Christmas Homily - The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Tonight, God has Found You
The Nativity Jesus Christ Icon
I.
Tonight.
A night very much like tonight,
God, the Lord Almighty,
creator of the heavens and earth,
took on our own frail humanity
and united Heaven to Earth, and Earth to Heaven.
Tonight,
A night very much like tonight,
a night fraught with the evils of the world,
in a nation subjugated under the powers of the world,
the Chosen People of Israel, unsure of their own survival,
the military conquests of the Roman Empire still burning across the Middle East,
that kind of night:
that night was when God chose to come among us
and to dwell with us.
God with us.
Emmanuel.
Tonight.
A night very much like tonight.
The Creator of the Heaven and Earth came down to Earth,
and not in the resplendent glory of majesty,
not in pomp and circumstance,
but rather God came in the lowly form of a baby,
born of the Virgin Mary, as was foretold,
and chose instead a life of lowliness and humility.
"Tonight," the angels said to the shepherds.
"Tonight is born for you, in the City of David,
a Savior who is Christ the Lord."
Tonight, this is the sign that God has come among you,
you will find a baby wrapped and lying in an animal trough,
a lowly manger."
Tonight.
Tonight, we are like the shepherds.
We have come from our work, our daily labor,
the tending of our flocks, our houses,
filled with our own anxieties, worries, fears,
AND YET.
Tonight, Jesus Christ, God in human flesh
has searched you out and found you.
You, friends.
You who come from all walks of life,
all corners of the world.
You who live near and who live far.
You who are wealthy and you who are not.
You who go to church often, and you who don't.
You who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ
and you who struggle everyday with whether God even exists.
Tonight, in spite of it all,
God sees you, and has called you here.
God found you, and has beckoned you.
God has reached out his arms to you,
and all your response has to be is to fall forward
into the arms of the One who loves you more than you can possibly imagine.
II.
And this Love of God,
this wondrous love,
is absolutely, unequivocally,
unconditional.
who have come to church because of some family obligation
or because you feel guilty not coming to church.
Tonight, in spite of what reason you have come in our doors,
God has searched you out and has found you anyway,
and God has beckoned you here for a reason, beyond our understanding or knowing.
You who have come here feeling the weight of your sin and guilt,
Tonight, Jesus Christ
the Eternal Word of God who came as a helpless baby those many years ago,
has come once again to save you from those things
even if you don't feel like you deserve it.
You who have come tonight, feeling forsaken and lonely,
wondering whether there is anyone who cares for you,
wondering if anyone even wants you,
Tonight, the Most High God of the entire universe
descends out of the glories of heaven to come and take you, beloved child,
into his arms and tell you, "I'm here; don't be afraid anymore."
Because, before you ever loved God
God loved you first, and continues to pursue you even when you feel far away.
Before we even searched for Jesus, or even knew Jesus's name,
Jesus first searched for us and found us.
Before we wanted to get right with God and to change our ways to serve the Lord,
Jesus Christ first came into the world so that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus did not descend and come to earth to us to condemn us,
but rather that the whole world would have life through the mystery of his Saving Work:
His taking on our humanity as that frail baby long ago,
his death on the cross for our redemption,
his mighty resurrection that destroyed the ultimate power of death to kill our souls,
and his ascension to God's presence, a foretaste of our own destiny for union with God.
And for all of us here who come this holy night in worship,
in songs of praise,
in contrition for our sins,
and in wonder of where we may find God,
we all together are unworthy of this great Love.
And yet that Love,
the divine love of God,
came down to us anyway.
None of us here are perfect,
none of us here are even good of our own right.
But God knows that,
and chose to love us and save us anyway.
If you come tonight in search of that great love of God,
in need of that great love of God,
then join with us in pondering, wondering, singing, and praying to that Great Love
which is found in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Wherever you are in your journey with Jesus Christ,
no matter your past or where you are in the present,
Tonight, God once again has found you.
If tonight you find yourself in need of a Christian community that strives to love God,
that dedicates itself to loving our neighbors,
that joyfully goes into the world in Jesus's name,
then know that you will always find that kind of community here.
And if tonight, you have heard the beckoning call of God's love for the first time,
and desire to fall into the arms of Jesus Christ for the first time and to follow him,
would you consider receiving Holy Baptism and joining our community of Christians
here at Trinity Parish Church?
If tonight, your heart has been stirred by the fire of God's love within you,
and you wish to re-dedicate your life to the living out of the Gospel within your context,
would you consider becoming a part of the spread of the Gospel here,
in a church that will love God with all our hearts
and who will love you as our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus?
Because tonight is the great celebration of when God came down to find us first.
Tonight is when Jesus Christ has searched for you and has found you.
And tonight is the night when all of earth is joined to heaven,
and we sing out the great angelic song:
"Glory, glory to God in the highest heaven!
And on earth, peace and goodwill toward all people."
Alleluia alleluia, for tonight the Almighty dwells on the earth,
and all are beckoned to see his glory,
the glory of Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son,
full of Grace and Truth.
May you have a blessed, happy, and merry Christmas,
Now come, let us all adore him.
+ To God be the Glory
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