God With Us

Christmas Eve 2006

The wait is over.
It is here.
No more time left for shopping or cooking or wrapping presents.

The wait is over.
It is here.
No more counting down or rushing around, at least not right now.

The wait is over.
The time is now.
It is the eve of Christ’s birth.

And we gather together to hear and watch the story unfold –
a story begun a long, long time ago,
one of the stories of all time
the story of a tiny babe born to Mary and Joseph,
a tiny babe that was born for us, for all of us.

And it’s a good story … one of the best;
because it contains miraculous, scandalous good news for us all.

So, we rejoice and we draw near to the One who drew near to us as God-with-us.

We join with the innkeeper and the animals,
the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men
and we gaze at the newborn baby
who lies in a manger.

We imagine becoming part of the Christmas story
(and if we are a child we do don a costume and become part of it)
because we want to be there
when the good news arrives!
when God arrives!

So we come:

Perhaps you come like the innkeeper,
overwhelmed with relatives and family, friends and even strangers at your door;
overwhelmed with the idea of having to find room for even one more;
overwhelmed with the memories of Christmases past;
overwhelmed with having to just get through;
overwhelmed and exhausted from running around.

Perhaps you are like the animals,
watching this thing unfold before your very eyes;
watching others invade your space and interrupt your life;
watching this new thing that has never happened before;
watching from the sidelines as you attempt to go about your normal life;
watching and unsure about the mystery of it all.

Or perhaps you come like the angels,
proclaiming joy from every mountaintop;
proclaiming good news for all people;
proclaiming a message that causes people to leave what they are doing and go and see;
proclaiming glory and peace and praise to the Almighty God in booming voices;
proclaiming and appearing to all those who need to know.

Perhaps you come like the shepherds,
surprised by a night shift interruption;
surprised that a Savior would come into the world in the midst of a stable and animals;
surprised that one birth would make all the difference in the world;
surprised that you have been included in this holiest of nights;
surprised and intrigued by an announcement that something amazing has happened.

Or, perhaps you come like the wise men,
following something that has led you to this place tonight;
following the worn path of a familiar journey;
following with others because it’s something you cannot do alone;
following with gifts and your greatest treasures to offer;
following and trusting in something beyond yourself.

Regardless of how you approach the manger tonight, come!
Come because
God is here;
God is with us as Emmanuel;
God is taking on flesh and bone;
because God is love and God is present.

God is with those who come overwhelmed and exhausted;
God is with those who watch from a distance;
God is with those who cannot contain their joy, but proclaim it for all to hear;
God is with those who come shocked and surprised;
And God is with those who follow and trust.

For Jesus Christ, Emmanuel,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.

You see …
God chose to be with us,
utterly vulnerable as a baby;
completely identifying with pain and suffering;
fully human and fully divine.
God chose to be for us
in the form of a babe
born one night long ago
as a demonstration of unconditional Love.

And God chooses to be with us still,
God with those who have little food
and God with those who have an abundance;
God with those who have no family or friends
and God with those who are surrounded by loved ones;
God with those who are poor and possess little
and God with those who are rich and have plenty;
God with those who are counted among the low and forgotten;
and God with those who are well-known by all.

God chooses to be just such a God
that would dwell in the midst of
the innkeeper and the animals,
the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men.

God chooses to be just such a God
that would dwell in the world still today;
God with you,
God with me,
God with all of us tonight.

But not just tonight – always.
Because a birth in a cave leads to a death on a hill and a throne in heaven.
Because all of it stems from Love – great love.
Love that would not leave a world in darkness;
but would send a tiny babe right into the middle of it all as the true Light for all.

For God is truly with us as the Light of the world.

Thanks be to God for this gift. Amen.