It is good to be gathered with you on this most holy of nights, the night that we celebrate the birth of a baby who will change the world.
Everything about this evening is special — the music that our choir and instrumentalists have practiced for so many hours; the beautiful flowers and altar, prepared by faithful and loving hands; the glittering candles in the windows, whose light adds to the magic and mystery of this most holy night.
And so do each and every one of you. Whether St. Dunstan’s is your church and you’re here every Sunday, whether you’re visiting from out of town, or whether you’ve not set foot in a church in years, yet somehow felt drawn to this place this night, we are glad you’re here. Your presence adds to the joy of our celebration.
Most years on Christmas Eve not much attention is paid to our scripture readings from the Old Testament or Epistles. We’re here for the main event, Luke’s gospel story of the birth of Christ.
And what a story it is — of God coming to earth as a helpless, vulnerable infant. We hear once more that there is no room in the inn for Joseph and the pregnant Mary, hear of their child’s birth in an animal’s feeding trough, hear the heavenly hosts terrifying the poor shepherds as they watch their flocks by night.
But this year it is the first line of scripture we heard tonight, from the prophet Isaiah, that leapt out at me.
“The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light,” the prophet proclaims, “those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”
Time and time again in recent weeks people have told me they are having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. Instead of hope and light they are feeling the fear and dread of darkness.
We’re fearful that life for the most vulnerable among us — immigrants, people of color, people living in poverty, people in loving same-sex relationships, (the very people that the adult Jesus treats with dignity and respect) are going to be even more vulnerable in the months ahead.
We’re fearful as we watch the earth that God created warning us through fires, droughts, deadly storms, and extreme temperatures that there are even more dire days ahead if we do not change our ways.
Around the globe people are experiencing the violence and fear of war.
And in this country all of the usual problems continue as well — poverty, addiction, gun violence, to name a few.
But we are here tonight to remember that Jesus is not born into a world filled with light and hope. He comes into the darkness, the cold, into a land occupied by a foreign empire. He comes in poverty and vulnerability. He comes to a world filled with violence and evil.
He comes into a world not that much different from the world in which we live today.
Christmas is not a time when we transcend or ignore the stress and pain of life. It is the time when we discover God in the middle of it all.
Whatever stresses and concerns we brought into this beautiful church tonight are not going to disappear because it is Christmas.
Maybe you are worried about your job, your children, or your own health.
Maybe you are grieving an empty chair at your Christmas celebrations.
Maybe you are here tonight full of doubts, wondering what this ancient story has to do with your life.
Everything we carry in our hearts and minds comes with us this Christmas, just as all of Mary and Joseph’s hopes and fears accompanied them on that hard road to Bethlehem.
We come here seeking light in the darkness, we come to hear and celebrate that once again God is being born into our midst, bringing light and hope to the world and to our lives.
And we come to remember that our task as people of faith is to help bring those things into the lives of others.
I saw a story recently of people who are doing just that.
It begins with a story of a Secret Santa, a successful businessman who every December for almost 20 years has traveled around the country, giving away $100,000 worth of $100 bills.
For many of those years Steve Hartman, a CBS reporter who does weekly features called “On the Road,” has been with this Secret Santa, whose face is never shown. This year Santa and Steve went to North Carolina to visit those afflicted by Hurricane Helene.
The Secret Santa hands out $100 bills to random people at gas stations, parking lots, and stores. And he seeks out those he knows are in need, many times giving more than one $100 bill.
“When people go through tragedies they can lose their house, they can lose all their belongings, but what they must not lose is hope,” he says.
“It’s the words of comfort, the hugs, the hope that really seems to move people.
“That’s the gift — we’re saying that you haven’t been forgotten, that someone does know you’re there, that we do care.”
What this Secret Santa really is doing is bringing light into the deep darkness.
And as the birth and life of Jesus should inspire us to bring light and hope to others, this Secret Santa has inspired a group of elementary school students in Phoenix.
Their teacher, Derek Brown, uses Steve Hartman’s On the Road Stories to teach kindness and character to his students. The kids were especially moved by the story of the Secret Santa.
“I was shocked,” one student said. “Who does that? I’ve never seen anyone giving money away like that.”
The story impressed these children so much that with their teacher’s help they formed the Secret Santa Club. They raised money throughout the year from family, friends, and companies.
The first year they raised $8,000 of $100 bills to give away.
This year they raised $10,000.
When a young girl gave $200 to a woman in the store, the woman burst into tears. “I’ve been out of work. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said as she hugged her young benefactor. “This will give me a lot of relief.”
But the people who were most impacted were the children themselves.
The children gave away $10,000, but they received something priceless in return.
“You get so many feelings in your body that just makes you want to do it again,” one young girl said.
“I’ve never felt this way in my life,” another girl said through tears. “This was really a life changer for me.”
The Secret Santa, and the teacher and children he inspired, is a reflection of that first Christmas night so long ago.
The heavenly hosts and their blazing light announce that heaven and earth are connected, that God is always with us through good times and bad.
Tonight we celebrate the birth of a child who comes to us as hope, love, and light, walking with us through the deep darkness, encouraging us to shine our own light for others, as the Secret Santa and the children he inspired did so well.
Merry Christmas.
Amen.