The Rev. Noah Van Niel
Christ and St. Luke’s
December 24th, 2022
Christmas: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:1-20
To hear audio of this sermon click here.
A few weeks ago, Google released a short video about some of their notable search trends for 2022. It was more of a promotional gimmick than a scientific study, but occasionally these end-of-year search summaries can give an interesting, maybe even insightful window into what has been on people’s minds and hearts through the year. And interestingly, the video said that this year, people’s most notable search query, was, “Can I change….something,” the balance of that sentence varied—my life, myself, my career, my style—but this year more than ever before, it said, people were searching for a change.
Normally I don’t pay too much attention to commercials but this one caught my eye because after years of disruption and disconnection and discontent, one might have thought that what people wanted most this year would be stability, stasis, security…and yet that seems not to be the case. We’ve been a people walking in darkness and yet, even as the acuteness of the pandemic has receded, it seems we still have not yet seen the light we are looking for. So, we continue searching for it.
Perhaps this is because in the aftermath of such a profound societal rupture we have gained something: a new awareness, a longing to make life meaningful and fulfilling, now that we have been reminded just how precious and precarious it is. As we return to “normal” many of us are realizing that there remains an emptiness, a dissatisfaction with our lives which we are no longer willing to tolerate. To a certain extent, I find this encouraging. People are less willing to settle for “mildly miserable” as their status quo and they are looking to make positive changes in their lives. That’s good. But as powerful as it is, I don’t think Google will ultimately help us find what we are looking for. That so many people share this common quest for change denotes to me, more of an existential restlessness. Which means that to actually fill our empty souls or calm our restive hearts will require things far more profound than what show up in a search bar. We must look elsewhere.
It strikes me that the Shepherds were also searching for something more meaningful in their lives. They were Jews living in 1st century Palestine under an economically oppressive Roman occupation. They were working in one of the lowest status jobs you could have, with long hours, sometimes sleeping in the fields for days at a time, at the mercy of the elements, fending off wild animals and wrangling tons of smelly sheep all day. And to top it off their taxes were about to go up. Caesar wants more money. So, he’s counting all his subjects to see how he can squeeze one more denarius out of their already empty pockets. This unhappy reality had been the story of their lives. In fact, it had been the story of their people for hundreds of years. They were all looking for a change, longing for it, praying for it… searching for it, for a Messiah, a Savior, who could restore them to lives of fullness and happiness. But so far, their search had yielded no results.
But then one night, one holy night, in the dark and cold, sleeping with their flock out in the hills, everything does change. That which they have been looking for, longing for, searching for, comes to them in the most magnificent, mysterious way. And from this encounter these shepherds glean three of the most essential gifts of this life. Gifts that, when received, fill their empty souls and calm their restless hearts. Gifts that could do the same for us.
The first gift is a profound sense of wonder—that feeling of “Wow” which both bows us down and draws us in. With the brilliance of the angels bursting into the darkness of the night something amazing, something awesome has broken through the humdrum haze of their daily existence and called them to attention and reverence. Their world is suddenly shown to be graced with the presence of the Holy and such a vision gives them a desire to see and to know more, to celebrate the wonders they have beheld. This is the first great gift of Christmas—the gift of wonder that comes from discovering the presence of God woven into the fabric of our earthly existence.
When the Shepherds then follow where there wonder leads them and arrive at the manger, they discover the next great gift. The gift of love. In search of God what they find is a mom and a dad and a newborn baby illuminating their humble surroundings with the love they radiate. This is the way God has chosen to enter the world. And that makes this the most precious scene they could imagine. For in that moment, they have an inkling that they just might be witnessing the most powerful force in the universe on display. A force that will blossom in the life of this child, as he grows and teaches, and serves, and leads, and gives, and dies and rises all by love. That is what the Shepherds find swaddled in that stable, love incarnate in this little baby boy. And it fills their hearts with its light.
And this produces in them that feeling of “great joy” which the Angel spoke of. No longer dissatisfied, discontented with their lot in life now they skip back up into the hills singing, glorifying God all the way. They have changed. They are still shepherds, and yet somehow not the same shepherds they were the day before because they have experienced the presence of God in this world, they have seen Emmanuel—God with us, and that is reason to rejoice. Joy is that final gift which this holy night gives to them, for now they know that they are not alone, their existences not meaningless or empty, for God is in the midst of them and this gives their lives the fullness they had been searching for.
Wonder, Love, and Joy. These are how we experience God to be with us. In this world. In our lives. For this trinity of transcendence brings us out of ourselves and into touch with that reality that exists beyond our immediate awareness. And this makes them the three most essential Christmas gifts you could ever ask for. You can search the entire internet for things to change your life to make it more fulfilling or meaningful, but if those things don’t make your jaw drop in wonder or your heart swell with love or your soul sing for joy, then your searching will inevitably continue. But if you can find those things, things that kindle in you a sense of wonder, love, and joy, then you will have met with the magnificence and mystery of the Divine, and that emptiness or dissatisfaction or restlessness that’s driving you will be driven away like darkness before a flame.
And that is why, tonight, on this Christmas night, we come to celebrate and generate, in all the ways that we know how, through prayer and song, story and sacrament, through stable door and floral décor, through candlelight and starlight, the gifts of wonder, love, and joy. Gifts which bring us into the very heart of the Almighty by bringing the Almighty into our very hearts. Gifts that, if we find them, can bring our searching to an end, and make not just our Christmas, but our whole lives, merry and bright. Amen.