Isaiah 9:2-7
Christmas
is three days away. I’m sure you were expecting a sermon about Mary and Joseph.
Some of you would be thrilled if I had opened with, “Jacob Marley was dead.” Instead
I have retreated deep into the Old Testament to retrieve a promise to a people overwhelmed
by darkness.
Why
such a Grinch-like attitude? Is succumbing to just one Ho-Ho-Ho beneath my
melancholy personality? Maybe one of Dickens’s spirits should invade my dreams
and offer an invitation to celebrate a new dawn. You would think I would rejoice
at the lights which blazes from each lamp post. I should celebrate the constant jingles declaring
Santa’s arrival in every department store. I know it is Christmas because my
mailbox is filled to capacity with gracious holiday greetings. Even Kline’s is
selling peppermint ice cream. So what is my problem? Why can’t I get with the
program and give Amazon some business?
Maybe
I am too busy reflecting on the ghost of Christmas past. For many of us
Christmas is a time flooded with memories. I am fortunate to have wonderful
yuletide recollections. I am old enough to have walked the Duke of Gloucester
Street with a lamplighter who hollered to local residents, “Mrs. Smith, Mrs.
Jones, light your candles.” I remember Christmas caroling in the back of a
truck filled with hay where snuggling with your girl friend became permissible
when the temperatures dropped below freezing.
I spent one winter near the DMZ in an
oversized tin can lamenting a ham stolen by a Korean saint. In Virginia Beach, Deb, the kids and I spent
Christmas mornings delivering meals before our first gifts were opened. Then
there was Emma, an ancient wonder ravished by time who one Christmas taught my
son everything he didn’t want to know about death. These stories of redemption fill
my soul each Christmas. They are my light against the darkness.
It
is good to have these memories. When the shopping, noise, and expectations wear
me down these anecdotes remind me that once upon a time Christmas wasn’t so
complicated. That is not true for everyone. For many, memories of Christmas are filled
with darkness. A loved one lost during this season leaves a permanent shadow
across any holiday. This is why I believe any celebration of Christmas should
never be without with Isaiah’s ancient poem to those walking in darkness. Certainly
Luke remembered this promise when he sat down to write the story of Jesus to a community
which was desperately searching for light amidst their despair.
Seven
hundred years before the birth of Jesus the people of Judah were filled with
distress and anguish. The King was dying. There was nothing particularly positive about
king Ahaz but his death was about to place his very young son on the throne in
an extremely perilous time. Isaiah had
the gall to announce this boy would be a godly king who would establish justice
and righteousness. Isaiah promised Hezekiah would be celebrated as a wonderful counselor
and prince of peace. While history records Hezekiah was a far superior king
than his father, Hezekiah never lived up to the Isaiah’s expectations. But
folks never forgot Isaiah’s words. His poetry continues to burn within the
heart of anyone longing not just for a Messiah but an assurance of hope against
the prevailing darkness. Isaiah reminds us that there is no end to the birth of
God.
In
the deepest of night, there was a star.
In
the midst of the despairing, there was an angel.
In
a manger filled with no room, there was a birth.
In
a world consumed by darkness, there was light.
I
love what happens throughout December but I wish we could celebrate Christmas
at a different time. I love buying gifts
for loved ones. It is fun getting cards from folks I miss. I enjoy the
festivities and the food is great. I especially take pleasure in the generosity
exhibited toward less fortunate folks in the week before Christmas. It is a
wonderful way to celebrate the winter solstice. Cultures since the beginning of
humankind have engaged in this sort of festivity. It is the last fling before
the snow officially arrives and we are forced to flee into our caves and pray
fervently for the early arrival of spring.
But why must Christmas
be associated with darkness? Why does Christmas exhaust us? Why do we work so
hard to decorate our houses but fail to decorate our souls? Why is Christmas for
so many a time of sadness?
If we could eliminate
the decorations, the silly songs, the gift giving, the cards, all the food, and
dare I say it, even peppermint ice cream, what would be left?
Only a light,
shining
in our darkness.
Only a son,
given
to us.
Only a Wonderful Counselor,
establishing
justice.
Only a Prince of Peace,
upholding
righteousness.
Only a promise that
Despite
our sorrow,
God
will share our pain.
Because God so loved the world.
No single day can contain
Christ’s birth.
No amount of darkness can conceal God’s
light. Because God so loved the world.
Every day,
Unto us,
Hope is
born. Amen
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