Holy Christmas Eve
On Them Has Light Shined
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen! God says to you tonight through His Old Testament prophet,
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
Dear Christian friends,
Ten days ago, a dark and terrible event took place at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown Connecticut. It is bad enough if you think only about the
adults who were caught in this tragedy. The thought of twenty child-sized
caskets nearly overwhelms the senses.
This terrible event is made more terrible by the fact that it is neither
isolated nor new. Columbine is a town name known by all. Virginia Tech still
feels recent, even though it happened five years ago. Binghamton, NY; Tucson,
AZ; Aurora, CO: such horrors have become so commonplace that the LA Times
created a timeline on its website to help us keep track of the losses
(http://timelines.latimes.com/deadliest-shooting-rampages).
This is the sort of world that your “spotless Lamb of God” (1 Peter 1:19)
voluntarily chose to enter. The darkness of Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, CT, is not new—and not merely because this was the latest in a long
string of unimaginable dreadfulness. The darkness of Sandy Hook Elementary
School is not new because the entire world is a dark place; because every man,
woman and child in history now lives in “the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). It
has been this way for us and for all people since Cain first raised his fist
against His brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). Sandy Hook was a horror, but not a new
one. Sandy Hook is one and the same specter of horror that continually raises
its head in every age, and yet traces its source and root to our own souls.
This is the world into which your Christ was born. This is the filth and the
sewage into which God the Son voluntarily lowered Himself, and under which He
fully submerged Himself. Christmas is a good and blessed thing for all people,
and not merely for Christians. Christmas is a good and blessed thing for all
people because Jesus Christ, “the Light of the World” (John 9:5), casts His
bright ray into ALL the darkness. Christmas is a good and blessed thing for all
people because “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” and
that light is Jesus, “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”
(Apostles’ Creed). “Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has
light shined” and that Light will not fail to do its good work for us—so long
as the darkness persists!
Many little children feel afraid of the darkness. Hardly anything will make a
small child feel more secure and more able to sleep than a little nightlight
nearby. When you stare at the light, the darkness is not quite so noticeable.
When you watch the rays of nightlight beam their way out into the room, the
darkness is not quite so dark. Even after you close your eyes—if you peak a
little bit—the nightlight is still there, keeping its vigil for you.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is many things for you:
• Jesus is the forgiveness of your sins, who cleanses you from every spot
and defect and who robes you with the clean, white robe of His righteousness.
• Jesus is “the hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2), the Door (John 10:7-9)
and Key (Revelation 3:7) through which you live with Him “in righteousness and
purity forever” (Small Catechism, Explanation to the Second Article of the
Creed).
• Jesus is your Bread of Life (John 6:35), “the Living Bread that came
down from heaven” (John 6:51) by which He daily feeds and sustains your faith.
• Praise be to God this Christmas Eve! Jesus is also your nightlight
while you live out your days in this earthly darkness.
You do not have to be a prophet to know that Newtown, CT, is not the end of the
darkness. Undoubtedly, the darkness will seem to grow continually darker. God
sent His Son Jesus in to the world to be your nightlight.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
Your Nightlight will help you in the darkness. When you stare at the Light, the
darkness is not quite so noticeable. When you watch the rays of your Nightlight
beaming in the room, the darkness is not quite so dark. Even after you close
your eyes—if you peak a little bit—Jesus your Nightlight will always remain,
keeping His vigil for you.
Merry Christmas, Christians! The peace of God which passes all understanding
guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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