Stare At The Light That Never Goes Out

There are so many sad Christmas movies.  It’s a Wonderful Life!  Home Alone 2.  How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  You know how it goes.  Someone runs into a hardship.  They lose their jobs, get stuck away from their family, or get rejected by their peers.  Why such sad stories at Christmas?  This is supposed to be a time of joy and light and faces lighting up.  I know that.  But I also know that in the reality of your life and mine all lights eventually burn out.  Even the light of the sun will go out on Judgment Day, and if that does not occur first, the light of your life will be snuffed out, too.  So, why go on?  Why gather this Christmas Eve?  What’s there to celebrate?  Isaiah has the answer.  God’s Word gives us light on this night.  He points us to the Christ-child born in Bethlehem.  Let’s

Stare At The Light That Never Goes Out

Unexpected

Perhaps you’ve heard in the news that the property taxes in Texas are supposed to go down.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  2,700 years ago the people living in the land of Israel were getting pounded with taxes.  When God led his people to the Promised Land from Egypt he divided up the land among the 12 Tribes.  Tribes like Zebulun and Naphtali settled in the northern regions near the Sea of Galilee and the headwaters of the Jordan River.  If you looks at this area on Google Maps you will notice a valley that runs from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan.  That valley became an invasion corridor for enemy armies.  Many of Israel’s most feared enemies came from the north either by land or by sea and then marched through that valley.  So, the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali were typically the first of the twelve tribes to face those enemies.  When it was time to pay the taxes to victorious invaders they would bring their grain (often carried in buckets between their shoulders on poles) and pour out the contents into the storage bins owned and operated by the enemy.  When the olives and figs ripened in the fall, they had to hand over baskets of that precious fruit to enemy.  We think our taxes are high!  If those Israelites didn’t come through with the goods, they would face fierce consequences.  Oh, those were dark and gloomy days for the people up north in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali!  The joy of going to work in the fields and bring in the harvest was gone.  They came to expect that their labor would not benefit their own families and kids but only fatten the war chests and wallets of the enemy.

But through the prophet Isaiah God made a prediction about unexpected light.  “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish.  In former times, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,… ³ You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. They rejoice before you like the joy at harvest time, like the celebration when people divide the plunder.  ⁴ For you have shattered the yoke that burdened them.  You have broken the bar on their shoulders and the rod of their oppressor, as you did in the day of Midian.”  It was totally Unexpected, but the light of the Lord’s love for them had never stopped shining. The Lord came through with deliverance and rescue.

What would be your reaction when you opened up your property taxes and it said you didn’t owe anything?  That would be totally Unexpected!  What if God said, “No longer do you need to work hard to be a good person in order to earn points with me.  Instead, you will have fun worshiping and praying and giving and serving because you already have points with me”?  What if God said, “When people mock you for what you stand for and when society pooh-poohs your values, I’m going to hold your faith in the protective palm of my hand”?  What if God said, “When you feel anxious, frustrated and almost frozen by your worries and fears, I will brighten your day with my love”?  You know what?  God HAS said those things.  The Unexpected light of his love is shining on us.  This Christmas Eve you get to Stare at The Unexpected Light That Never Goes Out.  And it is a light that is totally

Undeserved

 When you heard the sad description of the northern tribes in Israel, you may have felt sorry for them.  But, did you know they totally deserved darkness they were experiencing?  They had adopted their neighbor’s worship practices of idols and committed sins that would make you blush if I described it.  The Lord had spoken clearly to them, “²⁶ You see, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: ²⁷ the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, ²⁸ or the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God and you turn away from the path that I am commanding you today by walking after other gods” (Duet 11:26-28).  So, when they stopped following God, he sent the Assyrians or Babylonians through the invasion corridor and trampled all over them, they deserved it.  They woke up to their sinful rebellion and living in their own spiritual darkness and scared of the real possibility of getting tossed into outer darkness.

But through the prophet God made a prediction about the Undeserved Light. “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish.  In former times, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will cause it to be glorious, along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles.”  Do you remember where Jesus grew up?  Where did he spend the majority of his time in ministry?  Not in Jerusalem, not in the temple courts, not on Mt. Zion, but in Nazareth, in Cana, in Capernaum, and in the other towns of villages of northern Israel.  Where did Jesus proclaim his forgiveness?  Where did he extend his healing touch?  Not in the palace of the high priest, not in the summer home of the governor, but in the home of a greedy tax collector, in the streets where prostitutes roamed, in the homes of those who knew they deserved outer darkness.  When they saw Jesus they were “² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.  For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned.”  Jesus’ love kept shining on sinners that were so undeserving.

Thinking about the sad Christmas movies, most of the activity is taking place at night.  I wonder why?  We are familiar with the Bible calling the ultimate punishment for sin “outer darkness.”  Home Alone 2 is at night.  The Grinch works at night.  Rudolph deals with darkness.  Darkness multiplied the fear factor.  So it is with sinners who know we deserve darkness because of the crime of our sins against God.  And if we want to get defensive and try to argue our way out of it, God can very well stick our nose back into the mess of our sin and say, “Look what you have done!”   This contrast to God’s grace is impressive indeed!  Praise God that he graciously gave us what we never deserved.  Peter said, “He has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:10). God pulled us from outer darkness into the light of his love.  This is the main point of Christmas!  The Christ-child born in Bethlehem was graciously born for you.  Therefore, when the darkness of our sins make us sad and scared, he assures us that the light of his love is shining on us.  This Christmas Eve you get to Stare as the Unexpected, Undeserved Light that Never Goes Out.  And this is a light that is absolutely

Unmatched

 The people of northern Israel would have been satisfied with an army general who could lead their army against the enemy to give them a little relief from their miserable existence.  What God gave them was something they didn’t expect and didn’t deserve.  It was a gift of his grace that was absolutely unmatched!

Through the prophet God made a prediction about unmatched light.  “² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”  This light shines brightly on the greatest love created by God.  This love is God the Son who took on human flesh, lived a perfect life as our substitute for sin, died on the cross to pay the penalty of all our sins, and rose again to prove his victory over the curse of sin, the power of the devil and the suffering of hell.  There is no greater light for people set free from the darkness of sin.

If you’re Home Alone in the dark, a flashlight works great.  If you’re trying to trying to darken a city decorated in light, you might try stealing all the lights off the houses.  If you’re having to fly through a snowing night to pull Satan in his sled, you might make use of a red nose.  We get how important light is.  We love the sun that warms and brightens our days.  But the Son of God is better than all these lights put together.  He is unmatched in his glory.  Here in the manger is the true brilliance of God’s love for us, love hidden in the form of a helpless baby but shining in Isaiah’s announcement, “⁶ For to us a child is born.  To us a son is given.  The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders.  He will be named: Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God,  Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.”  Jesus is Unmatched love hidden in a man dying on a cross but shining in the blood of your Substitute and mine. Our Light, Jesus Christ, shines in our hearts and is the Light that leads us to heaven.

Many Christmas movies begin with a dark scenario.  A boy Home Alone.  A Grinch trying to steal Christmas.  A reindeer being rejected by his friends.  These are dark days.  But, in all these movies they turn out happy in the end.  On this dark night we kneel beside the manger in awe and wonder.  Tonight we celebrate the birth of Jesus who came for you and me.  Tonight Stare At the Unexpected, Undeserved and Unmatched Light That Never Goes Out. Stare at Jesus, our Savior.  Amen!