Isaiah 9: 2 – 7 / Psalm 96 / Titus 2: 11 – 14 / Luke 2:1 – 20
This is the homily given
at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA), McKnightstown, Pennsylvania, on December
24, 2024 (Christmas Eve) by Fr. Gene Tucker.
“WHAT IF
THERE WAS NO…”
(Homily
text: Luke 2: 1 – 20)
Sometimes,
I think that the everyday, ins-and-outs of life can cause us to cease to see
the blessings in our lives, and the opportunities for giving thanks for those
blessings.
It
might be a useful exercise for us to try to imagine what life would be like
without those things, and especially those things that pertain to God’s love
and God’s presence.
So,
we might begin on a more ordinary note, and work our way from there up to a
realization of how important our relationship is with God.
We
begin with two ingredients of everyday life:
First,
try to imagine what life would be like without coffee … Millions of people, the
world over, begin the day with a cup of coffee. Or – as an Army buddy of mine
used to say, “I blend into the day, no quick moves, no sudden decisions”. Attendant to the blessings that coffee offers
are the many rituals which surround its consumption.
Second,
try to imagine what the world would be like without chocolate … Chocolate is
one of the Basic Food Groups. Or – should I say – it is to me. The amazing
variety of chocolate that is available to us is astounding. Consider that there
is milk chocolate, dark chocolate (good for the heart, they say), baker’s
chocolate (ever had that? It’s not at all sweet!), and chocolate mixed with
nuts, coconut, or various kinds of fillers in the chocolate drops that we eat a
good bit of during this holiday season. By no means am I suggesting that this
is a comprehensive list of the ways in which we might enjoy chocolate.
(Now,
just to be a bit humorous, imagine the world before the discovery and the
coming of coffee and chocolate. I think the world, back then, must’ve
been filled with grumpy people who never woke up. Just sayin’.)
So,
speaking personally, I am deeply thankful to be living in a world where the
simple pleasures that coffee and chocolate offer are available. I think I am
richly blessed to be living in such a world.
I
also think I am richly blessed to be living in a world where God has been
active, and is active today.
Now,
consider what the world would be like if Jesus Christ had never been born, had
never ministered among us human beings, had never died for our sins, had never
been raised from the dead, and whose first coming will be followed by His
second coming. Try to imagine a world like that.
I
think such a world would look vastly different from the world we see around us
now, even though much of what we see in the world doesn’t bring joy to God. To
start with, consider that our calendar would be vastly different, for the
calendar we are used to is based on Jesus’ birth (OK, we might acknowledge that
the actual date of Jesus’ birth is unknown, and it’s likely that He wasn’t born
on December 25th. We might also acknowledge that the calendar as it
exists today is, perhaps, as much as six or seven years off from the Lord’s
actual birth date).
For
another example, there would be no Church in the world. As broken as the Church
often is, and as often as it’s gotten off track at times in history, God,
somehow, manages to bring the Church back to its central purpose and ministry. (The
Church stands in need of reform in each and every age, in some way or another.)
If God’s continuing refinement of the Church isn’t proof that God can work with
broken-down, fallible human beings – the ones who make up the Church - I don’t
know what is.
To
cite yet one more example, much of our concept of human rights and human
dignity is based on Judeo-Christian values. At least it seems that that’s the
case to me. We believe that each and every human being has intrinsic value and
worth. We know this to be true by the way our Lord Jesus Christ treated people.
Now,
let’s turn this exercise to the personal level: Try to imagine what our lives,
each of us, would be like if Jesus Christ had not taken up residence in our
hearts and in our minds.
Here’s
my personal witness to this reality: Down through life, with its twists and
turns, challenges, disappointments and mistakes (and yes, there’ve been some of
those in my life), each and every time – as I look over my shoulder at the past
– I can see God’s abiding presence in the person of Jesus Christ. There’ve been
times when God could just as easily given up on me. But, He didn’t. Thanks be
to God!
You
see, a personal relationship with God the Father through God the Son, Jesus,
the Christ, is the foundation, the basis, for a full and meaningful life. What
we’re talking about here isn’t just knowing about God and knowing about
Jesus. It’s about knowing Him personally, because we have invited Him to
take up residence in our hearts and in our minds.
That
is, my dear friends, the reason that God sent His Son into the world, so that
the world could know of God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, and the
richness of life that is possibly only through a lively, ongoing, personal
faith in Jesus Christ.
A
necessary step in the process of knowing Jesus Christ (instead of knowing about
Jesus Christ) is to come to some realization that we have invited Him to come
and be our permanent guest, taking up His rightful place in our hearts.
Sometimes, we come to that place, that realization, over time, and can only see
it in the rear-view mirror of life. At other times, we can name and time, a
place, a prayer, that we’ve offered, inviting the Lord to come, enter our
hearts, and give us the richness of His presence, a gift that will never end.
Try to
imagine such a life, and be thankful.
AMEN.
