| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us” Our Bible verse for today: “In the same region, shepherds were staying in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people; Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Celebrate the night of nights” As I write this it is Christmas Eve 2020. I love Christmas, but I especially love Christmas Eve. I love the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church, followed by a family meal at home, and then a comfortable evening in front of the fireplace anticipating the celebration of the birth of Christ. It’s a celebration, but a warm, soft, quiet, and relaxed celebration. There are some problems of chronology and sequence associated with the celebration of Christmas Eve which I believe, as intelligent thinking Christians, we do need to acknowledge. First, Jesus almost certainly was not born in the winter but in the spring. Sheep don’t spend long cold winter nights out in open fields, they spend them in shelters of some sort. They’re out in the fields in the spring and summer. Second, as we read in verse 2:11 of Luke’s Christmas story, the angel appeared to the shepherds and said “today” a Savior “was” born for you. In other words, the scene in Luke 2 with the shepherds took place on Christmas night after the birth, not on Christmas Eve before it. But none of that really matters much to our celebration of Christmas Eve. The intent of our hearts is more important than the season or sequence. Our objective is to quietly reflect on the profound theological importance of what the birth of Christ meant. For thousands of years the world had patiently waited for a Savior. Now, on the eve before His birth, we wait in eager anticipation of the most important and significant event in all of human history. God Himself was about to come into the world as a human baby to live among us, and then to one day die for us. Christmas Eve has been called “the night of nights” because there is no other night like it. That first Christmas Eve was the moment before the world was about to change forever. The birth of this long-awaited baby would change everything, and the world would never be the same again. On this Christmas Eve I encourage all of us to spend some quiet time reflecting on the significance of what Christmas means. “For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That’s something to be thankful for. It’s something to celebrate. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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