Theme: A CHILD IS BORN TO US

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, 

you have shattered 

the yoke that burdens them, 

the bar across their shoulders, 

the rod of their oppressor. 

⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle 

and every garment rolled in blood 

will be destined for burning, 

will be fuel for the fire. 

⁶ For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders. 

And he will be called 

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace 

there will be no end. 

He will reign on David’s throne 

and over his kingdom, 

establishing and upholding it 

with justice and righteousness 

from that time on and forever. 

The zeal of the Lord Almighty 

will accomplish this. 

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    The children can’t wait for it. The anticipation builds throughout the whole year.. It’s the night (or morning) of the year every year when children can go home and open their presents. Children get excited about the gifts that come in packages or bags. It’s a fun tradition to give gifts to those we love on Christmas. Today we remember the reason for those gifts under the Christmas tree is God’s own Christmas gift. Jesus comes, bearing gifts. As the prophet Isaiah shows us, A CHILD IS BORN TO YOU.

    What’s all the hate against Midian for? Why does Isaiah talk about shattering Midian’s yoke as though this is a good thing? The king of Midian had tried to hire out a prophet to ensnare God’s people to sin as they prepared to entire the promised land. Balaam failed in cursing God’s people, but he found a way to ensnare God’s people. He led them into sin. God’s people suffered for their sin. But the LORD punished Midian and their oppression.

    Their end was justified. God said it was. But why all the violence? We live in a violent world. People kill. People die. It happens every day. It seems there’s no end to it. All you have to do is turn on the news. People have not escaped this vicious cycle of violence. The world isn’t right.

    I hope you aren’t worried for your life this Christmas. But maybe instead of facing violence and oppression, you feel the oppression of being overworked. Or maybe you’re worried about the family you’ll see over the holiday and how you ever will get along with them. Unless the words get overly heated, it’s not violence, but it’s a far cry from peace. Everything we see—our whole lives, like Israel—is tainted by the corruption of sin.

    People give Christmas gifts as a sign of their love and care for one another at Christmas. It’s a special time to go the extra mile. For many, the content of the gift doesn’t matter nearly as much as the thought that goes behind it. After all, unless you’re a mind-reader or your 4 year-old hasn’t stopped telling you what they want for Christmas for the last six months, you probably will never find the perfect Christmas gift.

    But God did. His Christmas gift wasn’t under a tree with an angel on top. It was announced by angels. Isaiah said it 700 years earlier. “To us, a child is born.” The angel announced, “Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you.” God’s gift is his own Son! More precious than all the Christmas gifts ever given combined, he didn’t concern himself with how much it left in his wallet. He gave the greatest gift, most expensive gift of all.

    And Jesus brings even more gifts, too. His first gift is government. No, it’s not our president or our governor, although he can use them to bless us, too. No, this is Christ’s own government of the nations. You might think, “I don’t recall Jesus ever ruling over any nation.” That would be right. But Jesus rules over all the nations. He rules on David’s throne. He’s not king of Israel only, but Lord of nations and King of kings. He ascended to his throne where he rules on behalf of his church.

    But then why is our world still so restless and evil? On Christmas, many people try to dig deep and find the goodness in people, but it’s just not there. Crime exists on Christmas as much as any other day. And we sin as much on Christmas as we do any other day. If Jesus is ruling, why aren’t things better?

    Children often know they get a number of gifts on Christmas. They maybe get a gift or two from mom and dad. Grandparents often buy gifts. They can’t wait to get home on Christmas Eve or wake up on Christmas morning and find those toys and goodies so they can play with them and enjoy them.

    Like children waiting to play with their new toys, are we just waiting for the rule of Jesus? He gives us more than one gift, too. It’s not just governing all nations. He promises peace in a restless world. He is the Prince of Peace, a peace that can never end. Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor.” The wise ruler of the nations whose wise advice goes far beyond what we understand. He is able to make it happen. He rules in justice and righteousness. 

    Santa Claus permeates our culture. He is the man in red who gives good gifts to those who have been good. But get on his naughty list, and he gives you a lump of coal. Many use that to make their children behave, but the truth is…we don’t always. If we got what we deserve, it would be far worse than a lump of coal.

    Righteousness and justice meet at the cross. God’s justice, his demand for glory and for obedience from his creation, was met by Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus always did, always does what is right, so that God could give you Jesus’ righteousness. Then God’s justice becomes, not a threat, but a promise that you will enjoy all his good gifts.

    We can enjoy his peace. When we think of peace, we probably naturally think of a truce. The end of hostilities between two enemy nations. But one war ends and another begins. The peace of this child is a peace that includes that, yes. But it’s much, much bigger. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men, on whom his favor rests.” This peace is the knowledge that God is favorable to you. He wants to give you good gifts. And he already gave you the best one: Jesus. Along with him, you get peace—a restored relationship with God. This is the forgiveness of sins because of what Jesus would do. When that peace rules your heart, then you can start to see it in other places, too. Peace in the car. Peace at home. Peace at the office. Peace in the family. Peace with friends. This is an all-pervasive peace that goes beyond our understanding.

    He is the mighty God who gets this done. Marvel a moment. The child who is born to us is none other than Mighty God from eternity. He came down to earth, why? To accomplish your salvation, by his own zeal, Jesus joined the human race. Tonight we remember him, so small and helpless! Yet there he is, the Son of God, a babe in a manger. He comes to die because we couldn’t pay the price. This priceless gift means peace and righteousness forever for you and me. That child is God, the Savior. He did not leave us to our lump of coal, but earned paradise for us! What more perfect Christmas present could you ask for?

    This child rules the nations. He makes sure all things go according to his plan. No, not ours. But his. He will make sure that you end up where you need to be—now on earth, marveling at his great love, and forever in heaven, where he will rule in the fulness of his peace. At Christmas, we give each other gifts. Give them. And remember the greatest gift of all: Jesus, the Child born to us, who forgives your sins and gives you good gifts. Amen.

Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Amen.

Theme: A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Text: The people walking in darkness

    have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

    a light has dawned.

³ You have enlarged the nation

    and increased their joy;

they rejoice before you

    as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

    when dividing the plunder.

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    It’s dark outside. It has been for quite some time. That’s winter in Wisconsin, or Illinois, or anywhere up here in the upper Midwest. The darkness comes early. It adds some difficulty to our routine, too. Driving in the dark can be dangerous, especially in the cold, dead winter where the sheer ice covers the road. Maybe the darkness leaves you feeling tired, or depressed, or both. Everything outside is dark, yet today we celebrate the light. In the darkness of this world, the light has dawned. On Christmas we remember that light has come into the world. The light’s name is Jesus. He is our LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS today and all the year.

    Israel was living in darkness, too. No, not the darkness of Wisconsin winter, but the darkness of sin. Their king, Ahaz, had rejected the word of the Lord. Like the king, so the people. The people sought truth from any other means—psychics and mediums. They searched for their answers in anything other than God’s Word. They were walking in darkness of stubborn unbelief.

    If you’ve ever tried to walk in darkness, you know it’s hard.Worse than the darkness of leaving your lights off while you stumble to find the bed at night is utter and complete darkness. Have you ever walked in the darkness in a cave, where no light shines through? You can’t see your hand in front of your face, much less how to get where you need to go!

    God said that was Israel’s spiritual condition. They had no idea where they were going. They thought they could find the way on their own, but they were getting nowhere.

    That’s the world we live in today, too. Yes, people consult psychics and mediums and think they’re harmless. But even worse, people will turn to anything—common sense, the government, any and every religion—rather than hearing the truth, the Word of the Lord. The people of our world live in spiritual darkness.

    And it gets deeper. The text we read said “the land of deep darkness,” yet that deep darkness is even clearer in the original language. This darkness is the shadow of death. Those who are in this darkness know death will come, yes. Death looms over them like a shadow, yes. But everyone dies. You and I also have not escaped this deep darkness. The darkness of sin blinds us, so we think we can find our way on our own. Or we think our reading of God’s Word is something that makes us good with God, or our coming to church to hear him once or twice a year is good enough! Humans by their nature are so lost to the darkness that they can’t even see the results of their own actions. The only end to sin is death.

    Has anyone ever told you why the church celebrates Christmas on December 25? The Bible never tells us the date of Jesus’ birth. He easily could have been born on any of the other 364 days in our calendar year. But since as early as the 200s, the Church has been celebrating Christmas on December 25. One reason is the winter solstice that took place just a couple days ago. In case you missed it, the sun gives the least light to the north of the equator as late as December 22. This year it was the 21. The light is least in the world on that day. But the solstice comes to an end at midnight (tonight/this morning), and the light returns to the world.

    Similarly, the light has come into the world. The light is Jesus. Although the people of the world walk in darkness, he is the light. He exposes the darkness of sin. No sin can be found in his light. He also brings to light God’s wonderful plan of salvation. Jesus himself saves us from death and gives us his own gift: eternal life. He has “enlarged the nation.” He has included not just Israel, God’s chosen people, but all who believe in Jesus as the light who takes away the sin of the world. This light that shines in the darkness and brings us to God is God’s own Christmas gift to us.

    That gives us joy. A reason to celebrate in the cold, dead winter. We have more joy than those who bring in the harvest, more joy than those who win the war and bring home the spoils. Our joy is the light, that gives us eternal life. Our joy is that at Christmas we don’t celebrate the goodness of the dark world, but the goodness of a great God, who gave us the greatest gift of all: his own Son. Amen.