Good News of Great Joy

Nativity of the Lord: Midnight

Isaiah 9: 1-6; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-14

I've preached this same mass and these same readings for three years now. I tried to come up with something new to say – something different – that will make this night come alive for each of you. I was having trouble finding the message that I wanted each of you to take home. Then I realized that nothing I could write could possibly come close to the poetic words that St. Luke has given us. “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

This is not an isolated event that happened in a small village over two millienia ago. We did not brave the elements to come to St. Gabriel in the middle of the night for a “birthday party” for someone who is dead and forgotten. The words that the angel proclaimed on that hillside are meant for us as well. Tonight they were spoken by a lowly deacon, but their meaning is great. “ I bring YOU good news … a savior has been born for YOU...”

These words touch each of as, just as they touched those first people who heard the gospel. God came into the world, flesh and bone, completely powerless. He needed to be nurtured and protected – kept safe by those who loved him.

I had an uncle, my mother's brother, named Frank.  But everyone in the family called him Bud.  Uncle Bud lived in the house of my grandparents for almost his entire life.  The house was only a few doors down from Churchill Downs.  We gathered as family twice a year at that house - Christmas Eve and Derby Day.  Bud lived alone and housekeeping was not one of his interests.  As a result, my mother and my aunt would go and clean the house, top to bottom, a few days beforehand.  After the house was cleaned, they would go upstairs into one of the bedrooms, remove the sheet covering a three foot tall artificial Christmas tree, carry it downstairs - ornaments and lights in tact - set it on the table in the living room and plug it in.  Then we were ready to celebrate Christmas as a family.

The other big day at Bud's house was Derby Day.  In late April or early May, as the Kentucky Derby approached, my mother and my aunt would head over to Bud's house for another cleaning.  The first thing that they did upon entering was to unplug the Christmas tree and carry it back upstairs ...

Hallmark had a nifty commercial this year. They were selling ornaments that count down the time until Christmas. And I remember feeling that excitement as a child waiting for Christmas morning. As I have matured, I've come to understand that the incarnation is not a specific date on a calendar.

The Nativity of the Lord is not something we get out once a year, dust off, and admire, only to be put away a few days – or months – later. The birth of the Christ child resides in our hearts – we nurture it and keep it alive and safe. We celebrate it as a people every December 25^th – but we should be living with Christ in our hearts everyday.

So on this night – as we turn to those around us at the sign of peace – know that the Christ child is among us. On this night, as we come to the table, know that the Christ child dwells within us. On this night, know that the heavenly hosts proclaim to each of us “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace.

Deacon Darryl J. Diemer

Nativity of the Lord - Midnight

December 25th, 2010