Christmas Eve | Luke 2:1-14

St. John on the Mountain, Bernardsville, NJ

Christmas has come. No need to wait any longer. Christmas is here.

For those of you old enough to reflect back more than just a few years, I would dare say you can recall at least one or two Christmases that are most memorable. Perhaps it was the last one you celebrated with someone you loved. Perhaps you got the perfect present. Perhaps it just seemed to that the Ghost of Christmas Present visited your home with brighter candles and tastier food that year, and your hearts were somehow lighter.

Down through the centuries there have been particularly memorable Christmases as well. Indeed 108 years ago this very night, one of the most peculiar occurrences connected with Christmas took place, and people are still talking about it.

It was in the early days of the First World War. In Belgium British and German troops were dug in and hammering away at each other. The casualties were already in the thousands. In those early days of the war no one knew how long the war would last, how could they, nor did they even imagine how many thousands of their comrades would die.

No one is quite sure how it began, but on Christmas Eve British soldiers were shocked to see that the German soldiers were lighting candles and decorating trees. They were even decorating their trenches. Then the sounds of “Stille Nacht” crossed the no man’s land between these foes, most of them young men in their teens and 20’s. The British soldiers returned with carols of their own. They found some that they both knew and sang their hearts out.

Soon with no thought to their personal safety, British and German soldiers were crossing the cratered ground between their trenches to exchange gifts: jam, cigars, chocolate, and, of course, whiskey. The atmosphere of good will lasted the entirety of Christmas Day. There were even reports of a football match between the sides, with Germany winning 3-2.

The good will spread down the line, in some places it was reported that hostilities were ended until after New Years Day.

What is it about Christmas? Why does it affect people so? Is it the memories of childhood? Is the warmth of family and friends gathered? Or is there something more profound at work on this night?

During the season of Advent, we have been lighting one extra candle each Sunday, our growing light chasing away the darkness. Have you noticed that most of the major religious holidays taking place this time of year, whether it’s Holi, Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or Kwanzaa use light as major symbols? In many, candles play a central role.

It’s the darkest time of the year. The days at their shortest, the nights at their longest. But now as we have just passed the Winter Solstice, we look forward to the return of the light. We celebrate by lighting everything up.

We festoon our homes and yards and neighborhoods with artificial lights. Whether they are multicolored or just clear, the lights of Christmas some capture the wonder and joy of the season. In this season of darkness, we kindle fire, we light lights.

This is an action born in hope. The prophet Isaiah told of a time when a people who walked in darkness would see a great light. The light he is speaking of is not the Rockefeller Christmas tree but the true light that has come into the world. It enlightens everyone and the darkness has not overcome it.

The light that the Christ Child represents on Christmas morning is the promise of God’s love for us. God has not abandoned us. God’s intention is that we have light and not be left wandering in the darkness.

This promise of light, fulfilled in the Christ Child, is a promise that is meant to bring us hope. We live in a world that continues to be plagued with darkness, whether it be from other people, or institutions, or even nations. There is still plenty of darkness around. And yet the message of Christmas morning is light, driving away the darkness that does not understand it, and this light brings us hope.

The miracle of Christmas morning is the Incarnation. Emmanuel, God with us. God has come to experience what we experience, to live as we live, to suffer and to die as we die. This is the time we celebrate that reunion of spirit and body. We aren’t alone.

And remember, Christmas Day is just the first day of Christmas. Everyone knows how many days of Christmas there are – we sing about them every year. And yet come December 26th, stores will begin dismantling their displays, and some homeowners will even begin to take down decorations. A pastor friend sent me a picture of a huge Valentine’s Day display she saw in a store already.

Could it be that baby Jesus is the only child, who, once he’s born, the party stops? Mary gives birth and we STOP celebrating! So weird if you think about it. The world gives up just when the party is starting. We have 12 days to celebrate the birth of the Messiah. We have almost two full weeks to linger at the manger and, with Mary, ponder these mysteries in our hearts.

Let us linger at the manger during this Christmas season and invite our friends and family to join us. As the light has come to its brightest in the child who is born this night, let us celebrate that light in what is often a dark world. Let us kindle the light of Christmas in our hearts this night and let us carry it forth into the world that the light may continue to grow and spread. The light has come. Our light has come. May it truly banish the darkness and bring us hope. Amen.