December 24, 2013
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
In Isaiah 9, we read, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” You can’t really preach from these verses unless it’s dark outside.
Christmas Eve is one of the darkest days of the year. Today, we experienced only 9 hours and 26 minutes of daylight, which leaves us with more than 14 hours of darkness. When we leave for work in the morning, we turn on our car headlamps and by the time we leave work to go home, we turn on the lights again. There’s more darkness today than daylight.
Tonight I have been thinking about our friend Emmanuel Allison who is working as a truck driver these days. He is in Cheyenne going to Denver and making his way to Long Beach. He misses his church family and when I suggested that he go online to read the church newsletter and perhaps my sermons, he said it’s been bittersweet because it reminds him too much of home that he can’t get back to at this time. With a name like “Emmanuel,” how can I not think about our good friend tonight. He is driving on the dark highways of our country and wish he can be here.
The world around us seems dark. We see dramatic natural disasters as the result of climate change. Over 500 people have died in the Central African Republic. There’s unrest in South Sudan, our newest country in the world. We don’t trust North Korea and Iran with nuclear power. We are afraid of global terrorism. We have personal insecurity when it comes to relationships, jobs, our health and the ability for retirement. You may be one of the 40 million people whose credit card was stolen because you shopped at Target. We are living in a world that feels like the line from “The First Noel”—a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
There’s deep, deep, darkness.
Isaiah
But we’re not the first people to face dark days. In the time of the prophet Isaiah, about 700 years before the birth of Christ, the people of Israel were walking in darkness—they “lived in a land of deep darkness” (v. 2). God seemed silent to them, and they were “greatly distressed and hungry.” Isaiah tells us that they saw “only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they were thrust into thick darkness” (8:21-22).
With all of the troubles that we see in our world today, we know what this feels like, don’t we? Our fears about the future make us feel as though we are being “thrust into thick darkness.” The thick darkness is so dark that we feel we have lost our way.
We need some illumination. The people of Israel saw a ray of light in the birth of a king, a new descendant of David. “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us,” says the prophet Isaiah; “authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (v. 6). His kingdom shall be established “with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore” (v. 7).
This king was the hope of the people of Israel—the one who would rule them with justice and righteousness.
Christ Child
We believe that Isaiah’s prophesy came true when Jesus Christ was born. Christ is the child who has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Christ is the one whose light now shines on us.
We all know that having children around at Christmas is probably the very best thing to make everything merrier. For those of us who are blessed beyond words to have children and then to have grandchildren, we can sometime forget how a child can break an icy relationship or warm up an awkward dinner table conversation. For those who may not have children or children near them at Christmas, we have plenty of them here at church! You can volunteer in our nursery or teach a class. This is the reason why I invited Jackie and Josh and their three children to light tonight’s candle so that we would have children in our midst.
When we are with children, we sense hope, the hope that is lived out in Christ, the child who has been born for us, a son given to us.
In 1962, there’s a story of a couple who journeyed to the wilds of New Guinea to become the first Christian missionaries to a primitive people called the Sawi. The Sawi people were headhunters and cannibals.
After learning the Sawi language and gaining their trust, this couple began their work, but saw few results. Since they had arrived, no fewer than 14 civil wars had taken place between the rival clans. Thinking that their mission had failed, they announced one evening that they were leaving.
To their surprise, the Sawi people pleaded with them, promising to make peace in the morning if they stayed.
As morning dawned, two rival clans—the men still banishing spears—were lined up on either side of the jungle clearing. Women and children paced anxiously behind them.
Finally, one man dashed into his hut when his wife wasn’t looking. He emerged holding their newborn baby, and ran with him across the meadow. His wife followed, wailing, begging him not to do this thing.
“Plead the peace child for me,” said the man to the leaders of his enemies. “I give you my son, and I give you my name.”
Moments later, someone from the other clan did exactly the same thing, with another baby.
The missionary couple learned that, as long as those two “peace children” remained alive, the two clans had bound themselves to each other. The mutual adoption was a solemn covenant of peace.
The Christ Child is the Peace Child given by God to the whole human race. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.
Peace Children
Our hope for the future is found in Jesus Christ, and in anyone who follows him in justice and righteousness. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,” says the prophet Isaiah, “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.”
Christmas is the season of hope in the future, where the light of Christ enters the darkness of the world. The birth of Jesus reminds us that children can change things for the better, whether they bring joy to us when they open their presents on Christmas morning or when they become “peace children” bringing reconciliation and peace between rivaling clans.
In every generation, there’s the possibility that people will act as counselors and peacemakers, following the footsteps of the Savior who is a Wonderful Counselor, and the Prince of Peace. In every generation, there’s the possibility that people will act as faithful and active disciples, following the footsteps of the Savior who is the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father.
Since the time of Isaiah, people have dreamed that the “wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).
That little child is Jesus. And as the church, the hope for the future is found in the children of God who follow him. Will you be God’s children tonight?
So, on this Christmas Eve night, when there is more thick darkness than daylight, receive the light that is coming into the world! To those who are living in a land of deep darkness, the light of Christ is shining. He enters the lives of each of us today—to show us God’s love, to save us from our sins and to lead us in the paths of justice and righteousness. As we continue to struggle with the dangers and difficulties of this dark life, Jesus gives us his guidance and his peace.
Receive the light. Accept it, embrace it and then share it—in whatever way you can. Resolve to reflect the light of Christ into the dark places that you see around you. Do whatever you can to make the world a safer, more secure and healthier place. Take actions that establish justice and righteousness in the world—actions that help to build right relationships between people and God and between people with one another.
Instead of cursing the darkness, light a Christ candle of peace and justice.
You don’t have to stop climate change or end global terrorism. You don’t have to broker peace between rival gangs or warring nations. But you can visit a lonely relative, bring reconciliation to your loved ones, invite a neighbor to church, tutor a troubled teenager or plant a community garden. The truth that you and I can do such things is the fact that the Light of Christ has shined on us.
We may still be a people who walk in deep darkness but we have seen a great light. We may still live in a land of darkness but a light has shined on us. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.
Accept the Light of Christ and share it in this dark world because Jesus Christ is the best hope for our future.
Let us pray.
O God, in this season of hope, we look forward to the celebration of Jesus’ birth. We pray that we can be the light of Christ in this darkened world to bring peace and justice until that day when Jesus returns on earth to establish his kingdom as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Lead us to follow the Prince of Peace and become ourselves “peace children” in today’s world. In his wonderful name, we pray. Amen.