God's Light Shines

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

December 25, 2023

Christmas Day

Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 98

Hebrews 1:1-4

John 1:1-14

God’s Light Shines

Merry Christmas!

It’s a little hard to believe but this is actually my third Christmas at St. Thomas’.

Sue and I have been here with you for about two and a half years now. And, while I do try to be mindful and practice gratitude, the truth is that I have gotten kind of used to the many blessings of this place.

There’s the remarkable natural beauty that is all around us, of course.

There are our wonderful parishioners – you - who love this place so much and generously share your time, talents, and treasure to keep our church vital and vibrant.

There’s our amazing church staff. They are so highly skilled and so devoted to caring for all of us. They got me through the crunch time of the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve – got me through so well that, honestly, I really didn’t worry about a thing!

(Well, I did worry about people showing up here for a late service last night. But that’s it, really!)

But there’s at least one thing about this place that I have not gotten used to, and no matter how long I live here, I don’t think I ever will.

It gets really dark here at night.

As an almost-lifelong city dweller, I am used to a lot of artificial night light, so this deep darkness has been a big and unsettling change.

And, probably like at least some of you, because it’s so dark, I try to avoid driving around here at night.

In the dark, it’s easy to run into an obstacle - like one of our many deer, which would be catastrophic for the poor animal and, I have to say, also not great for my vintage Honda Fit.

And nowadays many people drive rather large vehicles, much bigger and taller than my Fit, with those super-bright headlights that shine right into my eyes, distracting me for a few precious and dangerous seconds.

So, yes, I try to avoid driving around here at night as much as possible.

But, when I am out at night, I’m often on Garrison Forest Road. 

And, when I’m almost home, there’s one last challenge: making that dangerous and tricky turn onto St. Thomas Lane. 

As I hope you know, it’s a three-way intersection but only a two-way stop.

I always wonder, are the other drivers paying attention? Do they know the rules? Are they going to follow the rules? Am I going to get home without crashing?

But, as I approach that one last challenge, I always love to see the light shining out from our church cupola – our bell tower - the light shining into the shadows – showing me the way, reminding me of God’s love and presence, no matter how many obstacles I face, no matter how dangerous the road, no matter how shadowy the world may be.

The light shines out.

Today, on Christmas Day, we always hear the Christmas story according to the Gospel of John.

John is that last of the four gospels to be written, probably around the year 100.

It’s the product of decades of divinely-inspired reflection on the meaning of Jesus – his life, death, resurrection, and, yes, his birth.

So, in John’s Christmas story, he doesn’t give us the details found in Matthew and Luke – the tale of angels and shepherds and wise men and Mary and Joseph and a helpless and vulnerable newborn king – the story so beautifully reenacted by our children in last night’s Tableau.

No, in his Christmas story, John goes wide – offering us the biggest picture of all – taking us way back, all the way back to, “in the beginning.”

I love the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke, but John tells us what we most need to hear, especially during these difficult days of sadness, fear, anger, and hate.

In his Christmas story and throughout his gospel, John insists that in and through Jesus, God’s light shines.

And, he insists, there is simply no force powerful enough to extinguish God’s light, never, ever.

Each night, the light shining out from our church reminds us of God’s light shining in and through Jesus.

The light reminds us of what Christmas is all about.

No matter how many obstacles we face, no matter how frightened we may be, no matter how dangerous the road, God’s light shines, showing us the way home.

God’s light shines.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Amen.