Lighten Our Darkness

The Rev. Joseph Winston

Christmass Eve 2007

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
From one side of this great wide state to the other, the setting of the sun brings
a gradual change upon the countryside. Ever so slowly, the wind settles down
and the temperature starts to drop. Colors steadily shift from vibrant hues of red,
purple, and orange, to the muted shades of gray, and then finally to the starkness
of black and white. Some of the wildlife prepares for the coming darkness by
returning back home for a night of rest while others like bats and owls leave their
nests for hunting.
As the Sun winks out in the western sky, new lights start to appear. On a night
like tonight, the full moon will dominate the evening sky making it difficult to
see the lesser lights. At other times when the moon is missing from the night sky,
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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other heavenly bodies may be observed. Well before writing existed on the Earth,
the ancients knew well the planets we now call Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn. From their detailed observations, they knew when these planets would ap-
pear in the sky and how they danced with the other lights. The deepening darkness
of night brings out the constellations composed of just a few stars to those built
up from innumerable galaxies.
Minutes turn into hours and then the eastern horizon begins its own measured
transformation. Tentative fingers of color first appear where darkness once ruled.
Fiery yellows and brilliant oranges tear across the sky. Now the world starts to
wake up. The warmth of the Sun stirs the breezes and brings a warm touch to the
slumbering planet. The nocturnal animals now reverse their tracks and come home
to sleep while the rest of the flora and fauna prepare for the day.
Texas is but one place in the world that this routine occurs. The Sumerians with
the oldest written language permanently recorded these movement from night to
day over six thousand years ago. So did all the kingdoms that followed them: the
Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans.
Each empire had its unique way of telling the story of what happens at night.
Some used the precise language of mathematics to sketch out the motion of the
planets in the skies while others used myths that described the changes in terms
of journeys through this world and the next.
In some manner, all the great civilizations have said the beautiful grandeur of
these stars and planets that lighten our darkness tell us that a god exists. However,
this is all the lights can do. No matter how hard we try, science with all of its

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advances cannot wrestle from the lights any details about the creator and epic tails
can only hint at what is really occurring in the cosmos. To find the source of the
light behind nature we need to turn to the Book that describes God.
About three thousand years ago, when the powerhouses of the world were
countries named Syria and Assyria, there was an insignificantly small kingdom
named Judah. This tiny group of people also knew the patterns of the night since
they were descended from people who trekked across the wilderness. However,
the movements of the stars and the planets across the night sky were never their
primary concern.
As children of Abraham, their main focus was on God who brought them out
of slavery and gave them the land that they now occupied. Currently this vision
was diverted away from the Lord because both external enemies and people who
they formerly considered as family threatened their very existence. Into this ter-
rible darkness that had descended on the land came a man of God, Isaiah, who
spoke the Word of Light. Hope comes with the dawn, a new king will be born,
and you will be saved.
God was good to His Word and the people lived to see another day.
The days passed into nights and the world awoke to a new superpower. Rome
now had the known world tight in her grasp and she was doing everything in her
power to ring out every last cent from the conquered lands. Judah was but one of
the places that paid Rome tribute.
Troubled by the foreign power embedded in their land, the people of Israel
took their eyes off God when they focused their attention on Rome. With their

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backs facing God, darkness once again descended upon the land. Without the
light, they are lost. They can no longer find the way.
Far off course, cries of fear come from the people. Free us from our harsh
overlords so we may live in peace again. God heard their prayers and gave them a
Savior that will turn them back to the light.
In the middle of the night, an unexpected light shines out of the darkness in
Bethlehem. The first ones to see this new object in the sky are the shepherds.
Immediately, the shepherds know something has changed because they know well
the movements of the stars in the night sky as these men and boys needed to stay
out in the elements and protect their flocks.
While some may believe that this is the One whom God has promised to over-
throw Rome, it is not. The brilliant star in the sky high about the hills is only a
messenger, an angel of the Lord. The angel’s task this evening is to point to the
light.
“Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the
people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,
the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of
cloth and lying in a manger (Luke 2:10b-12).”
Ever so quickly, this single point of light is joined with countless others, all
singing praise to the Lord, and then they all went dark.
We have grown so accustomed to hearing these miraculous words from the
angel that they no longer have gut-wrenching affect on us as they should. The
proclamation that God has flesh is scandalous for oh so many reasons. Not only

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does this enfleshment mean that the creator of the universe will succumb to hunger
and thirst like the rest of us but God will also will tire like any other man, weaken
with age like we all do, and eventually die just like you and I. That is not all. The
King of kings and Lord of Lords is now but a weak child, who soils His diapers,
and feeds at Mary’s breast.
This is what the Lord God has done to save you. He has become a vulnerable
little Jewish boy lying the in the manger, subject to the cold and to the heat, and
prone to all those childhood illnesses. He took on every aspect of our life so that
He might bring you the Light so that you may know what lies ahead.
The bright illumination that He shines on all of us is frightening because like a
stage-light it highlights all our faults. But that is not what Jesus is looking at since
He loves us with all of all flaws and imperfections. His eyes along with His light
are focused on the way we are going because He wants to keep you from tripping
over all of life’s problems.
Day transforming into night allows us to experience all the beauty that literally
surrounds us. This world passes away and we can see the night sky with all of its
lights.
But this darkness presents us with a practical problem. How will we see to go
home? Of course the answer is to turn on your lights. The exact same idea holds in
your walk with God. The best way for Christ’s light to shine on your way through
this life is for you to stop leaving it behind at the door of this building when you
go into the world.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and

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minds through Christ Jesus.”2

2
Philippians 4:7.