To the members of Faith: Merry Christmas, Day 9! Below is a recap of my Christmas Eve sermon. This Sunday we'll celebrate Epiphany and the visit of the wise men. In ABC we'll dig a little into the liturgy. And Sunday School for the children!
"...a multitude of the heavenly host [army] praising God" (Luke 2:13).
I'm with you. I love to sing "Silent Night." Not Christmas without it. I'm just not sure where we got the idea.
The first Christmas was anything but silent.
For starters, the angel delivers a very powerful sermon: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy..." (Luke 2:10). Said Luther, "These are angelic words shouted down from heaven into this world; it is a message which, praise be to God forever, has also been made known to us."
Then the choir sings - the largest, loudest choir ever assembled. The Greek word is "army." Fitting, as God had declared war on sin, death, and devil.
Still want to go with "silent"?
Then the shepherds do nothing but talk, spread the good news, wake people up (who in turn begin to talk), and glorify and praise God.
And if we think about it, Christmas was the night God broke His silence. The birth of His eternal Son was a deafening cry of the Divine Love. And don't be deceived. The Baby's breath was in reality the mighty roar of the Lion of Judah.
Still looking for silence and calm? There is one place you will find it: the consciences of the repentant who because of Christ no longer must endure the accusation and condemnation of the Law and Satan.
There is in the Christian conscience now only peace and quiet. And in the Christian heart only faith and joy. A joy - a great joy - that sings with the angels and makes Christmas, again, anything but silent!
