O Holy Night
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Luke 2.1-20
At the Men’s Bible Study the other morning I was asked about family Christmas traditions and what they were. It was a nice opportunity to reflect on Christmases past growing up. In our family, we always celebrated on Christmas Eve. Most of the time during my formative years, my bachelor uncle, Floyd, (the loveable Grinch-Scrooge), would join us. It was a tradition that every year he would agree to come on the one condition that we didn’t get him a present. Every year we agreed, but still had a present for him under the tree. Only once do I remember having my Great Aunt and Uncle, Gertie and Carl present. Gertie and Carl were Swedish immigrants, so naturally we had lutefisk that year. I did not eat any, but I was forced to inhale.
Our tradition was that we got to open one present before dinner and then it was either church or presents or both afterward. My parents were scrupulous about fairness, ensuring the four of us were treated equally. One year, they took the fairness a bit too far: each of us received identical clock radios. (I can imagine the look on the clerk’s face when that purchase was rung up.) Christmas Even was a holy night for us.
Oh, holy night, the stars are brightly shining/It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
This past summer we had a sermon series called, “Singing Our Faith,” that explored some of our favorite songs of faith. We put these songs and their origins into conversation with scripture and our lives. What better time to do something similar than on Christmas Eve as we gather to sing our faith. As you can guess, O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song, but we rarely get to sing it because apparently it’s deemed more appropriate as a solo or duet piece. Not to worry: Jason Glaser is going to sing it tonight, so at least we’ll get a chance to listen and enjoy this beautiful song.
Oh, Holy Night was written in Roquemaure, France in 1843 to celebrate the renovation of the local church organ. The parish priest asked Placide Cappeau, native from this town, to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau, a poet, lawyer and wine merchant did it, even though he professed to being an anticlerical socialist and atheist. Soon after Minuit Chrétiens (“Midnight, Christians” in English) was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam and performed in 1847. Adam was a respected composer, but went bankrupt in the effort. John Dwight, an American Unitarian Clergyman, discovered the piece and translated it into English, publishing it in 1855. As one source noted, this was an odd combination of collaborators for such a beloved hymn.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining/Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
As I thought about this hymn and the story of Jesus’ birth, I wondered: why the nighttime? Why did God choose to be born at night? Why is this night holy and why do we sing songs in praise of it? Then I also wondered about other significant nighttime biblical events and I remembered Jacob wrestling with God at the River Jabbok in Genesis and the angel of death appearing at the first Passover in Exodus. In the New Testament, the religious leader Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness. Perhaps the most telling: the most significant times in Jesus happens during the night. He has his Last Supper with the disciples, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and is arrested, tried and sentenced to death during the same night. The takeaway for all of this is simple: God shows up in the midst of our darkest times, breaking in unexpectedly and powerfully.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices/For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices!/Oh, night divine, oh, night when Christ was born!
What makes this night holy? Something is holy because it is set aside for God’s purposes. This night is holy because God chooses to show up in the midst of the suffering and weakness in the world as weakness personified. We don’t need to rehearse all of the darkness in this world; you know it as well as or even better than I do. But we do need to declare time and again that God’s holy light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. As such, our weary souls rejoice once again that God is Emmanuel, God-with-Us, bringing light and hope into the world. Merry Christmas my sisters and brothers, and may this holy night birth within you the joy and peace that only God can bring.
Oh, night divine, oh, night, oh, night divine!
Amen
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