“A New Day Has Dawned”
A Christmas Day Meditation Preached by the
Rev. Jean Niven Lenk
Sunday, December 25, 2011
First Congregational Church of Stoughton, United Church of Christ
Text: Isaiah 9: 2b, 6; Luke 2:1-20
The calendar has cooperated this year to bring us together to celebrate Christ’s birth not just once but twice – a double blessing for me, and I hope you feel the same way, too!
The familiar carols of the season give us a picture of a silent night, holy night in Bethlehem, with the stars in the sky shining down on the little town’s dark streets, and looking down where the Christ Child lay, when half spent was the night.... The shepherds tending their flocks on that cold winter’s night that was so deep, when upon a midnight clear… well, you get the idea. The nativity story is set against the backdrop of the night sky, in keeping with the Jewish tradition of a day beginning at sunset.
But we don’t know much about the morning after the night before, when the sun rises on God’s first day in human form. We can imagine that the stable is full of animals. The cow is loudly asking to be milked. Perhaps a cock is crowing in the distance. The straw smells like animal dung and the place is in disarray given all the excitement and visitors of the night before. Don’t let the artistic renderings of a serene Mary and unflappable Joseph fool you. The exhausted new parents wake up to an entirely different reality from yesterday: there’s a baby in their lives now. They rub their eyes and wonder: was that really a multitude of the heavenly host making all that noise last night? And what about those shepherds – they found their way to this dim little stable because, they said, an angel had given them the joyful news that the Messiah had been born, and they had come to check it out for themselves. The new little life lying in the straw is somehow the cause of all the commotion. True, every baby is a miracle, but this baby – Mary and Joseph can’t stop staring at him, touching him, holding him, like any new parents. And they know that God has plans – great plans -- for this little one, and perhaps they are overwhelmed not just with parenthood but with what lies ahead for them and their precious child.[i]
And by the time a new day dawns on that humble stable in that little town in first century Palestine, the world, the course of history, and all of humanity has been forever changed. The people who walked in darkness have, indeed, seen a great light – and we’re not just talking about the shepherds and the star. Lying in that manger is the Light of the world, and his radiance beams into the deepest shadows, overcoming the gloom and despair of life and pointing to new possibility and new hope for all.
There is nothing like the birth of a baby to tug at our heartstrings, and it would be easy for us to turn the Christmas story into nothing more than an over-sentimentalized and feel-good tale that warms our hearts for a couple of days each year but in the end makes no difference in our lives. But that same Light that changes the world also comes to be with each one of us, to dwell in us, to inspire us, and to transform us – IF we let it.
Because if Christ is born a thousand times in Bethlehem, but not in our hearts, then his birth is meaningless. The purpose of God’s coming is not just to make this world a better place, but to make our lives better. God will fill our emptiness; God will give our life meaning and purpose; God will be our companion and guide in every joy and every sorrow. But first, we must accept God’s most precious gift – and let Christ into our hearts.
And once we accept God’s gift to us, a new day will dawn, because nothing will ever be the same, nothing can ever be the same. Opening ourselves to God’s love through Jesus Christ makes each of us a new person, and the sharing of that love transforms the human heart.
As we leave this sanctuary this morning, we will sing the first verse of “Joy to the World” and these words -- “the Lord is come” -- which remind us that Jesus came not only on that first Christmas 2,000 years ago, but also comes to us here and now. And we “prepare him room” by letting Christ work in our hearts to challenge and mold and change us into becoming his own hands and feet – his body, his church -- for this time and place.
When this service is over, we will enjoy a cup of coffee together, and then we will be off to our Christmas celebrations – family, friends, opening presents, sharing a meal. And then before we know it, it will be time to take down our Christmas trees, put away the ornaments, and pack away the nativity story for another year.
But the work of Christ has only begun! Christmas is only the beginning of an eternal journey – a journey of joy and hope, of redemption and salvation, of expectation and promise. It is a journey of light -- God’s light -- breaking into the darkness; of God’s grace and unconditional love shining into the world.
And on our own spiritual journey, that divine light guides our path as we reflect God’s love, compassion, and forgiveness in the world, leading us to new life through the One born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago and born again in our hearts this day.
Arise, shine for our light has come! A new day has dawned; Christ is born, and nothing will ever be the same! Amen.
[i] Adapted from Rev. Kay Sylvester, assistant rector at St. Paul's in Tustin, California, http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_126023_ENG_HTM.htm
