The words we’ve heard this evening echo and reverberate through our hearts and minds: Words like: And they heard the voice of the Lord God… And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham… The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light… And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse… And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel… And it came to pass in those days… And there were in the same country shepherds… In the beginning was the Word…

These are the words and stories that identify and mark us, that call us to attention and conversion, that comfort and sustain us. These are the words and stories that tell us who we are, and Whose we are. In nine brief lessons from scripture, lessons that span some 2500 years of actual history, we are reminded that God created us and all the world, that history and life and all time belong to God, and that out of incredible love and compassion, God came to us to be with us.

He came to be with us. How I hope and pray that those words bring you comfort, peace and joy. As I think back over the past weeks of Advent, of all I’m aware of in the life of this parish family, I reflect on how the gift of Jesus coming among us has the power to sustain us no matter what has been going on. Here are some of the real things that have gone on in our parish family over the last few weeks. In each of these real events, Jesus has been really and truly present.

Family reunions took place over Thanksgiving that healed old hurts. A baby girl had successful surgery. Someone finished, at long last, her chemo treatments. A couple lost a dear and life-long friend who died suddenly. Several families wait for death to come and resurrected life to begin for some beloved family members. Several parishioners lost jobs, due to the local and national economy. Several other parishioners have promising leads on new jobs and new opportunities.

For a lot of our parishioners, teachers, staff members and students, the semester has ended - school is over for a good long break, exams have been taken, grades are turned in. We buried two parishioners who lived lives of grace and dignity despite difficult and debilitating physical conditions.

In the past few weeks a parishioner has finally come home after a three month hospital stay. One family is preparing for a birth of a second child in just a few weeks, and several couples are putting finishing touches on plans for marriages in the new year.

In the past few weeks those who have lost loved ones in the past year have been struggling to imagine how different this Christmas will be. Countless parishioners have reached out to others through calls and notes, Christmas cards and visits, and by delivering goodie baskets or flowers from the altar. Other parishioners have moved in this past year, sometimes not by choice – downsizing or moving into assisted living. They have been dealing with how to celebrate Christmas in new surroundings and new settings. For some, that has been fun and for others, that has been dreadfully difficult.

God came to be with us. That is the eternal truth of the Incarnation, and that is the everlasting joy of the Incarnation. Whether these weeks leading up to Christmas have been sad for you, or joyful for you, the reality of what we are here to witness to this evening is that God came down at Christmas, Love Incarnate, Love Divine.

There will never be a time in our lives when God is absent. There will never be a time in our lives when we are not surrounded by his loving presence. There will never be a situation in our lives when God is not at work in us, pulling us toward repentance, redemption and renewal. There will never be a time in our lives when we have to wonder what God is like, for we have only to look upon Jesus to see the nature and character of God.

On this most holy of nights, we come quietly to kneel at the manger. We leave behind the twinkling lights of our houses and neighborhoods and shopping centers and enter into this place where we can wonder and celebrate, and like Mary “ponder in our hearts” that the true Light of the world has come into the world to be with us. On this most holy of nights, we thank God for his presence, for his love, for his guidance and direction through all the days and times of our lives.

Each of us will go back out into this night and home to the variety of our lives and the variety of our circumstances. The changes and chances of life will continue for us following this Christmas feast. We will have events to grieve and events to celebrate, much the same as we noted during the weeks of Advent. Good things will happen to us, and bad things too.

But at Christmas time, we make our way to kneel at the manger and thank God for the gift of Jesus – for love incarnate, love divine. For our shepherd, companion and teacher. For our savior and for our redeemer. Beloved in Christ, be it this Christmas Eve our only care and our fervent delight to give thanks to God in wonder, love and praise.

Amen.