We are here tonight to sing and pray with hope and joy. In a moment infused with division and fear, we are here, across chasms of belief and background. In a time of cruelty and lies, we are here tonight to speak of grace and to celebrate Truth. In a period in our history where the poor are taxed and blamed, in days when those who are hurting and fleeing violence are shamed, in a season infused with the shadows of hate and fear, we are here, to remember that there is a light that outshines any dark time.
Even in the darkest night, there is a light! And whatever name we have for the Divine, it is not distant, but within and among, making a way, it is Emmanuel, God with us. In a time of cruelty and lies, we are here tonight to speak of grace and to celebrate Truth.
And the unpolished true story of Christmas is that those with economic and political power aimed to craft a world that was different from the one God imagined. War was being waged for reasons unworthy of the toll in lives and treasure. Those on top ruled with separation and hate, escalating fear with weapons of words and swords.
The true story of Christmas is that a young refugee family fled their home to protect their baby, seeking safety in Egypt. Something of the Divine told them it was time, in a dream. And they left in the dark of night, not knowing exactly how it would unfold, but knowing for sure that if they didn’t go, their baby would be torn from her bosom, taken, likely never to be seen again.
So they went in faith, knowing hope can sometimes be enough of a light to keep going. And sometimes God can make a way, somehow a path can be illumined, even where there doesn’t seem to be one… Rooted in the words from the Prophet Isaiah “…I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland,” there is an African American expression of "making a way out of no way."
The true story of Christmas is that God is with those who have to flee in the night to foreign lands with the call on their hearts to protect their babies. God is with families struggling to stay together. God is with all those who are toiling for shelter and safety, amidst a fog of fear. When it looks like a desert of despair and a wasteland of cynicism, against all odds, whatever God is, It is making a way. Against the tide of violence and the currency of hate, God makes a way where there doesn’t seem to be one. Even in the darkest night, there is a light!
In a time of cruelty and lies, we are here tonight to speak of grace and to celebrate Truth. The true story of Christmas is that the Herods of this time or any time, will not have the last word. The truth is that God does not side with those with the largest profits, the most massive portfolios or the biggest platforms- the true story of Christmas is that God makes a way, God is making a way, behind the scenes, the movement begins in the margins, on the underside. This movement of radical love that commences on that night so long ago, it all started, not at the top with those with power and might, with those who make claims with the loudest voices- fear not, God is with us, the energy of a Greater Love is with us, whatever name we have for the Divine, it is not distant, but within and among, it is Emmanuel, God with us, right here, accompanying us, influencing us, making a way for the best possibilities, even behind the scenes, on the underside, with the people and in the places not on the side of might, but on the side of what is right!
Even in the darkest night, there is a light!