Sermon for the 24th of December, 2022 - Midnight Mass
MIDNIGHT MASS 2022
Every year at Christmas, we hear the same story – of a baby born in a stable in
an obscure village, born into a world of mess and sin …..and each year we
return….
To hear the same story, yet we have changed since the last time we were here
– a whole year has passed by, things have happened – we are not exactly the
same as we were a year ago. I wonder what has changed for you?
It’s been another challenging year for our world – from the war in Ukraine – to
the increasing restriction of women’s rights in Afghanistan – in the UK, we’ve
had 3 prime ministers, 4 chancellors and an economy tipping into recession,
with higher costs of living than ever before. So, the concept of mess is probably
not all that strange to us!
And on a personal level, no matter how hard we try to control things, we can’t
get away from the fact that things don’t always go according to plan; people
get sick, people disagree, and life can be disappointing and difficult.
I wonder what has brought you here tonight, to hear again the story of the
baby, born over 2000 years ago? Perhaps to experience a sense of calm, or a
sense of peace or joy, in the midst of the Christmas mayhem. Maybe to find
that sense of hope, that the darkness and mess is not the whole story. The
priest and poet, Stephen Cherry expresses this sense of longing for something
more in this poem, Stuck in traffic….
“Stuck in traffic on the motorways, or
between school and supermarket,
wiping warm mist from the windows
while glancing at my watch – such is the bleakness of
my midwinter,
punctuated not
by glimpses of sparkling hoarfrost, but by visits
to care homes and hospital and those eye searing supermarkets.
“And lo, I learn that my heartbeat of
faith
has become the deep pulse of
doubt. Not energetically rejecting
the promise of soul, but diminished by the relentlessly inane.
“Absence hands heavy in the air, not eased, but
aggravated by the irritations of kitschmas.
“Not that I mind the drink and the mayhem,
disorder and darkness seem to fit.
My problem is the falseness of the light, the
promise, the
cheer.
“So come, so come, Emmanuel!
Embrace the poverty of my spirit, the
murkiness of my vision, the
thinness of my faith and give
substance to my vapid hope and
diminishing love.
“Be present, be present, Emmanuel.
Be here
Be now.
And save us all
from all this.”
I wonder if this is something any of you can relate to? This sense of doubt,
when faced with our world – but also this sense of longing for more?
The good news of Christmas is good news because it tells us that in spite of the
mess, the darkness and the pain, God is with us and God loves us.
Jesus being born in a manger all those years ago is God entering into our world
to be with us. Jesus growing up in an Israel ruled by Romans, is God
experiencing pain and disappointment, just like we do. Jesus dying on the
cross, is God entering into all our suffering – in both life and death.
And God is not only with us – but where he enters in, he also transforms –
people who encounter Jesus are changed – the disciples changed, the tax
collectors changed – and we change – as we open ourselves to experience
something of God’s love. Because it’s impossible to experience God’s love and
not be changed.
And this brings me back to where I started – how have you changed over the
past year? Have you been so busy or struggling so much, that you have drifted
away from God’s love, and your faith become thinner? Or have you drawn
nearer to God, grown a little more peaceful, experienced a little more of God’s
love?
Wherever you are this year, the Christmas message doesn’t change. We live in
an amazing and beautiful world and Jesus entered in to transform and heal the
brokenness. The invitation is always here – come – just as the Shepherds did –
come and experience the healing love of God and rekindle that sense of hope
and joy – that we can experience, even in the midst of the mess. This is the gift
of Christmas – the promise of our loving God – bringing healing, joy and peace.
I wish you all a very Happy Christmas.