St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
December 31, 2023
The First Sunday after Christmas
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 147
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7
John 1:1-18
Christmas Lights, All Year Long
So, as I’m sure you remember, last Sunday we had a kind of holy mash-up: it was both the Fourth Sunday of Advent and also Christmas Eve.
And now this Sunday we have yet another unusual blend of the calendar: it’s the First Sunday after Christmas and it’s also New Year’s Eve.
I will come back to that in a minute.
But first I want to say, want to celebrate, that we had a most joyful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here at St. Thomas’.
A few highlights:
Thanks to careful preparation and some skillful work, on Sunday between around 11:00 and noon, the church was quickly transformed from Advent simplicity to Christmas lavishness.
At the 4:00 service, the children did a great job reenacting the Christmas story.
Throughout our Advent / Christmas mash-up, the choir sang as beautifully as ever, of course.
And, thankfully, lots of people came to church – folks we see all the time, others we see less often but we’re always glad when they’re here, and some newcomers who picked a particularly good weekend to go church shopping.
On Sunday evening and Monday morning, a number of people asked if I was tired but the truth is that I was energized by the whole experience. In fact, on Christmas afternoon – which, you may remember, was unseasonably warm – I took a wonderful long walk on the NCR Trail, reflecting on it all and thanking God for my many blessings.
In most ways, this year’s Christmas was similar to the last couple of Christmases here.
But there were a couple of differences.
One was the schedule change. Not having a late service on Christmas Eve was a big change – one that I definitely worried about – but it seems to have worked out OK.
And another difference is our Christmas tree that stands right outside in the circle.
Thanks to the generosity of a couple of our parishioners, this year our Christmas tree is firmly planted in the earth – a wise environmental choice, for sure, but that firmly planted tree also sends an important symbolic or even spiritual message.
Just like today, on Christmas morning our gospel lesson was from the Prologue of the Gospel of John.
Rather than starting with Mary and Joseph and the angels and shepherds, John takes us all the way back to “in the beginning.”
And John also introduces one of the key themes of his gospel: that in and through Jesus, God’s light has entered the world in a new way – and it’s a light that simply can’t be overcome by the shadows of the world.
So, in my homily on Christmas morning, I talked about how dark it gets around here at night – much darker than this almost life-long city dweller is used to – so dark that I avoid driving at night as much as possible.
But when I am out at night, when I approach the tricky intersection of Garrison Forest Road and St. Thomas Lane, I love seeing the light shining out from our cupola – the light shining out from our bell tower into the darkness – a sign of Christ’s Light shining into our shadowy world – reassuring me, and I hope others, that this holy light will never, ever be extinguished, no matter what.
And in the days leading up to Christmas, there was even more light shining into the shadows.
For the past few weeks, after I’ve survived that tricky intersection, as I pass the church driveway on my way back to the rectory, I’ve tried to cast a quick glance into our campus where all the lights that cover our firmly-planted Christmas tree have been shining with a surprising and beautiful brightness.
It’s so beautiful, in fact, that the thought crossed my mind that maybe we should just leave the lights on all year long.
Which is probably a bad idea, I know.
So, we’re not going to do that.
In fact, the lights have already been removed from the tree, earlier than I would have liked.
So, you know, now it’s up to us.
Maybe, together and individually, we can be those Christmas lights.
Maybe this can be our New Year’s Resolution – to stay firmly planted here at St. Thomas’ and shine the Light of Christ into our shadowy world.
To be Christmas lights, all year long.
And what might that look like?
Well, in addition to celebrating the First Sunday after Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we are also overjoyed to have one last Baptism of the old year.
In just a few moments, I’ll have the privilege of baptizing beautiful little Aitana.
Right here in front of all of us – with all of us - she will begin her life in Christ.
And as we always do before every Baptism, we will renew our Baptismal Covenant – promising once again to gather here as often as we can, staying firmly rooted in this holy soil – vowing to turn away from evil and, when we mess up, repent and ask forgiveness.
We’ll pledge to proclaim the Good News by what we say and do – and affirm that we’ll seek and serve Christ in absolutely everyone and strive for justice and peace, respecting the dignity of all.
As always, only with God’s help.
And at the conclusion of the Baptism, I’ll present Aitana with her candle – which she will probably reach for because we are naturally drawn to the light – and I’ll tell her the great truth that she is the light of the world and that she should let her light shine so the world – our often shadowy world – will see her good works and give glory to God.
An old year is drawing to a close.
I think we can all agree that, while many of us have had joyful experiences – look at Aitana here – overall, it has been a hard year.
We’ve had a joyful Christmas at St. Thomas’, but there are some among us who are mourning heartbreaking losses and lots of us are fearful about the future – our own futures and also what the new year may hold for our country and the world.
But, just like the light from our cupola, the light of Christ shines into the shadows.
Just like the lights from our firmly planted Christmas tree, lots of little lights, together, make a great light.
And so, as we begin a new year together, with God’s help, let’s resolve to shine our little lights into the shadows.
Let’s be Christmas lights, all year long.
Amen.
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