard to pick a less sanitary place to bring new life into this world. I can only imagine the stress and anxiety that Mary was feeling as she prepared to go into labor, already exhausted from the travel, just wondering what was going to happen next. And, you’d think that being pregnant with the Son of God could at least get her a room at the inn!
And, while she had Joseph, I’m sure the animals and the unexpected shepherd guests were not helping her anxiety because that is just what every person wants after giving birth: three strangers coming to say they followed a star to find you. Three strangers who were terrified about the announcement of the birth and who followed the star, not knowing exactly what they would find, except that they were looking for a baby and a stable. What fun for Mary, who probably just wants to rest! For Mary especially, Christmas had the experience of joy, but it also was a very physically and emotionally demanding time. So, if you too are feeling weary and overwhelmed, or weighed down by the world, know that Mary is experiencing this with you.
Which, speaking of shepherds, we hear about their fear as the angel appeared to them in the field. And, honestly, I would be terrified too! They were just tending their sheep when the angel came to them to announce this great news and tell them that the Savior had been born, just follow the star it will lead you to the right place. Oh, and by the way a whole multitude of angels are going to come and sing with me now too… it’s no wonder the shepherds were terrified. Not to mention the fact that they still had all of their sheep. We never hear about that, but did they bring all of these sheep with them, or did they have to find someone to trust to watch over their livelihood to listen to this angel and follow a star, because I’m sure that would be easy to explain to someone else. Although, for Mary’s sake, I really hope they didn’t bring all of the sheep! So, I don’t think the shepherds were feeling quite joyful yet either.
Christmas also includes the words of the Prophet Isaiah. Words that are filled with intense hope regarding the end of warfare and bloodshed; that the clothes bloodied in war would be burned and exist no more. This includes a strong sense of hope that God’s peace would reign, not our version of peace where the less powerful has to cave to the forces of the most powerful, but a peace where all can dwell and thrive as God created them too. There are so many more layers to God’s peace that we hope for on Christmas when we celebrate the birth of the one who shall be called: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9: 6a NRSV). It is a peace that is ruled by justice and righteousness that will be endless. It is a raw kind of hope that the ways of the world would finally start to turn away from pain, oppression, and fear. This hope wasn’t just a casual, “I wish for world peace,” kind of hope, but one that was embodied in the very lives of the people in the prophet’s time and the people who were anxiously awaiting the birth of the Messiah to come and save them. And, it’s a hope that is very real in our world today too. A salvation that included changing their life situations here and now because it was incredibly difficult to live under empire after empire, surrounded by bloodshed and violence day in and day out. We can see how this is a powerful message today too.
So, as we think about what it means to be in the Christmas spirit, know that our celebration of Christmas has space for all of the emotions that we are feeling. Whether we are missing loved ones this holiday, surrounded by friends and family, missing home, feeling overwhelmed by all of the preparation, feeling guilty for celebrating while other parts of the world are experiencing violence, or even general weariness, all of these plus more exist as a part of the Christmas spirit. Because, like I said, the angels were joyous, the shepherds were terrified, I’m sure Mary was exhausted and nervous, who knows about Joseph, and Jesus is born and placed in a feed trough, not yet old enough to make sense of this new world around him but probably confused why a donkey might be trying to eat his bed. There wasn’t a big party the night that he was born, but there was the promise of God Incarnate, Emmanuel, dwelling among us. No matter how you are feeling this Christmas, I hope that this service can help you feel connected to these different aspects of the Christmas spirit and how they might be showing up in your life right now. I know that for me, no matter how I am feeling come Christmas Eve, I can usually find a moment of calm and peace when the candles are lit, the lights are turned down low, and together we sing Silent Night. May you have a moment that carries with you too, as we celebrate Christmas this year exactly as we are, and we celebrate that God has come to dwell among us.