A Single Solitary Candle

Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20

December 24, 2007, Christmas Eve

We have all received Christmas cards with the familiar rendering of the angels and their refrain “Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth. Goodwill to Men (all).” Those words in many ways distill the essence of the Christmas story, the Christmas promise. Then the shepherds, full of faith and hope, say, “let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” How would you have reacted to the angels’ song? Would you have gone immediately to see if you could find this baby wrapped in swaddling cloths?

Let us look at it from the shepherds’ standpoint. They are of the next-to-the-lowest rank in society, just above the scoundrels. They did not get much good news in their lives, and we can only imagine they all thought about the day they might catch a break; much like the poor person playing the lottery – wondering, always wondering if they might somehow make it. The song comes to them in the darkness, a darkness that bespeaks the darkness of their lives. Then in a blaze of light and song, the darkness of the night and of their lives is given light and hope.

Brennan Manning in his writing, Lion and lamb: the Relentless Tenderness of Jesus writes:

I wonder, if we were to stop people at random in the street on December 24 and ask them what they want most for Christmas, how many would say, 'I want to see Jesus?’

I believe that the single most important consideration during the sacred season of Advent is intensity of desire. Paraphrasing the late Rabbi Abraham Heschel, 'Jesus Christ is of no importance unless he is of supreme importance.' An intense inner desire is already the sign of his presence in our hearts.

People who need light are going to search for it, only if they believe it is possible, and then only if they are hungry for it. In our world of National Lampoon’s Christmas lights spectacular on the Griswold house, where every inch of the house is covered in white lights, who is going to notice the light of one candle, unless they’re looking for it? When we already have so much, can we truly feel our need? As Rev. John Gibbs says:

Where Christmas has grown old, where the familiar rhythm of Christmas texts lulls people to sleep, where the light is taken for granted and there is no more great drama of faith – there can any new thing happen, could a new light be seen if it came, would the birth of new life be possible?

How much do we need Jesus and the angels’ promise of peace? Do we need it as individuals; do we need it as a world? Do we believe that the baby’s birth we celebrate tonight offers us any hope for that peace? I hope for you and for me that the answer is yes. For that is exactly what the hope of the world rests on. How badly do we want it?

Catholic priest and author Fr. Andrew Greely shares the following story about when the baby in their manger scene disappeared during rehearsals for the Christmas pageant:

Sr. Pat was very upset. What could they do? Though she suspected that Ed, the parish grinch who objected to the procession, might have had a hand in the disappearance, she didn't want to make an accusation. Mary Anne and Joey approached her with their solution. "You told us the manger is a feeding trough and reminds us that the Baby is the one who gives us the bread of life each time we come to the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper). Why don't we put all the hosts into a basket and carry it in procession to the manger. Uncle Tom (as they called the pastor) can talk about that in his homily and then we can bring the manger to the altar at the offertory procession." Of course, the pastor did as he was told and everyone remarked, "What a marvelous homily!"

Then, after communion, the Baby mysteriously appeared back in the manger looking newer and brighter than anyone ever remembered. To this day, no one knows when or how he got there.

Do you need the one who invites you to come and sit at his table? Are you hungry enough to want the meal that he has prepared for you? How you answer that question is how you will answer the question of how much you need the one whose birth we celebrate tonight. The shepherds needed him, the wise men needed him. People throughout history have needed him. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we need him too. In a world filled with light and unimaginable riches, it is hard sometimes to see the light of one single solitary candle, but to those who need it, to those walking in darkness, that light is a most needed and the most welcomed light.

Amen

© 2007 Rev. Dr. Thomas T. Peters