December 24, 2025

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT: LOVE

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘For no word from God will ever fail.’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘I am the Lord’s servant,‘ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’” (Luke 1.37-38a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Where would we be if not for the first “Christmas” Eve. In jest a friend commented to my well-wish for a happy Christmas Eve Eve, “Would that be a Christmas “Adam”? It took me a minute to get past the proverbial rimshot before the jest became a request to see today as more than just “The Day, or Night, before Christmas.” We all love to hear the famed poem by Clement Clarke Moore. We are excellent at reciting the parts of it that have a true rhythm of Christmas for us (recognizing it has nothing to do with the actual “Christmas” event at all.) In truth, the real title of those collected verses is “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.” Interestingly enough, those images depicted in the poem have little to do with the actual “Saint Nicholas of Myra” who was a Turkish bishop persecuted by Rome but later freed from captivity by Emperor Constantine. (This was the same Roman Emperor who decided to establish the celebration of the birth of Christ in late December in order to promote the gospel and “cancel” a pagan holiday called Saturnalia.) St. Nicholas came from a very rich family. He inherited a huge sum of financial resource. Because of his piety and faithfulness to Christ and Christianity, most all that he possessed was given to the poor with anonymous donations. If he was transported from place to place, it would have been more likely by donkey than a team of “eight tiny reindeer.” He would have worn a robe with faded colors and not a bright red one lined with fur. Further, he would not have set out with the intention of giving all boys and girls gifts. His heart and soul was bound to charity and helping those in need as a reminder of the true spirit of the gospel message which was about our salvation. Paul’s writing to the Romans would best sum up St. Nicholas’ intention, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3.23) He knew that worldly possessions were not a sign of God’s blessing. He knew that such “richness” was never a guarantee of salvation. He defended the gospel against heresy and even petitioned the Council of Nicaea to take an overt stance against Arianism. (Interesting that such a heresy would become the foundation of the much later Arian movement rising up out of the land which gave the modern-day image of “Santa Claus,” among other things which shall be nameless at this point lest I fall into a very off topic rant!) Moore’s poem fortunately is not popularly known by its original title as nothing would be further from the truth.

This leads me back to the jest of Christmas “Eve” being preceded by Christmas “Adam,” or for the sake of reflection Christmas Eve Eve. Still, as I consider the play on words with my usual interest, to think of Mary, the betrothed of Joseph, as “Christmas Eve” provides food for thought. The same Paul who wrote to the Christ followers in Rome (or throughout the Roman Empire) “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” wrote this to the Christ followers in Corinth, “For as in Adam all men die, so in Christ all men can live.” (1 Corinthians 15.22) The true “Christmas” story is nothing without the full disclosure of its “reason for the season” which is the salvation of the world (the people who dwell on earth.) The very ones who have sinned and fallen short are the very recipients of God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Our sin makes us truly poor regardless of how financially endowed we may be. Riches have nothing to do with our being saved. Riches are a result of using our gifts, talents and abilities to turn “straw into gold” (an image taken from a story about another “elf” on the shelf.) If there is any connection between riches, the biblical term might be mammon, and salvation it falls in the area of what we do with them for the glory of God. Aligning such thinking with the original St. Nicholas (of Myra) would be the perfect test case. His actions were not a universal charity effort. They were targeted and exercises of spiritual alignment with the call of Christ in his life for the good of others where their poverty impeded their ability to live lives as a glory to God. (Now there’s a benchmark for modern Christmas gifting!) But I digress.

I mention Adam above only to bring attention to Eve. History has not been kind to Eve because patriarchalism in society has fostered blame on women, beginning with Eve, for the wrongs men experience in the world. I have reflected on the fallacy of such a “blame game” previously. I have no interest in reiterating it here. It is “Christmas” after all and we are to be bound by happiness, joy and be of good cheer. In this regard we come to our “Christmas” Eve. In both gospel birth narratives (Matthew and Luke) we see the adoration of Mary. As I mentioned yesterday, her faithfulness to God and a pursuit of righteousness in her own life to bring glory to God set her aside in God’s eyes. He chose her not because she had earned the privilege of being the mother of God’s only begotten Son, Immanuel. Rather, God chose her among all other women to be the best equipped for the task of bringing a “new life” into the world. This is what our faith, faithfulness and pursuit of righteousness should be doing in our own lives. They should be equipping us for the task of bringing “new life” into the world. And, mind you, it is not just about bringing any life into the world or even bringing a “physical” life into the world (please, refer to the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus which was recently reflected upon). So much is made of Mary, the betrothed of Joseph, being a virgin and thus giving birth to God’s Son that what we see is more of the “birthing” narrative of physical reality than the “rebirth” narrative of our spiritual reality. If in Adam all men die (I give thanks to Paul for intentionally or unintentionally putting the blame where it belonged), then in Eve (the biblical interpretation of her name being “The mother of all living“) we are all given the opportunity to live. Yes, I know Paul said “For as in Adam all men die, so in Christ all men can live,” but if it were not for our “Christmas Eve” there would be no “Christmas Day.” Christmas Eve is the precursor to the true Christmas celebration. The focus is thus taken off, as Charles Dickens had Scrooge declare to Fred, “…every twenty-fifth of December” to which was attached “…a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket.” The focus is not on the human advantage the Christian holiday provided in an otherwise busy and overwhelming life as if covered by darkness. The focus is “spotlighted,” and I would re-emphasize Isaiah’s process “…the people who dwelt in darkness has seen a great light,” on the new life which is brought into the world. Jesus, the Son of God birthed by Mary, is “the lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world (the people who dwell on earth.)” He is the Savior of the world and the means by which (because of His great faith, faithfulness and pursuit of all righteousness as a glory to God) God fulfills His promise to bring salvation to His people. Without this most precious gift of new life, “…so in Christ all men can live,” none of us have a chance to live in harmony and peace with God for all eternity. Without Jesus on that side of the cross, we would not have any true life beyond the cross. In truth, without Jesus there would be no “empty manger, empty cross, empty tomb.” We would continue to use whatever chosen religion to “inherit eternal life.” We would be like the rich young ruler who found himself destitute because he refused to grasp the truth of his “Christmas Eve.” Without “her,” there was no HIM or him! Without our own “Christmas Eve,” we would be just like him without a Christmas Day. That, mighty ones of God, is what Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ, is truly all about. It is the greatest and most singular love story ever told. As we hear from one of the great Christmas songs, “Go tell it on the mountain; over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.” He wasn’t just any boy. He is the Son of God, the lamb who takes away our sins. He is “the way, the truth and the life.” He is the bright and morning star who rules the day and night of our lives. He is the son of God and the son of Mary, our “Christmas Eve.”

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.