A sermon delivered by Rev. Graham Dale at the Christmas Midnight Mass 2024.
If advent is a period of waiting – then tonight the waiting is over. It is never easy to wait – whether for a special gift, or meeting family and friends, or just the rest that holidays bring. But it is now here – and from all of us at St Mary’s – we wish you a very happy Christmas and prayers and best wishes for the year ahead. Good things are worth waiting for and during Advent, the season since the beginning of December, Christians have prepared for the Christ-child at Christmas. We have reflected upon St John’s declaration ‘the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us’. Christians believe that tonight is not only the culmination of an Advent wait but gives meaning to history itself. I want to say 3 things about that first Christmas:
God was born into history
This birth has shaped history
This birth shapes our history
God was born into history
In our Isaiah reading – the Jewish people were waiting for deliverance from an Assyrian oppressor – who had enslaved them. God asks (in an almost surprised tone) ‘what is this, why are my people enslaved again? And then, continues... I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power’. Isaiah captures an excited expectation – ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who will bring this good news that God is coming to deliver us. The watchmen shout with joy & even the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song’.
For us English, or Scots, or wherever you’re from tonight – the really good news from Isaiah is that this deliverer is not just for the Jewish people, but ‘God will demonstrate his power before all nations all the ends of the earth will see the victory of God’. And then - after hundreds of years of waiting - Jesus is born in Bethlehem, an event that not only fulfils God’s promises to Jewish people but to all people everywhere. God came into history to reveal his name, his power and his victory. He did this in the most remarkable way – through a child born in a stable.
This is the amazing, good news from St John: ‘In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’. So my 1st point is God was born into history.
This birth has shaped history
Look around you – this Church and these people - are just one expression of that first Christmas in Bethlehem. 3,000 miles away, 5 hrs flying time, and 2,000 years ago – a child born then, has shaped human history in unimaginable ways that no-one could have predicted. And tonight, in Harrow, we gather to mark the moment of his birth – just like Christians have gathered on this hill for at least 1000 years (surrounded by witnesses). And yet – not everyone has seen the light – so to speak.
St John again, ‘the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him’. This baby in Bethlehem caused division. No sooner was Jesus born than Herod tried to kill him (the slaughter of
the innocents). The controversy continued as he asked, ‘who do people say that I am; who do you say I am?’ The child escaped to Egypt but the authorities would one day catch up with this carpenter turned preacher – the one who John the Baptist recognised as the ‘lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’. So my 2nd point is that this birth has shaped history.
This birth shapes our history
I’ve talked about how the event we celebrate tonight has shaped human history, but it also shapes our history. Even if you do not regard yourself as a follower of Jesus– you are here tonight – surrounded by followers. St John reminds us - He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, but born of God. This baby changed history because he changed people.
From the first disciples who responded, ‘you are the Christ, the son of God’, through to the builders of this Church, or those singing and speaking tonight. Jesus has changed people and continues to change
people. This is not just natural history - but supernatural faith – and like every night since that first Christmas night - you too can discover that faith. It has been a long wait – and this year has been a long
year – with lots of conflict between nations – and challenges in our own lives. Yet peace on earth, as promised by those first angels - is available through this child who continues to bring peace with God.
So my 3rd point is that this birth shapes our history.
So in conclusion... I’m delighted you are here to celebrate this birth that we believe changes everything.
When God was born into history - a birth that has shaped human history - and one that continues to shape our history every day of our lives.