Last year Christmas fell on a Sunday and this year Christmas Eve is on a Sunday. Sunday is the least favorite day for Christmas for children of church-going families, and especially for preachers’ kids. When my sons were very young and Christmas came on a Sunday, they protested long and loud. One of them was so troubled that he went to an almanac to see when the next one would be so they could plan their protest. But I like Christmas on a Sunday. It seems fitting; Christmas is a major spiritual event. It is the culmination of all of the preparation of the Advent season, and contains the expectation that something special is happening. Christ is being born again,  The hope and desire and yearning for every Christian soul is that on Christmas day Christ will be born again in our hearts.

Over the long centuries of time, this day, Christmas, has become a day apart. This extraordinary phenomenon occurs all over the world. Christmas is a day apart in nearly every culture, in nearly every country on the globe: North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East. All the countries of Africa. The Far East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand. Christmas is celebrated everywhere, with customs unique to each region. Even in this country we have unique regional customs. There’s a southern way of celebrating Christmas, the Southwestern way, the New England way, the Midwestern way. I was born and raised in northern New England, but my familial background is Italian, so I have a blend of the more austere, traditional New England tradition with the effusive, heart-giving Italian tradition.

Leslie Weatherhead, a great preacher in England and a contemporary of Norman Vincent Peale—some have said he was the Norman Vincent Peale of England—in one of his books wrote about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the uniqueness of that particular time. See if doesn’t connect in some way with your experience.

On Christmas Eve the magic spreads into almost every home in the land. In the hearts of children it starts days before. Even the hardest-hearted “grown-up” yields a little to its influence. On Christmas Day it reigns. It isn’t just a “holiday feeling”. [Other big holidays] contain no magic like this.

If dwellers from another planet ever came to Earth to find out what we are like, I hope that, if this country is visited, it will be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. For when the Christmas magic falls upon us, we are at our best. It is as though our sense of values had suddenly been exalted and changed. Kindness is at a maximum, cruelty all but extinct. Charity, goodwill, tolerance, sympathy, indeed all the lovely virtues, seem to rule our hearts, and selfishness, pride, intolerance, meanness and the spirit of grab seem to fall away.

Anthropologists, historians, theologians, psychologists, sociologists may do their studies and try to explain this phenomenon. But I think it is because of God’s incredible genius in bringing this holy birth to us. Understanding the need to be closer to the people so they could feel a more intimate participation with the Divine Presence, God used an ordinary couple, a peasant woman—a teenager—and her husband, a carpenter. They were from a nondescript town called Nazareth. In scripture there is the comment, “What good can come out of Nazareth?” Furthermore, the child was born, not in a palace, or even a classy inn, but in a stable, with animals all around. It was a very simple and humble birth.

God’s genius continues in the way this birth was announced.. You know how we would do it today. We would get a public relations firm and get a publicist. Perhaps the announcement would be made in a temple. The chief Rabbi and all of the Elders would gather: “We have an announcement to make. Christ is going to be born!” Or perhaps the mayor, surrounded by the city council, would gather the whole municipality to make the announcement with great fanfare. Certainly today it would be presented at a televised news conference.

But God doesn’t do as we do. The way God managed the birth didn’t even come close. God announced the birth of Christ to two shepherds working in a field by night. God gave these simple working men the responsibility for communicating the extraordinary news that God’s genius was at work in the world.

It happened like this.  It was night, and the shepherds were guarding the sheep, when they were startled by a great light. An angel appeared out of the light and said, “Don’t be afraid. I have something wonderful to tell you: good news, great joy. Unto you is born this day, over there in the hills, in the City of David—a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. You will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

What a beautiful story. The Bible goes on to say, “There was with a host–a multitude–of  angels, who sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill amongst all people.’” This was the story given to the shepherds to announce to all humankind. They did it well, and the story went out for all to hear.

So the Messiah came, and He grew into His fullness, and He changed the world, giving light through a forgiving love. He brought to the world the promise of eternity.

If there were one thing I would wish for you on Christmas day, it is that you will experience a touch of eternity. We never know how God is going to visit us, in what ways, in what form, but God is always present, and I wish for you on Christmas that you feel that Presence.

The other day I had a telephone call from a friend. She has a small business, and she had hired two contractors, a plumber and an electrician, to do extensive work in her building. They worked very hard for some time, and she got to like and trust them. So she paid them in advance, something she had never done before. After they were paid, the work slacked off, and what they did was poor quality. Finally, in disgust and anger, she sent them away, saying, “You have taken advantage of me, you have hurt me very deeply, and you have broken a trust. Please leave.” And they left.

Two days a gorgeous bouquet of flowers was delivered to her shop, and she thought, “Ah, they are trying to apologize, and make up.” But the flowers were not from them. They were from her thirty-year-old son, who was living on the West Coast. He sent a message with them: “Mom, do not let the pettiness of life cloud your eyes and your heart. I hope these flowers will remind you that life is full of beauty. When you stay open to its beauty, and wrap yourself in it, life’s love will always remain yours.”

“Arthur,” she said, “I cried.” And I said to her, “What you experienced was a touch of eternity. This is the way God visits us, in serendipitous ways, in ways that we would not expect.”

Some time ago somebody sent me this little poem:
The man whispered, “God, speak to me,”
And the meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”
And a star appeared brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, touch me,
And let me know you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away.
And he walked on.
Don’t miss out on a blessing because it isn’t packaged in the way that you expect.

The story of Christ’s birth illustrates how God is always with us, always revealing Himself in ways that will reach us and put us in touch with eternity.

There is a story by the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy I often read at Christmas. Over a hundred years ago, there lived a cobbler named Martin, an good and honest man who, coming to the end of his life, often fell into despair because of the many sorrows and losses in his life. A passing pilgrim gave him a Bible and, reading the gospels, his spirits began to improve as he found continuing solace in Jesus’ teachings of love and forgiveness. One evening he was reading about how Jesus was invited to visit a rich Pharisee who neglected to give Him hospitality. He let his imagination stretch, asking himself, “If Jesus were to come to my little town, would I give Him hospitality?”

That night he blew out the candles and went to bed. But as soon as he felt asleep he heard a voice calling his name. “Martin, you have longed to see me. Tomorrow I am coming to visit you.”

Early in the morning, before dawn, remembering his dream and wondering if it had been Christ, he decided to work by the window so he would know when Christ had arrived.

The day was cold and sleeting. After awhile he saw a street cleaner blowing on his hands to try to keep warm. He was exhausted, and staggering as he tried to work. Martin opened the door. “Come on in and warm yourself. I will give you some hot tea.” He sat the street cleaner by the fire and gave him a meal, and when the man went back to work he was comfortable, warm and dry. Martin went back and to keep his vigil.

The rain and sleet were still pounding against the window when a young woman, poorly dressed and holding a baby, stepped into the doorway of his shop to get a bit of relief from the weather for a moment. He opened the door. “Come in, come in.”

“My husband is a soldier,” she said. “He has been gone a long time. I cannot find work, and had to pawn my warm clothes to feed my child.”
“Sit down and eat,” he said, and he fed her the meal he had prepared for himself. Then he gave her an old jacket, and a coin to redeem the clothes she had pawned. After the woman had gone on her way, Martin returned to the window to keep his vigil.

Soon he saw a boy sneak up on an old woman selling apples and steal one. The old woman saw him, caught him and they began struggling and shouting. Martin ran outside, separated them and calmed them down. He saw that they were both poor, and felt great compassion for them. “Take this coin to pay for the boy’s apple,” he said. So they went on their way, and Martin returned to his vigil.

Nighttime came, and still Jesus had not appeared. Martin was very disappointed. He might have missed Him when he had left his window to take care of others. He had opened his Bible to read before bed when he noticed some figures in the corner of the room.

Then he heard a voice whisper in his ear, “Martin, don’t you know me?” And out of the corner stepped the street cleaner. “It is I,” he said. Then the woman with her baby stepped forth. “It is I,” the woman said. Last he saw the old woman and boy step out. “It is I,” they both cried. But when Martin looked again, they had all disappeared.

Martin sat down and opened his Bible to a passage that miraculously described the experiences of his day:

I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in….Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it also unto me. (Matthew 25:31)

God is often with us in ways we do not see. We are wise to stay open for the miracles of God’s presence. Bless you, as you experience the presence of God in your life. Let us pray.

Lord, for the blessings and the promise of Christmas, for the gift of the Messiah, the transforming love of Jesus, we give You thanks. Help us to celebrate by loving others. AMEN.