“‘Tis The Night Before Christmas - 2006"

Text: Luke 2:1-20

© December 24, 2006 (Christmas Eve) by C. Edward Bowen

‘Tis the night before Christmas,

The time when the angels sing,

The eve when the world rejoices

Over Christ, the newborn king.

This season, of course,

Is a most joyous time of year –

A time when are spirits are lifted

And our hearts are filled with cheer

During the weeks of December,

We celebrate in many ways,

With festivities all around us,

Brightening the dark winter days.

The Christmas cards arrive,

The mistletoe is hung,

While at the stores we hear

The sound of bells being rung.

People munch on their Christmas cookies,

And houses of gingerbread they make,

But does anyone ever really eat

Those loaves of dreaded fruit cake?

The malls are all filled

With shoppers in search of deals,

Standing in checkout lines for hours –

Perhaps you know how that feels.

There are carolers in the streets,

Walking amid the snow,

Singing those old favorite tunes

As from house to house they go.

And on those frosty nights

When the world around turns white,

At times it all looks so peaceful –

Such a wonderful sight.

Back at home we relax

With some of our favorite holiday shows –

The ones we’ve seen time and again,

The stories that everyone knows.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,

Who feels so utterly left out –

All because the others make fun

Of his most unusual snout.

And there’s the mean old Grinch,

Up in his mountain lair,

Looking down at poor old Whoville

With his twisted, sinister stare.

And Jimmy Stewart’s at his wits’ end

In “It’s A Wonderful Life,”

But there’s a happy ending

As he hugs his children and wife.

There’s the classic Peanuts special

With Charlie Brown and all his crew,

As they look at his pitiful little tree

And ponder what they’re going to do.

There are so many ways indeed

We celebrate this season of joy,

This time of year when we remember

The birth of the Virgin’s boy.

But out of all the ways we observe

What happened on this sacred night,

More than anything else,

This is a season of light.

During these weeks of December

Candles in windows gleam,

While houses all around are covered

With brilliant bulbs that beam.

Trees are brightly adorned

With shades of white, green and red;

The colors are so wonderful to look at,

As through the streets we tread.

Oh, yes, we complain each year

That people put up their lights so early.

We give our neighbors sour looks,

And pretend to be so surly.

But even if the lights go up

Before the kids trick or treat,

Deep down inside I think we know

This time of year can’t be beat.

There’s something about the lights,

With their bright shining rays,

That give us a sense of hope

Amid these dark and dreary days.

And it’s only appropriate

That lights should fill the sky,

Because brilliance shone above

On that night when the angels did fly.

As those heavenly beings soared above,

Glory shone all around,

Causing the fearful shepherds

To fall upon the ground.

And likewise those wise men,

Who lived in a distant, far-off land,

Saw a star up above

That illumined the desert sand.

And it was that selfsame star

That led them on and on,

As they looked high above,

To its glow they were drawn.

Yes, light is an important part

Of the meaning of this holy eve.

The lights all around

Remind us of what we believe:

And that is that our God can be trusted,

God’s Word will never fail,

For the light shines in the darkness,

And the darkness will not prevail.

That means that even in those trying times

When all hope seems to be blotted out,

We can still have faith in our God,

Even if we’re tempted to doubt.

Because no matter how dark it may be,

No matter how desperate things may appear,

We can hear God speaking to us:

“Believe, and do not fear.”

And in this world that we live,

With dark evil all around,

That message of hope

Is a most welcome sound.

For as we look about

At the world in which we dwell,

We have no choice but to admit

That all is not well.

The war in Iraq

Rages on week after week –

The killings and the bombings,

The news is oh so bleak.

Whether you call it sectarian violence,

Or if you call it a civil war,

How much longer will it be

That the blood continue to pour?

In Israel the strife goes on,

Unrest between Arabs and Jews,

With each side pointing at the other

In an attempt to accuse.

Famine and genocide spread

In the region called Darfur;

And millions more are dying

Because for AIDS there is no cure.

There’s a fear of terror

That causes every nation to be alarmed.

How do we keep our families safe?

How do we keep them from being harmed?

Yet those dark fears are located

Not just in some far-off distant land.

No, those shadowy specters of evil

Are all too close at hand.

In our own towns we have to worry

About robberies and various crimes,

As we wish we could return

To simpler and safer times.

Drug dealers lurk our own streets,

They’re not just in the inner city –

The number of teenagers and adults that get hooked

Is such an incredible pity.

Families across the land go hungry,

The shelves in their refrigerators are bare;

And they worry about their children

Who have no winter coats to wear.

Many fret about their jobs,

And whether they’ll have a paycheck next year.

For some that’s not a concern,

But for many it’s an imminent fear.

So many households are in upheaval,

Marriages that are falling apart –

Couples want to put the pieces back together,

But they don’t know where to start.

Still others deal with serious concerns

About illness and disease,

And with all their fervent prayers

They offer to God their pleas.

And at the heart of it all

We are left to ponder:

Is there a hope that we can cling to

As through this life we wander?

Does darkness have the final word,

Is evil here to stay?

Or can we look forward in hope

To some better, bright shining day?

Well, as we read the Christmas story,

We find the world into which Jesus came

Was quite like the world that we know –

In many respects the same.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem,

And amid the manger straw was laid,

The people all around

Had burdens on their hearts that weighed.

They lived under the rule of the Emperor,

Who reigned with might from Rome;

And it was because of his decree

That all had to travel home.

And that was why Mary and Joseph

From Nazareth to Bethlehem went,

Not because they wanted to,

But because they had been sent.

And so the Holy Couple fretted

And their hearts trembled within,

Especially when they heard the news

That there was no room in the inn.

What kind of world is this,

Mary and Joseph must have pondered,

As through the dark Bethlehem streets,

Step by step they wandered.

They lived in an age

When most people were not free;

So they wondered if liberation

Was something they would ever see.

Would the poor always be mocked,

Would the powerless forever be kept down?

Would they forever have to bow

Their knee to the emperor’s crown?

But in the midst of that darkness,

Amid the very blackness of night,

Jesus Christ was born,

And evil was put to flight.

The shepherds were the first

Of the miracle to become aware,

As with awe-struck eyes

At the angel they did stare.

Light beamed through the sky,

The shepherds became so scared,

But then they heard those marvelous words

That the angel boldly declared:

“Do not fear,” the angel announced,

“There’s no cause to be afraid,

For I have to come to tell you

Where the Savior has been laid.

Go now into Bethlehem,

And there a baby you will see;

For he is the one

Who has come to set you free.”

And then a whole host of angels

Appeared and began to rejoice,

Singing joyful praises to God

With a glad and cheerful voice.

And obeying what the angel had said,

The shepherds went with haste;

They raced into Bethlehem,

Not wanting a second to waste.

And when they finally found him,

Laying atop the bits of straw,

They marveled in amazement

At what it was that they saw.

For at that moment they knew

That though darkness was not completely gone,

They were witnessing the emergence

Of a bright and glorious dawn.

The light shines in the darkness

And the darkness cannot win,

For Jesus came to defeat

The powers of death and sin.

And so as we hold our candles tonight,

And the brilliance begins to spread,

We can see for ourselves

The future to which we are led.

As the light beams forth

All our fears can be banished,

For the day is surely coming

When all evil will be vanquished.

And as we join in our carols,

And sing of a Silent Night,

We can trust that the time is approaching

When the darkness will be turned to light.

So Merry Christmas to you

Merry Christmas to all the earth

For this is a night of glory

The night of our Savior’s birth.

Cast away all your doubts and fears

For this is a time to believe

This is a night of hope and of light

For this is Christmas eve.