The Message for Christmas Eve - Gathering on Christmas Eve (Luke 2:1-20)

Below is the message Pastor Rudiger offered during our Christmas Eve candlelight service. It's based on the Christmas story, as written by the Evangelist Luke. 

Luke 2:1-20 [Contemporary English Version]

About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 

Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David’s hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David’s family.

Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

“Praise God in heaven!

Peace on earth to everyone

    who pleases God.”

After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. Everyone listened and was surprised. But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.

Gathering on Christmas Eve

Now, I’ve got to tell you; love coming to church on Christmas Eve. As a matter of fact, for the last thirty-five years, my two favorite services in the whole year are Good Friday and Christmas Eve. Of course, my reason for liking these two are entirely different. I mean, while Good Friday is very serious and sober because we’re focused on the crucifixion, Christmas Eve, man, it’s just a blast, because we’re celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the reason for the season. And so every year, I look forward to gathering at church so that we can sing some carols and share communion and light candles. What a wonderful way to close out the year. And I’ve got to tell y’all, since this is my first Christmas Eve in Sligo, and having my wife and daughter here, man, this evening is extra special, at least, it is to me.

But you know, as I was thinking about it this past week, the idea of gathering, well, I don’t think that’s a major emphasis in our society anymore. In other words, I just don’t think people enjoy doing it like they used to. I mean, although we can still get together at church every week and go to games or plays or concerts every-now-and-then, there’s a lot of stuff in our world that sort of pull us apart, you know what I mean. Let’s get real, we tend to be more comfortable standing as individuals then in hang out in groups. For example, sometimes, when I’m walking my little dog Coco in the morning, we’ll pass maybe eight or nine kids waiting for the bus. And even though they’re standing in a little group, they’re all on their cell phones. Now let me be clear, I’m not saying that’s wrong or bad, it’s just different from what I remember. I mean, it just seems as thought we’ve become a little more isolated than we used to be. And I’ve got to tell, going through this pandemic, man, I think that’s made it even worse. There just doesn’t seem to be as much gathering as there used to be.

And I’ll tell you, maybe that’s why I enjoy Christmas Eve so much, because we’re all here. And you know, this idea of getting together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, well, I think it’s actually in the passage we read a little while ago. I mean, remember, since those shepherds were guarding their sheep out in these fields near Bethlehem, I’ve got to believe they weren’t hanging out together in the same place. Now they weren’t on their cell phones; still they sure weren’t together. Good night nurse, I grew up in the city, but even I know that would be a pretty stupid way to protect a scattered flock. No, according to what we read, these guys didn’t gather together until they heard the angel and then decided to go and to find the baby. You see, for those shepherds, the birth of Jesus really gathered them together in a new way.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something important for us to remember, particularly when we leave here this evening and go about our regular business. You see, as people who’ve come here to celebrate the coming of Christ, when we choose to gather together, I believe that three things will happen to us just like they happened to those shepherds. And let me share them with you right now.

You see, first, when we’re together, I think we we’re better able to feel God’s presence, something that, like I said, we can see happening to the shepherds. I mean, the voice of that angel gathered a bunch of guys who were guarding a bunch of sheep scattered in a bunch of fields. And when they were together, not only did they hear the angel say, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay” [Luke 2:10b-12, CEV], they also heard all those other angels saying, “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” [Luke 2:14, CEV] Now that’s what happened to them, and I’m telling you, it can happen to us. You see, when we’re together, when we’ve gather as the Body of Christ to sing and to pray and praise, I believe we can hear God and his words in a special way. And we can experience his presence as his Spirit draws us together, something that he’s doing tonight. I’ll tell you, first, when we gather, I believe we’re better able to feel God’s presence.

And second, I also think we’re better able to help one another, and I’m talking about helping one another do what is necessary for us to do. And again, I think this is something else that we can see with those shepherds in the story we read. I mean, do you remember what happened “after the angels had left and gone back to heaven” [Luke 2:15a, CEV]? According to Luke, “the shepherds said to each other, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.’ They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.” [Luke 215b-16, CEV] Now, I think that’s really important. You see, after the heavenly host had gone, the shepherds didn’t split up or scatter. Instead, they went together, you know as a group. And in the end, they found what they were looking for, the one about whom the angel spoke. Now that’s what happened to them. And I’m telling you, it can also happen to us. You see, when we choose to face problems and pain, confusion and doubt not as isolated individuals, but rather as members of a body, a community, a family, I think we’ll be in a much better position to hear the needs of our friends and neighbors, our brothers and sisters. And we’ll be able to respond in a way that helps them, not just ourselves. You see, second, when we gather, I believe we’re better able to help one another.

And third, right along with feeling God’s presence and helping one another, when we gather together, I believe we’re better able to share the Good News, and I’m talking about sharing it by showing the kind of love and mercy that Jesus Christ both lived and encouraged. You see, this is something that I think we can most effectively do together. And I’ll tell you, isn’t this exactly what happened with those shepherds, and I’m talking about, after they’d left Mary and Joseph and the baby? Remember, according to Luke, “as the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.” [Luke 2:20, CEV] You see, they left the manger praising God and telling anyone who would listen what they’d seen and heard. And together, man, we can do the same thing. We can accept that we have a message to share, one grounded in this truth: God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! [John 3:16-17, CEV] You see, we can share this message. And we can share it certainly through the words we use, but maybe more importantly through the lives we choose to live. I’m telling you, third, when we gather together, I believe we’re better able to share the Good News.

Now, I’ll always love Christmas Eve, but not just for the carols and the communion and the candles. You see, tonight can be a powerful reminder. Although there’s all kinds of stuff in our world that separates us, when Christians gather together, like we’re doing this evening, I believe we’re better able to feel God’s presence and we’re better able to help one another and we’re better able share the Good News. You see, maybe that’s what gathering on Christmas Eve is all about.