Christmas Eve Sermon: Future Hope

FutureHope

Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-7  

Christmas Eve at the Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

          Christmas Eve is one of the darkest days of the year. Today, we have experienced only nine hours and 26 minutes of beautiful daylight, which leaves us with more than 14 hours of darkness.

          Do you know how I know that?

          I simply asked SIRI on my IPhone—she knows everything!

          In fact, I asked Siri if she truly does know everything and she said, “I’ll get back to you on that!” I am still waiting.

          The world around us at times seems dark as well.

                   Chemical weapons in Syria.

                   Cyber-attacks.

                   Global terrorism.

                   Personal insecurity about relationships, jobs, health and retirement.

          We're living in a world that feels like the line from "The First Noel"

                   ... a cold winter's night that was so deep.
                    Deep, deep darkness.

          Some say that when you're experiencing darkness in your life, you should pray for God to free you from it.

          And, if you are still in darkness, pay the electric bill.
          That might help.

          We're not the first people to face dark days. In the time of the prophet Isaiah,

                   about 700 years before the birth of Christ,

                   the people of Israel were walking in darkness—

                   they "lived in a land of deep darkness".

          God seemed silent to them, and they were "greatly distressed and hungry." Isaiah tells us that they saw

                   "only distress and darkness,

                             the gloom of anguish;

                   and they were thrust into thick darkness".

          We know what this feels like, don't we?
                    Global terrorism distresses us.

                    Economic insecurity leaves us feeling empty.

                    Climate change and cyber-attacks cause anxiety,

                             and our fears about the future make us feel as though we are                                       being "thrust into thick darkness."
          Darkness. Thick darkness.

          We need some illumination.

          The people of Israel saw a ray of light in the birth of a king,

                   a new descendent of David.

"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us,"

says the prophet Isaiah; "authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace".

His kingdom shall be established

"With justice and with righteousness for evermore".

          This king was the hope of the people of Israel—the one who would rule them with justice and righteousness.

          He was their Future Hope.

          We have reason for hope today as well.

          I recently listened to a number of TED Talks titled, "Ideas worth Spreading.”  By the way, do you know what TED stands for?

                             Technology—Entertainment—Design.

          You could have just asked SIRI like I did. SIRI is always right!

          One of theTED talks was about an 18-year-old named Taylor Wilson who said to himself, "I'm going to design a new, safer, more efficient nuclear reactor."

          And then he did it.

          Another was about a Kenyan teenager named Richard Turere who feared that lions would devour his family's livestock.

          So he built an automated security system.

          Jack Andraka, just 16 years old, became angry about pancreatic cancer after it killed a family friend. But instead of cursing the darkness, he lit a candle.

          Bucking conventional wisdom about cancer testing, he developed a protein-based blood test that is much faster, more effective, and cheaper than the current option.
          And he did this all, “while dealing with homework, parents and puberty."

          "A child has been born for us," says the prophet Isaiah.

          Children are still being born who are succeeding in making the world a safer, more secure and healthier place.

          God's kingdom of justice and righteousness is being advanced one innovation at a time.

          It's enough to give you Future Hope.

          Of course, the most impressive of God's innovators was born in Bethlehem about seven centuries after the prophet Isaiah.

          Think about that: The people of Israel did not get to see the greatest of David's descendants immediately, but had to wait more than 700 years.

          No doubt they hoped that their Future Hope would come a little faster.
          But come he did.

          Jesus Christ was born, to show us God's love and to be our Savior.

          In the middle of a dark, dark night, he came to bring us light and be our Future Hope.

           And he is our future hope, not because he is a child, but because he is Jesus!

          Isaiah was right to say that "his authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom".

          Jesus continues to offer us his peace in a challenging world, saying to us,

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled,

                                        and do not let them be afraid".

          Notice that Jesus does not offer us an escape from life's challenges, but instead he gives us peace in the middle of these challenges.

          Much has been written about the "inner child" who still dwells deep within the adult heart.

          The spiritual journey of many adults is learning to welcome the child within. We need to make peace with our own experiences as children, perhaps with the way authority figures have hurt and wronged us.

          The babe of Bethlehem grew to become a uniquely compassionate man who welcomed children. He is eager to welcome our inner child, as well.

          Jesus also establishes his kingdom

"with justice and with righteousness from this time for evermore".

          Like the prophets before him, he is anointed by God

                             "to bring good news to the poor ...

                   release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind".

          He wants justice for all of God's children,

rich and poor, black and white,

conservative and liberal, immigrant and native-born.

          He is focused on people being in right relationship with God and with each other.

          The core meaning of righteousness is "right-relationship"—not so much following certain rules and regulations as being in loving, giving, just and committed relationships.

          This is the kind of relationship that Jesus has with each of us,

                   and it is the kind that he wants us to have with him.

                            
          Our hope for the future is found in Jesus Christ, and in anyone who follows him in justice and righteousness.

                   "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,"

          says the prophet Isaiah, "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us".

          Christmas is the season of Future Hope, where the light of Christ enters the darkness of the world. The birth of Jesus reminds us that children can change things for the better,

           whether they are designing safer nuclear reactors,

          developing better cancer blood tests,

          or being the Savior of the World.

          In every generation—even in this generation, there's the possibility that people will act as peacemakers,

                    following in the footsteps of the Savior who is a

          Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

          Since the time of Isaiah, people have dreamed that

"the wolf shall live with the lamb,

the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

                                      and a little child shall lead them".
          That little child is Jesus.

          As well as the children of God who follow him.

          So, on this Christmas Eve, receive the light that is coming into the world!

          To those who are living in a land of darkness, the light of Christ is shining.

          He enters the lives of each of us today –

to show us God's love,

to save us from our sins

and to lead us in the paths of justice and righteousness.

          As we continue to struggle with the dangers and difficulties of life, he gives us his guidance and his peace.
          Receive the light.

          Accept it,

                   embrace it

                   and then share it—in whatever way you can.

          Reflect the light of Christ into the dark places that you see around you.

           Do whatever you can to make the world a safer and healthier place.

          Take actions that help to build right relationships between people and God and between people one to another.

          Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.

          You don't have to build a security system for livestock or develop a new blood test for cancer.

          You don't have to broker peace between rival gangs or warring nations.

         

          But you can visit a lonely relative,

                   invite a neighbor to worship,

                   tutor a troubled teenager

                   or plant a community garden.

          Accepting and sharing the light of Christ is the best hope for our future.

          Jesus is our Future Hope!

          In a land of deep darkness, the light of Christ gives us reason for hope.

          Everywhere we look tonight people are lighting a candle to illuminate the darkness.

         

          President John F. Kennedy once said that "Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."

          On this the eve of Christmas Day, we can affirm that the Christ child is still the world's best hope for the future.

Prayer

          Joy of the world, God of the cosmos, we come with thankful hearts this evening, Christ is born! Alleluia!

          Yet, even when there is light, there is still shadow.

          You did not promise to cast away all shadow, but to push the shadow away so that we can keep our eyes on you.

          When grief and loneliness come, when candlelight does not seem sufficient for the joy of the evening, when the darkness gets too close, fill us with a peace only you can bring.

          For the Christ child came not only to redeem the world,

                    but to walk beside each of us and all of us in those times of darkness.
          So, we celebrate this time with exuberance or with quietness—because the
Word is among us and we are given the gift of Light.

          Alleluia! Amen.

Lord’s Prayer