A Time To Feel
Abridge Worship Provided By: Rev. Jacob Shaw (Please note that this is not a verbatim account of our Sunday morning worship, but rather a condensed version for those at home to study and enjoy, Blessing)
Opening Prayer:
God of Light and Love, this is a holy night. We come longing to hear Your story once again. Speak your words of revelation to us, let us come to know the gift You have sent us, Your Son. Let Your way, truth, and life be known to our hearts all the better because of the glory of Christ’s birth. Amen.
Scripture 1: Matt 1:18-23
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Scripture 2: Luke 2:1-14
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So, Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Reflection:
Christmas Eve is a time for the heart more so than for the mind. There is something about the anticipation and hope of Christmas that seems to invite us to feel our faith more readily than just thinking about it. Even all the images of the memory of Jesus coming to earth are filled with moments that give us feeling; a bright star shining in the East leading the wise men to Bethlehem; a heavenly host of angels singing glory to God in the highest to the wonder of the shepherds. It’s like a feeling of warmth that breaks through the darkness and wraps us like a child. Of course, that memory is there too, the most special child, born in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloth warmly and securely cared for by Mary and Joseph after a long and exhausting journey. These words, these memories invite us into a still, silent calm, peaceful tranquility. More than any other service of the year, except perhaps Easter, we come tonight not wanting just to hear the faith story, not to get proofs or strategies for living a better life, but we want to feel what we believe.
And this desire to feel our faith has been developed in us for a number of reasons. Traditions both religious and non-religious seem to stoke this desire. A Christmas tree evergreen and aglow, or homes decorated with glistening lights, remind us of the light and the life encountered in these Biblical memories. Plus, the excitement of gifts under the tree, family visiting or a special dinner treat, the feeling of anticipation is interwoven into all the ways we celebrate.
In all of us, young and old, there is a childlike tension between stillness and excitement, as our senses: sight, taste, touch, sound are all awaken this night.
Regarding the Eve of Christmas, Pastor Peter Parry said,
It’s a night when we want to feel what we believe; more than saying: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, born of the virgin Mary… tonight we want to feel His presence and know the touch of His hand upon us.
So in many ways, many people of faith, try to recreate as much as they can from Christmas to Christmas, encompassing anything that has ever given them that feeling of God’s presence upon them, that make a faith not just a thought but something that is felt, like God’s hands wrapping around our own.
It is great for us to have a desire to feel God’s presence, but here is something we need to understand. We can no more make God’s presence fall upon us than Mary, or the Shepherds, on that sacred night long ago. God’s presence touched them because of His grace, God’s willingness to bless them with the gift of his presence and send forth into this world His love through Jesus Christ.
Certainly, yes, we can live a life of faith, work and festivity that invites God to be with us, and then by trusting in his promises that He has come, is with us by the Spirit, and will come again, we can prime ourselves for what God ultimately started. By doing this we make ourselves open to feel God presence, we learn through the truth of Christmas that our openness is only so good, as God’s willingness to be present with us from the Beginning.
And God longing to be with us, did begin from the very beginning, even before time as we understand it. When God created the universe, God created it with us in mind. God made the world to put humanity into it, through Israel God gave the law to help draw humanity closer to God in morality and in trust, through Jesus, God saved us from what tries to separate us from God’s presence; sin, death, and the devil, by the Spirit of the Lord and through our faith in Jesus, God has brought his presence right into our heart. Our temple to reach the Lord can reside inside us and can be exercised by our very actions and words into the world. All this has been done to give us God to hold onto until Christ one day returns and a new heaven and a new earth are established where God and humanity will be intertwined for all eternity.
We can say for sure, that God does not come just one night of the year as a babe, but God has continually poured Himself into our world and calls to us like a star in the sky, the choir of angels singing, like the morning cry of a babe, seeking us to welcome His presence so he may touch our lives. Christmas is the beginning of a deeper understanding of this truth.
And so, tonight we welcome that feeling. We embrace the feeling of the reality of God with Us, Emmanuel.
One of the things I do as part of trying to feel God’s Presence at Christmas, I love to watch many renditions of Charles Dickens’ a Christmas Carol, my personal favorite is The Muppet Christmas Carol, but all of them are great. One line that Dicken wrote is when Ebeneser Scrooge has been saved from his wicked ways, and Scrooge utters this, I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. When we learn that God has been seeking to be with us from before the very beginning, that what His Son did, and is doing is calling each of us to welcome his presence into our lives every day, we understand that Christmas isn’t a once in a year sort of thing, it is not something we only get to feel when the trees are decorated and carols are sung, but it is something we are called to feel with every breath we take, with every thought we think, with ever motion we make into the world.
Feeling the heart of Christmas is one of the amazing parts of the Christian life. And one of the greatest gift God has given us.
Let us pray.
Lord we come to You with our worship and praise, we seek to be generous to Your ministry because You were first generous to us. Multiply the fruitfulness of our faithful living so that our labor can support the important work that Your Son’s birth once began. Amen
Homework:
Seek to carry the meaning of Christmas with you for all of 2025.
If you need help on this reflective journey email: minister@mountainviewunited.ca
Closing Prayer:
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forever. Amen.
Meme of the Week:
Thank you for joining us this week. If you have any thoughts, feelings, or prayers, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. Please be respectful of others’ posts and make room for all those joining us.
Footnote:
Sermon inspired by the work of Pastor Peter Parry
https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/christmas-eve-peter-parry-sermon-on-christmas-eve-53361
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