The SPC Candlelight Service Message - A Christmas Story

Christ came in simplicity. His mother was a young woman who'd found favor with the Lord. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. He was first praised by shepherds. The light entered a dark world without brass bands or fanfare. On Tuesday, December 24, 7:00 p.m., the members and friends of Sligo Presbyterian Church celebrated the simplicity of this event in a traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Below is a recording and the text of the mediation offered during the service. 

Now, let me ask y’all a few questions. Over the next twenty-four hours, how many of y’all will watch at least a little of A Christmas Story on either TBS or TNT? OK, how many of y’all will watch the whole movie, even though you’ve already seen it, maybe a dozen times? That’s good. And how many of y’all will have it on sort of a loop through most of tomorrow, you know, as y’all do other stuff? Thanks. 

Now speaking for my family, I know that, sometime tomorrow, Debbie, Maggie and I will watch the whole thing, and I’m talking about, from beginning to end, even though I think we probably know most of the dialog by heart. Let’s just say, it’s one of our favorite Christmas movies. And even though it was set a little before my time, personally, I can really identify with what happens. I mean, when I was growing up and not dissecting Joy pixies, Christmas sort of came in a whirlwind that seemed to intensify as we got closer to the day. And then it would reach its peak on Christmas morning when my brother, sister and I would attack our presents in about twenty minutes of absolute chaos. And even though I never got a pink bunny suit or an official “Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time,” I do remember feeling almost numb after it was all over, not unlike Randy who falls asleep holding onto his zeppelin. I mean, that’s the way it was when I was growing up. And of course, when my daughter Maggie was little, well I can tell you, after putting together the My Little Pony Water Park or the Barbie recreational van or the kitchen like Claire Marie’s, with its five thousand little stickers, man, I wish I had my own zeppelin to snuggle up with. But isn’t that the case for a lot of us? Let’s just say, Christmas can be crazy. And I’ll tell you, when you think about it, maybe that’s why it’s so easy for us to identify with this movie, regardless of how many times we’ve seen it.

But you know, I think it’s really interesting; for as hectic and chaotic and downright exhausting as the twenty-fifth can be, the story behind Christmas is anything but. As a matter of fact, there’s a profound, almost radical simplicity in the story of Jesus’s birth, something that we just might miss if we don’t intentionally pause and appreciate it.

For example, just think about what the Evangelist Luke wrote. Good night nurse, I don’t think the birth itself could have been described more simply. And even though we have a tendency to shove stuff into the story, you know, to make it a little more dramatic or even child friendly, Luke’s description is pretty bare bones. Just listen.

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. [Luke 2:1-7, CEV]

Now that’s what Luke wrote. And if you think about it, in the story itself, there’s a whole lot more about why and how Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem than about the delivery itself. You see, the birth itself is really simple.

And I’ll tell you something else, so is the announcement, at least when you think about the folks who first heard it. I mean, they were shepherds, for crying out loud, men who were on the lowest rung of the social ladder, in other words, the kind of guys that no father would want his daughter to date, much less marry. And I can tell you, in first century Judea, there was nothing romantic about a bunch of shepherds. And yet, it was to these radically simple men that the announcement was made. Just listen to what Luke wrote:

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.” [Luke 2:8-15, CEV]

Now, if you’re talking about the birth itself or the guys who first heard the announcement, man, this is one simple Christmas story.

And I think that’s something we should probably remember tomorrow and for the next week or so. You see, maybe, as we kind of navigate through the chaos and the confusion, maybe we might want to pause for just a spell. Now don’t get me wrong, my little ponies really need their water parks. And how’s Barbie going to dream if she can’t drive her camper? And without those stickers, the kitchen just won’t be the same as Claire Marie’s. In other words, you’ve got to try on Aunt Clara’s present. And zeppelins are made to be cuddled. And if you don’t fire your air rifle, you’ll never know whether or not you’ll actually shoot your eye out. No, I’m not saying we should avoid being busy. Still, in the middle of all that, every now and then, we can still consciously slow down, physically and emotionally, and intentionally pause. And I’ll tell you why I think that’s important.

You see, it’s during those occasional pauses when I believe we can really appreciate the radical simplicity of this story. I mean, regardless of what Rankin/Bass added to all their Christmas specials, the birth of Jesus was really simple, because why he came was, is and will always be more important than how he came. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s also reflected in the announcement made to the shepherds, an announcement which told them and tells us that the baby lying in the hay was, is and will always be Savior and Christ and Lord. You see, in my opinion, it’s only when we pause and tune out the other noise that we can appreciate this message which originally went out to some very common people.

And why wouldn’t it? I mean, this is a simple story that we can understand only if we make the decision to pause so that we can really appreciate it. And you know, it’s interesting, isn’t that what happened in that movie which begins its 24-hour loop in about 30 minutes? I mean, even though all kinds of stuff happens to Ralphie and his friends and family, do you remember how it ends? 

Sometime during the next week, let’s intentionally do the same.