Christmas Eve, Year A (December 24, 2022) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Christmas Eve I, Yr A (2022)                                                The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)                                                                  St. Andrew’s on-the-Hill

In the name of the one, holy, and living God:

            who was, and is, and is to come.  Amen.

Time is a strange thing…

            sometimes it creeps by,

       even coming to a seeming halt in the midst of deep sorrow.

Sometimes it whizzes by so fast we can’t even seem to account for it.

The story we retell on this night every year is timeless…

            yet sometimes the events seem so long ago and far away

       that we come to this evening yearning to hear its relevance for our lives.

What is it all about:

this birth of the Messiah?

Luke begins his narration setting his story in a very particular time and place:

“in those days,” he begins.

In those days the Emperor Augustus ruled with an arbitrary and tight fist.

In those days Quirinius was governor of Syria.

In those days taxation was a burden for the poor:

 lives had to be rearranged to travel to one’s proper place of registration

with resources that didn’t exist.

In those days Mary and Joseph were required to travel to Bethlehem to be registered.

Now, by the time they finally made it to Bethlehem,

they could not find any room for the night –

            perhaps they were among the last of the crowd -

      so they settled for the only place available:

a cave used to house the livestock.

It was then,

in the midst of chaos and crowds and exhaustion

and swollen feet and belly

and being far away from home

       that the time came for Mary to deliver her child.

Of all possible times!

Now?

The time came for Mary to give birth to new life…

a new life promised to her by an angel…

      a new life which made no sense to her

but which she had accepted with some Peace,

knowing that somehow,

some way,

things would be all right in the end.

For us sitting here this evening,

“in those days” two millennia ago seems far, far away

       and yet “those days” could also be this very night.

Not one of us is untouched by times of chaos and exhaustion

or times of loneliness and fear.

Not one of us is untouched as we hear of injustices around the world,

or struggle with our own health or that of a loved one.

And yet…

in the midst of the struggles and frailty of this life,

     we gather together to hear the story of new life and hope in the birth of Jesus,

the Son of God,

   who found his first home in a feeding trough,

       rupturing the image of the advent of the Messiah as an all-powerful king.

If God can be at work in the lives of the humble and side-lined characters of this Gospel,

         then perhaps God can be at work in our lives, too!

Perhaps the time has come for us as well.

You see,

in those days,

       God showed up in the lives of ordinary folks going about their ordinary lives.

Not only did God show up in the lives of Joseph, an ordinary carpenter,

            and Mary, an ordinary young woman,

      but God showed up in the lives of ordinary shepherds out in the fields.

As the shepherds went about their usual business in the middle of the night,

taking care of the sheep in their charge,

none other than an angel of God dropped in for a visit.

In response to their sheer terror at the in-breaking of God, the angel says,

            “Do not be afraid;

       for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:

        to you is born this day… a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

To you is born this day.

            This day a savior is born for all the people…for all,

       not just a few.

And then at that moment, in the middle of that vast field,

 appeared a whole multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God and saying,

            “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

                        and on earth peace among those whom God favors!”

And suddenly,

 as the shepherds stood staring heavenward,

 they were transported into eternity

       where the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven

 forever sing before the throne of God:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.

                        Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

                  Hosanna in the highest.

The heavenly Light was shining in the darkness,

            and the darkness did not overcome it.

So, tonight…

this most holy night…

      we celebrate that in those days,

      the time came for Mary to give birth to God in a most humble way,

hardly noticeable for most of the world.

Jesus,

            the Messiah,

                        the Holy One of God,

     was born in those days to live and walk among us.

God became enfleshed

so that we might have courage and hope

in the midst of the dark and dangerous times and places in our own lives.

God became enfleshed to heal the world.

God became enfleshed so that we might live in Peace.

And, you know what?

God continues to enter our lives,

often in ordinary and unexpected ways,

      walking with us this journey of a life of human flesh,

                        showing us a love and grace beyond all expectation.

So,

         in these days…

     as you go about your ordinary life…

keep alert…

            for you never know when you just might hear the heavenly host burst into song.

And let us not be afraid,

            even in the midst of darkness and confusion,

     for God comes to bring healing and Peace to all.

For to us,

            this day,

                        the Savior is born.

Amen.