Christmas Day Message: Bringing Good News

Merry Christmas! For Christmas Day, our readings are Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalm 98, Hebrews 1:1-12, and the Christmas Gospel according to John, in John 1:1-14.

This sermon continues the same theme as last night’s Christmas Eve sermon. No video or audio recording for this message, but here’s the text of my 2021 Christmas Day sermon.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Some of you were here last night for Christmas Eve worship, and if you weren’t, that’s fine, you can go watch the message online if you want, but in that message, I focused on the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds.

The angel comes in the dark of night to the shepherds out watching their flocks, and the message is “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

Good news of great joy. What is the good news? A child has been born. And not just any child, but a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. God has come to you. God has broken into the world.

As we hear today in John’s version of the Christmas story, God’s light is shining into this dark world. And no matter how dark the world gets, no matter how grim and gloomy and hopeless the news of the world gets, it cannot overwhelm the good news the angel brings. The Messiah is born!

I think I’m stuck on this idea of Christmas as good news, because that’s what jumps out to me in today’s readings as well.

Isaiah says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

It’s the joy of a soldier returning home early from a deployment and surprising their family. It’s the joy of a city under siege spotting a relief force approaching. It’s a beacon of hope being lit in the world, the sun peaking over the horizon.

Historically, it’s a prophet coming to people in exile, telling them your sentence has been commuted and you can go home. How beautiful are the feet of the messenger who brings good news.

There’s a line in a camp song, and it’s actually an Easter song, but the message applies to every morning, there’s a verse that says, “Daily news is so bad it seems, the good news seldom gets heard.”

Isn’t that true? It’s so easy for the bad news that seems to come every day to overwhelm the good news. Part of it, of course, is that those who provide news are in the business of attracting eyeballs and attention, and the more shocking and horrific and offensive a story is, the more attractive it is for publishers. “If it bleeds, it leads,” that sort of thing. In a way, I suppose there’s actually a little bit of hope in that, that violence and disaster are exceptional, not the every day norm.

But media aside, there is a lot of bad news. Life is full of bad news! Disasters happen, tornadoes, car accidents, cancers, pandemics, sometimes it seems like it’ll never end. And it won’t. This world is broken, broken by greed, broken by selfishness, broken by fear and apathy and division, broken ultimately by sin.

How beautiful are the feet of the one who comes into this world daring to proclaim good news. Daring to proclaim that God has not given up on this world, that this world was created good and is worth redeeming, that God loves this world enough to personally enter into it, enough to give God’s only Son that all who believe in him, all who receive this good news, will not perish, but will have everlasting life.

How beautiful is the witness of John, who testifies to the light, who testifies that we are made children of God, that God has come to live among us.

The Hebrews reading proclaims that this created world will perish. The earth and the heavens will wear out. We know that, we see that. But God is the same. God will remain. And God has claimed us for all eternity.

How beautiful is the good news of Christmas, good news given by the angel, testified to by John, heralded by a star, trusted to us to share and proclaim. News that is so big, says the Psalmist, that all of creation joins in rejoicing.

All of creation sings. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy!

Rejoice, for Christ is born. Share the good news! Merry Christmas!