Witnesses of the Light

This homily was delivered in the chapel of St. John's Hospital Berryville, Arkansas on Christmas Day, 2006

John 1:1-14

Today as I was doing my rounds, I went into a room where the shades were drawn and the lights were turned off. It was pretty dark. The next room I went into didn’t have the lights on either, but the shades were open. And the open shades allowed the light to pour into the room. Have you ever noticed that? Of course you have! But note that the darkness doesn’t spill into the room—the light goes to the dark. Our gospel reading deals with the true light in a dark place.
In this gospel reading, there are two principles in this passage. The first is God; God in Word, as God the Father, in the light, and in the flesh. The second is the witness.

On this Christmas Day we come and we testify as the witness to the birth of the Lord in the flesh. God has chosen to come among us and walk as we walk, hope as we hope, and pray as we pray. Fully human and fully divine, Jesus came as a babe, swaddled by his mother and laid in an animal’s pen.

Yes, God could have come in honor and triumph, but instead he came as we come into the world in the stench of a sty to experience life, joy, and pain just like we do.

Just as we do, Jesus lives and works with his people. The hospital is a place where the healing ministry of Jesus extends through your hands. Regardless of your responsibilities, you extend the healing ministry of Jesus in this place. Our Savior came as a child, and experienced a painful and humiliating death. Our patients come the same way, and in every way in between.

And we are the witnesses. We are the witnesses that as our Lord came to heal, he heals as one who experienced the same ailments and afflictions we do. He shares our joys and our sorrows as God and as a man, a man born of a woman in a barn in Bethlehem. Let us witness the ministry of God as we participate in his healing ministry. Let us bear witness to the Light of the world. Shine, reflecting his light in this world and in this hospital.

Jesus is the light of the world and we are the witnesses. Let us bear witness to the joy of the light that the darkest corners may be lit.

Lessons and Carols 2006

Lessons and Carols is a Christmastime worship service begun in England in the late 1800's. While the Cambridge version was first, there are several different versions of the service. This is my take on Lessons and Carols.

This is the homily with the Order of Worship from the service of Lessons and Carols celebrated at First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the evening of December 24, 2006.

Homily, The Story

It is customary that when the word of God is read in Christian churches, it is interpreted. Usually this is done through a message from the pastor. Sometimes it is done in drama or in dance.

Tonight, we do something special. Tonight, we interpret the written word of God through song.

The Directory for Worship tells us “Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer. Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever they gather for worship whether in church, home, or other special place.”

So tonight, in this holy place, we hear the story of the birth of our Lord told in Lessons and Carols.

Let us hear the word of God and let us respond in prayer and in song.

Isaiah 9:2, 6 7
Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Isaiah 11:1 4a, 6 9
O Little Town of Bethlehem

Micah 5:2 5a
Hark the Herald, Angels Sing

Luke 1:26 35, 38
Mary, Did You Know

Luke 2:1 7
Come Thou, Long Expected Jesus

Luke 2:8 20
Angels We Have Heard On High

Luke 2:21 33
King of Glory

Matthew 2:1 11
O Come, All Ye Faithful

John 1:1 14
Silent Night, Holy Night

Charge and Benediction

Joy to the World!