Christmas Eve 2025

Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the days of God’s own choosing. At just the right time. God sent us His Son.

As we have confessed, the world is filled up with darkness. The curse of sin and it’s sorrows and thorns have truly infested the creation. We see it everywhere around us. Oh yes, sometimes we successfully ignore the brokenness of this world. We have lots of ways to amuse and distract ourselves, pretending that there is not SO much darkness.

But then we look around at the world. We see and hear about wars and oppression and persecution around the world. We see and hear about crime and violence, greed and lust, bitterness and selfishness. We see and hear it outside of us, all around us, and yes, even within us. Darkness closes in.

But on this glorious evening we celebrate that the darkness does not, and cannot overcome us. Because on this holy night, we remember and celebrate the Light of the World who shines in the darkness; and His name is Jesus.

This is not simply a cute story of a precious baby. Nor is it a political story about the poor and lowly being treated unfairly. No. It is the true story of the Savior who has come into this world at just the right time.

He came at the height of Roman Power in the midst of a corrupt society. He came not to overthrow rulers or establish a new political regime, but instead to rescue all of us from the darkness of a sin-sick world.

He came long ago, but He comes again and again as His Word is proclaimed. As people are Baptized into His name. As His cross is lifted high. As His people gather around an altar to receive the Holy Food that He feeds them.

At just the right time. Tonight He comes to be Immanuel. God with us. God with you.

Oh the darkness tries its best to take hold of us. We carry it even in our hearts. What darkness, dear Christian friends, is hiding within you? What shame? What guilt? What sin? Think of it. Confess it. And know that Christ has come again to you tonight, to forgive you by the power of His cross; and to let His light shine on you, to grant you hope and a future. At just the right time.

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At just the right time, Our Lord Jesus came in humility. Though He is the Son of the Living God, God of God and Light of Light; Yet from start to finish the circumstances of His earthly life were humble. There was no room for him in the inn. No place for Him in this broken world. He was not offered the finest things. He did not enjoy honors or luxuries of any kind.

Rather He was born an outcast and laid in a manger. A manger. A place where animals feed.

As a child He fled the raging King Herod. And in His ministry He had no place to lay His head. No place of rest and comfort. Instead, he was often mocked by religious leaders. They wanted to seize Him, to kill Him.

And later He is further humbled. In the hours before His arrest, He took on the role of a servant, washing HIs disciples’ feet from the dirt and grime of life in this world. And then instituted and He fed them a meal of forgiveness, life and salvation. His true body and blood, given and shed for us.

And then to the cross, our Lord went, like a Lamb led to the slaughter. And there we see and understand that He who was born in Bethlehem, by the way the Hebrew name for that place, Bethlehem, means House of Bread. He was born in the house of bread and laid in a manger, a feeding trough…He was and He is the Bread of Life, the true food from heaven. He gave His body and blood for the life of the world. And by Him we are fed, and we are sustained in our faith. And by Him the way to heaven is opened for you. Because God humbled Himself, and was born in Bethlehem, and laid in a manger. Because He offered Himself up for your sake, dying for your sins and rising again.

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The Lord appeared in humility. The humblest of circumstances. But in that humility, the glory of the Lord is revealed. The glory of God almighty shines from the humble child, born in Bethlehem and laid the manger.

But this glory declared by angels to the shepherds is NOT the sort of glory the mankind revels in. It is not shiny, flashy, attractive. Rather it is the glory of God’s great love and sacrifice.

It is not glory that makes oooo and ahhh. But glory that brings tears of joy to the eyes of God’s people. It is the glory of relief. For in this baby who grows into the man who dies on the cross, our sins that crushed us are taken away. And we have peace.

Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to you His people on earth. Peace that surpasses understanding. Peace that comes because, as Paul writes in Philippians, our Savior Jesus Christ did not count equality with God (which was His by nature) as a thing to be grasped, but instead, He humbled Himself, emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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I remember that when I was a kid, waiting for Christmas was hard. It seemed like it took forever for Christmas to finally come. But then, finally, Christmas Eve, and we hurried to church, and we knew that the wait was over.

God’s people waited a long time for their Savior. Thousands of years had passed between the first promise of Christ until He appeared in the manger. Many of those years were very hard for God’s people. It seemed like the Savior would never come.

But then, He did. Finally, Christ had come.

The announcement came to shepherds. And they hurried to Bethlehem, and the gathered around the manger to see where the baby Jesus was laid. And they were amazed. Finally the promise had come true. Finally the Savior was here.

And today Jesus is here with us too. He is always with you. Jesus who loves you who came from heaven to save you, who died for you on the cross and rose again. He will never ever leave you or forsake you. He is with you always.

Now, what did the shepherds do next? They hurried away to share this good news with others. And that’s what we get to do too. Because Christmas has finally come. And while there are so many fun things about Christmas that we can celebrate, the greatest gift of all is Jesus. Jesus has come to forgive our sins and to give life and hope and peace forever. So go, share this good news with your friends and your family. Tell everyone about the greatest gift of all, Your Savior, Jesus Christ.

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And so it is on this Blessed Christmas night, that we believe and confess the miracle of the Incarnation. We believe and confess that Salvation Unto Has Come. Because our Savior, Christ the Lord, has come. For apart from this Jesus, we have no hope. Together with this broken world, we would continue our downward spiral into condemnation. But God in Christ has stepped into our world. Stepped into our flesh. The divine one humbled Himself. And we have seen His glory. On this most holy we sing and we pray and we celebrate His glory. The glory of God, who would give Himself for us and for our salvation.

And for this reason alone we celebrate Christmas. Not as the world celebrates, with empty fantasies that have no power to save. No we celebrate the good news of great joy. We celebrate and take hold of and proclaim the one who is our life and light. Jesus Christ, who shines in the darkness and overcomes it…for us…for you. Amen.