Sermon - Advent Midweek 3, 2024

Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard von Honthorst, 1622

December is a very dark month here in Minnesota. December 21st was the darkest day of the year and now the days are growing longer and the sun is shining longer and longer. It’s incredible that Christmas falls at this time of year when the days are so short and the darkness seems overpowering. The date of Easter was chosen before the date of Christmas, since we do know approximately when Jesus was crucified and risen. The date for Christmas was chosen based upon Easter, because it has been a long standing tradition that saints die on the day of their conception. Thus, if Jesus was crucified and conceived on March 25th, nine months later is December 25th, which would be His birth. Perhaps what’s most interesting is that others have attempted to date Jesus’ birth, and typically they conclude that He was very likely born the end of December! Really, this is something worthy of marvel, that the Lord chose such a birth and we would celebrate it every year during the darkest time of the year.

But this world is not only shrouded in darkness as a result of the number of daylight hours in the northern hemisphere, but it’s wrapped in darkness because the spirit of the age, the ruler of this world, the devil, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. This world is dark because Satan attempts to shade the light of Christ from our eyes.

You notice the darkness, don’t you. The shows people watch are often very dark and sinister, extremely gruesome and gory. More than once I’ve started watching a show because it looks interesting with a compelling plot, only to stop before finishing the first episode because it is too gory, explicit, or profane. The darkness of this world is blinding, and I don’t want to let that darkness blind my eyes from seeing the glory of Christ.

Our dark entertainment of this world is only the tip of the iceberg, since our entertainment reveals our hearts and minds. Darkness dwells within many. For many people Halloween is their favorite holiday, where they decorate their house, themselves, and their children like dead and murderous things. From our own hearts come evil thoughts, words, and actions. From our own hearts comes death.

But in the midst of this culture of death we live in, there is a light shining! From the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night. The light of the world came in a manger. Jesus, a little newborn babe, is the light shining in the darkness. Jesus is the hope of all creation, for in Him is creation redeemed and restored. The baby grew to be a man who met the darkness head-on, He went toe to toe with death, and His beaten and bloodied corpse hung upon the tree for all to see. In that moment, darkness descended upon the earth, and the sun ceased to shine its light.

But from the cross Jesus defeated the darkness. In that deathly darkness shone the light of the world. On the day of resurrection the light shined where lights are never meant to shine: the tomb! The grave lost its sting, death was defeated, for the radiance of the glory of Christ enlightened all of our darkness and defeated death itself. That Light came to earth in the flesh of the newborn lying in the manger.

Christmas is therefore a most hopeful time of year, because in the darkness of this life we celebrate the light of Christ Jesus. When all appeared to be lost, when all was so dark, Jesus entered into this world, taking on our flesh and blood, so as to give us hope. When we celebrate Christmas we are returning to hope. Although all the world is dark, Jesus shines forth. It appears as if Satan has won, as if there’s no hope for the future; and yet, Jesus is born! The newborn babe is a signal that God has not quit and that He is victorious; we are merely waiting for the completion of His salvation on the final day.

In a way then every birth is a reminder of Jesus’ birth, and every birth therefore gives us new hope. When parents hold their newborn in their arms they are filled with hopes and dreams of the future. This child will, God willing, grow up, get married, have children, grandchildren, and who knows how many more generations after that. What will this child accomplish? What will this child become? Will this child learn from my mistakes and do better? What can I leave my children and grandchildren that they might help build something greater than what I could ever build in my lifetime? A thousand years of dreams and hopes rests within every parent’s arms when they look upon their newborn baby. Those hopes resting within a fresh child are but a sign reminding us of the eternal hopes and dreams resting within our Lord Jesus who at one time was but a newborn.

It should come as no surprise to us that Satan therefore loathes babies. Herod killed them mercilessly. Parents have been provoked to do the same for thousands of years, whether it’s a child sacrifice on the altar of molech or the altar of planned parenthood. Children are viewed as a burden instead of a blessing. We surgically and chemically alter our bodies to prevent babies from being born. The god of this world, the devil himself, blinds the minds of this world, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is veiled to those who are perishing. If Satan can prevent more babies from being born, cause us to despise their births, then he hopes to shade our eyes from the birth of Him who crushes his head upon the cross. The devil suffered an embarrassing defeat when a baby was born in Bethlehem.

So in these dark days let the newborn light of Christ not be hidden from our eyes! Let light shine out of darkness! God shall continue to shine in our hearts and give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the Father’s Son, who in flesh the victory won. All our ills of flesh and soul are made whole in Him.

The darkness that clings so close to our hearts, that seeps in through the cracks, that creeps in through all the world around us, is defeated in Jesus! The light shines in your heart, dear Christian! His light shall dispel the works of Satan from you. Your soul is renewed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Your every sin, as shameful as it may be, as wicked and depraved as your ugliest thoughts are, Jesus is victorious over the darkness and forgives you wholly and to the uttermost. Your bodies, which daily succumb to death, slowly but surely decaying and dying, are made whole in Jesus. Christ rose from the grave, filled with more life and vigor than any newborn! In Him you are restored completely, and your body is made new again. On the final day Christ shall descend and your bodies shall be restored to life everlasting; darkness and death will cling to you no more.