Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Isaiah 9:2-7
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  December 24, 2018

What do you think it is that moves people to put up lights at Christmas time? Is it simply tradition? Is it just a fun thing to do that breaks up the monotony of everyday life? Or is there something deeper, something more? Could it be possible, that deep down, our society recognizes that this world is a dark place? Now maybe that sounds a little extreme. Maybe we could say the world is certainly flawed, but not dark, not pitch black. But I think Isaiah would disagree. Isaiah describes the world we live in as “the land of the shadow of death.”

Is it really that bad? Well, at the time when Isaiah was writing, things were about as bad as they could be. The land of Judah was indeed a very dark place. As you read through Isaiah’s book, we find a catalogue of things that God Almighty railed against. People didn’t care about each other any more. Instead, we see “neighbor against neighbor.” Substance abuse was rampant, as the people are considered, “heroes at drinking wine.” There is widespread sexual immorality. The country is full of the poor, and yet there is no mercy for them, no compassion. There is no respect for the elderly, instead they are mocked. People were walking away from true religion and were turning to the occult.

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Do we not see abhorrent violence in terrorism? Do we not see the collapse of the family and the embrace of an “anything goes” sexuality? Do we not see neighbors turning on neighbors for a variety of reasons, including that they belong to the “wrong” political party? Is it really that bad? For Isaiah it was so bad that the regular word for darkness wasn’t strong enough. No, Isaiah says that this is a deep darkness, the land is covered in the shadow of death, kind of darkness. The inevitability of death casts a shadow…a gloom…over everything.

Indeed it is that bad. The world is a dark place. And naturally, we want to fix it. We want to rid the world of things like violence, oppression, poverty, and racism. And those are certainly a noble objectives. However, we cannot drive out the darkness by ourselves. Because that sinful darkness lives within us as well. We see it in the selfishness within our heart that incites confusion and suspicion in our relationships. We see it in the pain we cause others, including people we say that we love. The sin that lives in all of us darkens our thoughts. It causes our hearts to desire even darker designs.  My friends, we cannot stop this darkness on our own. We cannot stop ourselves from aging, no matter how many products or medical innovations we find. We cannot stop the inevitable darkness of death. Certainly we live, as Isaiah said, in the land of the shadow of death.” But that’s not all he said!….

There’s good news! “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned.” Into the world filled with this death darkness a light has dawned! This light is not something that we produced. It just appeared. It “dawned.” This light is not a program; it isn’t a policy, it isn’t a movement. No, this light is a person. Specifically, it’s a baby boy. “For to us a child is born. To us a son is given.” Yes, this light is a human being, for he is born of a human mother. But he’s more. He is also God as seen by the titles and responsibilities he’s given. Just look at how he’s described.

“Wonderful Counselor.” Unlike all other counselors whose advice is darkened by the fact that they don’t know everything, this counselor is wonderful. He knows all things. In fact there’s nothing this child cannot do for he is called “Mighty God.” How unexpected that a child, a baby is called “Everlasting Father.” Yet, no truer name can be given because he is the author and source of life, from everlasting to everlasting. He has the compassion of a father who provides for his children. And this child, this baby, is the “Prince of Peace.” He his able to create perfect harmony, even between a holy God who hates the darkness of sin and people who sin everyday. This is the peace about which the angels sang that first Christmas. Peace and good will toward mankind brought by this newborn prince. “The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders.” All authority in heaven and on earth would belong to this child. The Light in the darkness is God in human flesh, come to shine in our dark world. That is what we see in the manger, that is the one about whom the angels sang.

The news is good, the news is wonderful, but the question remains, “why?” Why did this light need to be both God and man? It was all part of God’s perfect plan to save us. You see, if God had simply wanted to tell us how to think about darkness and sin, he could have simply sent a man to tell us. That’s what he did with the prophets of old, who gave us his Law. If God simply wanted to give us an example of how to live a bright life, he could have simply sent an angel. During the Christmas season, we hear God sending angels regularly, like Gabriel to Mary. God could have just said, “Everyone, look at how compassionate and thoughtful Gabriel is. Look at how he always thinks of others before himself. Look at how his entire existence is about giving me glory. Just live like Gabriel.”

But that wasn’t enough.

We needed one who could snuff out the darkness. Normally, we think of light being “snuffed,” But we needed darkness…sin and its consequences, including death…to be snuffed out. That required the Light to be the God-man. The Light needed to be man, so that he could live under the law and be sacrificed for our sins. That baby needed a human heart so that it might stop beating. The child needed blood in its veins, so that it might be shed. And that Light needed to be God, so that he could live perfectly in our place. He needed to be the true Son of God so that  the sacrifice he would make on the cross was valuable enough to pay for the sins of every man, woman, and child who ever lived.

If Christmas is going to be more than nostalgia…more than lights and cookies, carols and tinsel…then we need to stop pretending everything is ok. We need to be illuminated. We need to see life and death as it really is. We desperately need this Light! We badly need a Savior! The babe in Bethlehem was truly God and truly human, your Savior. That is what Jesus came to be. The angel said so: “Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you.”

We can’t cleanse ourselves of sin, we can’t overcome temptation, we can’t fix our fractured relationships, we can’t outrun death. But a Light has appeared in this death darkness. He can do all those things. And he does them for us!

“You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy.They rejoice before you like the joy at harvest time, like the celebration when people divide the plunder. There will be no limit to his authority and no end to the peace he brings. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on, into eternity. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.” What our God has done for us impacts what we do for others. The relationship we have with God creates a relationship with one another. John wrote: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” We were never meant to walk in the light alone! God created us to walk together, to live in community with one another. We need each other. We provide encouragement for each other in this world that is still filled with darkness.

There are Christmas lights on a tree in my house this year. This year, they happen to be white. I’ve always liked the white lights better, never really understanding why. But I think I do now. The white lights shine the brightest. They remind me of the great Light, the Light that shines in the deepest death darkness. That Light, Jesus our Savior, has dawned on all of us tonight. May we bask in the glow of his Light. May we yearn for the gifts that he brings, gifts of love, hope, peace, and joy. May we celebrate his birth by leaving behind the darkness of sin and walking in the light of life. God bless all of us this Christmas. Amen.