O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

 

Each year, when the Jewish people celebrate Passover,
One of the youngest children asks the question,
“Why is this night different from every other night?”

Tonight, as we begin the great feast of Christmas,
there are probably young children everywhere asking the same question.

This night is different from every other night
because there are only two nights a year
when the Church gathers in darkness
to celebrate what God has done:
this night when we celebrate that Jesus was born,
that God became a human being,
born into the world just like you and I were born.

The other time that the Church gathers in darkness
is for the Easter Vigil,
when we remember that the child born this night
has died and has risen,
that God with us, Emmanuel,
not only rose from the dead,
but also promises each of us eternal life.

 

On both those night, we recall
that a people who walk in darkness have seen a great light!
Just watch CNN or any other news station,
and you’ll know that there are plenty of people
who live in darkness,
who need to see a great light.

 

O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

 

Tonight we rejoice,
that a child is born to us,
a child is given us,
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
Tonight we rejoice that God is with us,
not in some flashy, terrifying appearance,
but as a newborn baby.

God has become as helpless as a newborn baby,
unable to walk or talk,
to feed or clothe himself.

God has become dependent on human beings
to teach him what to do
and how to do it.

In this newborn baby,
God needs us.

 

O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

 

The grace of God has appeared,
saving all!

Tonight we rejoice
that God is no longer somewhere out there,
but that God once came among us,
and is with us still,
that the baby born in a stable
wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger
is with us tonight in our gathering together,
in Word proclaimed,
and in bread and wine transformed
the Body and Blood of the one born that night
so very long ago.

 

Tonight we rejoice that what happened
in a barn behind an inn
where there was no room,
happens over and over again
whenever we gather to give thanks
over simple gifts of bread and wine.

 

O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

 

Tonight we rejoice
because, like the angels that first Christmas night,
we have sung

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.”

Tonight we have heard the same good news of great joy
that shepherds heard while keeping night watch over their flocks.
Tonight, the glory of the Lord shines around us.

And tonight we pray in a special way for the people of Bethlehem,
where shepherds first heard that good news of great joy,
that one day soon, they, too, may know peace on earth
for themselves and for all the people of the world.

 

O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

 

Tonight,
I would like us also to remember
the words of the poet/philosopher Howard Thurman:
When the song of the Angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The real work of Christmas begins.

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To welcome the stranger,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among the peoples,
To make music in the heart.

 

When we do those things,
we truly come and adore him.
When we do those things,
we do what he came to do.
When we do those things,
we help build the kingdom he came to establish.
When we do those things,
we make every day Christmas Day.

 

O come let us adore him!

O come, let us adore him!

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!