Christmas Day
The Reverend Shearon Sykes Williams, Saint George’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia
Christmas Day 2023
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined…For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9: 2-7
It is such a joy to greet this Christmas morning! We come together to remember that first Christmas and to think about its significance for us today. We bring the experience of 2,000 years of Christmases and we bring the very particular circumstances of Christmas 2023.
In the Holy Land this year, Christmas festivities are being curtailed. In a Washington Post opinion piece written by Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan a few days ago, she talked about how the Holy Land normally has bazaars, tree lightings and parades, but not this year. Christians in her country have chosen to do the same, in light of the war going on in Gaza. The queen’s article included a manger scene from a church in Bethlehem where the Christ child lies in a pile of rubble from a bombed-out building. There is a candle burning next to the infant and beautiful carved figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Joseph and the shepherds look on. The suffering, unspeakable grief and loss there are heart-wrenching. And yet that candle is lit beside the baby Jesus.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined…For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9: 2-7
Jesus was born in an occupied land, and he is reborn today in the midst of extreme violence. God comes to us over and over and over again, to remind us that no matter how dark the darkness is, he is with us. Today we celebrate the fact that God never gives up on humanity. God came into the world in the flesh in first century Palestine to share our life and to call us to new life and he comes to us each year to do the same, until that day when he will return in glory to finally bring all things to the fullness that God intends for us. Until that day, we wait in eager longing. And on this most blessed Christmas morning, we are reminded of the foundation of that hope.
During our beautiful Lessons and Carols service last Sunday afternoon, our choir sang “The Work of Christmas”, written by theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman. It speaks of how we are called to hear the nativity story today and take it forward in our lives.
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music from the heart.
Jesus does not come into the world to solve all of our problems or to magically take away all of our sources of pain. But God is with us, as we do the hard work of justice and peace-making that is ours to do.
God is with us today, whatever is going on in our lives. If we are rejoicing, God rejoices with us, and if we are experiencing grief or sorrow, God is most especially with us, bringing us comfort. Christmas comes, whatever the circumstances. Beyond the holiday festivities, as lovely as they are, the real significance of Christmas is knowing that we are not alone in this world and that no matter what is going on, either personally or globally, God is there giving us hope for a new future and the joy of knowing that he shares our life in the deepest way possible. And that is what allows us, as Thurman reminds us, “to make music from the heart.”
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined…For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9: 2-7