Paul Walker, “The Wait is Over”

 Merry Christmas to one and all! We have waited two years for this moment, and here we are together, to sing and celebrate the birth of our Lord.  You are all most welcome to Christ Church. 

     I don’t know what brought you here the Christmas Eve. But whether you’ve looked forward to this moment all year, or you were conscripted by your mother, you are welcome here.  Believer and sceptic alike, the mask wearers and mask averse, you are all welcome. Those who are unfazed by Omicron and those who stayed home to watch our new live stream option, you are all most welcome this Christmas Eve.

     Maybe you haven’t been to church in years. Well, you are like my friend Jim who dated a young woman when he was a teenager. Although they lived in different states, he got to know her parents. Then they went to different colleges and drifted apart. 

     25 years later, Jim found himself single again. Since this was before the time of google and cell phone and caller ID, he found his old girlfriend’s number by dialing 4-1-1 on his rotary phone. From several states away, he decided to risk it and call. 

     When her mother answered, Jim said, “Mrs. Johnson?” without identifying himself. Without skipping a beat, Mrs. Johnson replied, “Why, hello Jim. So nice to hear from you.” It was as if she had been by the phone waiting all these years. So, if you are here this Christmas Eve after an extended time away, then Hello Jim! So nice to hear from you. That is what church is all about – a warm welcome home.

     I also won’t presume to know how you are feeling this Christmas Eve. I would guess you are somewhere between unadulterated joy and crushing despair. Whatever your emotional state, you are most welcome. I do know that the levels of sadness and anxiety are as high as they have ever been nationwide. If you find yourself in that category, you are especially  welcome this Christmas Eve.

     I like to think of Christ Church, especially on Christmas Eve, as the Statue of Liberty of churches – “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”  We have message tonight that speaks to the exhausted part of your heart, that enriches the impoverished part of your soul. It is a message that lets you and the whole world breathe free. It’s a message that finds you in your isolation, gathers you in loving arms and welcomes you home. Everything is going to be okay.  Perhaps it’s the very message that you have been waiting for. I hope so.

     We heard this message foretold centuries ago by the prophet Isaiah. - “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” As you plug in your Christmas tree, or see the sun rise tomorrow like newborn king, might remember these words. We will get a moving visual of this later when we all kneel to sing Silent Night, everyone with a lit candle, the darkness of the church bathed in light.

     Like many children, as a child I would wake up super early on Christmas Day, while the world was still covered in darkness.  Waiting until 6 am -the parental appointed time -seemed interminable and intolerable. Eventually,5:59 clicked to 6:00 - still dark then, but great light of Christmas morning came with presents and stockings and a feasty breakfast.  

     Isaiah would have to wait for centuries for his promise to come to pass, for the great light to dawn, for the Child to be born unto us. But not us – wait is over. The preparation – done and left undone – is over. The plans -carried out or unfulfilled - are over. We are right on the doorstep of Christmas Morning! 

     As we read tonight, “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

     The Christmas message is simple: this child, born in a manger, not in a home, welcomes you home. No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done, God has sent His Son to find you and welcome you home. On you who have walked in darkness a great light has shined. And that light emanates out of those swaddling clothes. Radiant beams from Thy Holy face.

     Everything is going to be okay. As Martin Luther preached in a Christmas sermon, “Look at the Child. All that is belongs to him. You should not fear but take comfort in him. Doubt nothing. Look upon the Lord of Peace and your spirit will be at peace.” You can breathe free, everything is going to be okay. For unto us a child is born.

     I’ll close this short sermon with a Christmas story. It might not seem like a Christmas story since it took place on a beach in the middle of summer. But it is. And it’s a true story told by a friend a few weeks ago. 

     My friend is a dad – he and his family were on a beach vacation in the Outer Banks. After dinner his eleven -year-old daughter asked if she could walk down to the beach by herself. With a reminder to be careful, off she went. Her parents started getting worried when she didn’t come back in an hour. Then it started to get dark and they really got worried. They went to the beach to search for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

     They combed the beach up and down the shoreline as it got later and darker, calling her name. Finally, after 2 hours they called the beach police. The police told them to stay in their cottage and wait while they sent someone to look for their daughter. So, they waited, waited in darkness for some light of hope. That wait, of course, was interminable and intolerable. Their anxiety was so great they could barely breathe.

     Finally, finally, finally, the 5:59 on the clock ticked over to 6:00. They saw the lights of a police beach cruiser piercing the darkness, approaching their cottage. But what news awaited them? The cruiser door opened and out of the car came their beloved daughter. They rushed to envelope her in their arms, welcoming her home, tears of joy and relief streaming. What happened? Where were you?

     Her answer: “I went for a walk on the beach and then it got dark. I didn’t know where I was. The cottages all looked alike. I couldn’t hear anything but the crash of the waves. I didn’t know what to do. But then, Dad, I remembered that you told me that if ever I was lost just to stay where I was and you would come find me. So, I found a piece of driftwood and sat down and I waited. And I knew you would come and find me.”

     Those who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. The wait is over. God has come to find you, for unto us a child is born. Merry Christmas, friends - everything is going to be okay.

     Amen.