Christmas Day
John 1:1-14
It was the night of Christmas 1776. George Washington was readying his soldiers for a daring nighttime attack amid great secrecy.
The British troops would not suspect this Christmas surprise; they wouldn’t see the approaching Continental Army in the shadows of the icy Delaware River.
While this attack was a small victory for the Continental Army in a greater war, it has been celebrated and remembered throughout history.
It makes you wonder how seemingly unnoticed events or minor battles in life affect human history, your story, and your life.
Reflect on last evening as the service ended; the Savior’s lullaby brought peace to your hearts.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Even the Nativity scene outside the church serves as a reminder of the blessed joy as these lyrics echoed in your hearts and accompanied your minds as you returned to your homes, calling out Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight as you lay down your heads all snug in your beds.
It was a good night, and I pray it was also a peaceful night amid the battles and strife of life.
However, while we get caught up in the joy and beauty of a birth, the birth and incarnation of your Savior was the beginning of God bringing peace to earth, and for this to happen, something unpleasant had to first occur: war.
And if you think more deeply regarding Christmas, this is one of the reasons that causes heaven and earth to resound.
The birth of the Christ child was a declaration of war upon the devil, the evil of this world, and the sin of man.
Even in the shadows of the nativity, the enemy lurks.
You see it as Herod will be filled with jealousy.
You see it as this jealousy fills Herod’s heart to murder all the male children under the age of two in that little town of Bethlehem.
As the Scriptures record,
A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more. (Matthew 2:18)
You see the enemy lurking as the world had drifted into a darkness of unbelief.
Yet in this darkness, John writes, The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
The world did not want to know Him.
And dare I say, too often, you don’t want to know Him.
Why?
Because the light of His Word illuminates your sin, it reveals how you are very similar to Herod, how you are filled with jealousy, to even murder your brother, sister, or neighbor in your thoughts and words as you fight and war with one another.
His presence and Word create a battle within your heart.
But in some ways, Christmas has become a truce for the battles of life, a time when we fake it to make it. Make grandma and grandpa happy, right?
Yet, in these shadows, the battle does remain for you and one another.
I mean, why do you argue with one another? Why is there no lasting peace in your homes?
What’s really at the core of every battle you find yourselves in is the same as Herod: the desire for power, control, and lordship over one another.
And it all reveals how the darkness of this life has taken up residence within your heart.
However, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”
How are we to take part?
By exercising our faith this Christmas, by confessing our sins before God and one another.
The sin of hatred and jealousy over our neighbors.
Our closest neighbors, our family, and friends.
Just as the manger and nativity of the Christ child served as a fortress and refuge of protection, so His cross is your refuge and strength today.
Through His birth, He came to vanquish this evil of the heart, to scatter your darkness, and to defeat death.
As one theologian writes, “All of this serves as a reminder that Christ was born into a violent, godless world – a world in which kings clung to power with clenched fists.” (Whiteaker, 49)
But for you, He is the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
We don’t like to think of our lives being that dark and violent, but if they weren’t, would there have been a need for the Savior’s birth that first Christmas?
Would there have been a need for such a violent death as His upon the cross that first Good Friday?
This Child born of Mary does not grow weak; he is not intimidated by the enemy but faithfully follows His Father’s orders into the darkness, enters the fray, and goes uncomplaining forth from His manger to the cross for you.
And in this small way, His birth is the beginning attack in a greater war.
In fact, the battle was necessary to win the war.
And He did this for you.
So, are we to go on warring against one another?
Heavens no; instead, the battle cry of His Word calls us to gather here and to receive the tokens of His victory – the flesh and blood of His infant and crucified body for the forgiveness of our sins.
Because where there is forgiveness, there is no war, but only peace.
Ultimately, your whole lives lead to this: so that you might sleep in heavenly peace with the Savior who laid aside His throne and fought the darkness for you.
Merry Christmas!
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
