Luke 1:47-55; 2014
On Sunday afternoon, June 1st, 1975, Darrel Dore was on an oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico. The oilrig is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill wells in the ocean bed. Suddenly everything shook, the oilrig tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrell was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea the lights went out and the room began to fill with water.
Darrel was in the darkness, but he was fighting for his life. Darrel by accident found a huge air bubble that was formed in the corner of the room. He stuck his head inside, for now he was saved, but a horrifying thought came to his mind: “I’m buried alive”. Darrell began to pray aloud and as he did, something remarkable happened. He said later: “I found myself actually talking to someone. Jesus was there with me. I did not see a light, I saw nothing physical, but I sensed him, I sensed a comforting presence. He was real, he was there.”
For the next 22 hours, that Presence continued to comfort Darrel. But now the oxygen supply inside the bubble was giving out. Death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. Then another remarkable thing happened. Darrel saw a tiny star of light shimmering in the pitch-black water. Was it real? or after 22 hours was he beginning to hallucinate? Darrel squinted his eyes. The light seemed to grow brighter and brighter. He squinted again. He wasn’t hallucinating. The light was real. It was coming from a diver’s helmet. Someone had found him. His 22 hour nightmare was over. Rescue had come. He was saved.
That true story is a remarkable illustration, an analogy of what Christmas is. Christmas is God coming to our rescue to save us. Sin my sisters and brothers, made this world shake; the heavy burden of sin made our world tipped to one side, sent it crashing into the waters of spiritual disaster. Darkness was everywhere. The humankind was hopelessly trapped. Humankind was doomed to certain spiritual death. However, as Darrel did, people turned to God. According to Isaiah 64 they prayed “O Lord, you are angry, and we are sinful, all of us have become unclean. Yet O Lord, you are father. Save and deliver us.”
They prayed, and they waited for the time promised to them – the time of the Messiah, the time of the one who would inherit the throne of David and rule – in peace forever. Then, when the night seemed darkest, something remarkable happened. A tiny spark of light appeared on our night. An angel spoke to a young woman and told her that she would conceive and bear a son, and that son would be the Son of the Most High God – that He would be the Messiah. An angel also told the man engaged to her that she was pregnant, that he should go ahead and marry her – that her child has been conceive by the Holy Spirit.
The light was tiny at first – but its spark could be seen by the cousin of the young woman, who, despite her age and the fact that she had never been able to bear a child before, was also pregnant. The light was tiny, yes, – but bright enough to be seen at least for those who were looking for such a light. It appeared to them as a star in the sky – a star which they followed in the hope that it would lead them to the birthplace of a great king.
Finally, on the night that the baby was born and laid in a manger, the light appeared to certain poor shepherds who were keeping their flocks, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them as the angel spoke, and said “Behold – I proclaim to you good news of a great joy, for today in David’s city a Savior has been born for you, He is the Messiah, the Lord you have waited for.” And so the nightmare of the humankind came to an end. Rescue had come. Jesus, the son of God, had come down from heaven to save the human race, just as the diver had come down to save Darrel Dore.
That is what Christmas is about; is about salvation, is about seeing the light come into the world to deliver us from sin and darkness, is about God coming to us, and dwelling with us, and rescuing us from certain death.
Listen to the prophets speak, “Hear O house of David, the Lord himself will give you a sign, behold, a virgin will conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call him Emmanuel. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light have shined. For a child has been born to us. A son is given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This is the annunciation of the Christmas story we celebrate. Today, we celebrate the love of the one called Jesus – of the one whose name means “God Saves”. His birth, his ministry, his very life is described by one of his disciples with the words “the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth”. However, this story of love continues beyond the beauty of a newborn child, beyond the peace of motherhood and the love of kind strangers. This story continues beyond Bethlehem and reaches the whole world, because God’s purpose in Christmas is to save His creation, and that is the good news of great joy, God’s salvation is for us; is for me here and now. If Jesus dwells in my heart, if Jesus walks by my side, I can have the assurance that my future is not an extension of my present because Jesus will change my life for better. Therefore, do not let yourself be distracted by the colors, the lights, the ornaments; those are only means to express our joy; a few days after Christmas, they will be in boxes. Christmas is a lifetime experience. Once Jesus is born in our hearts, every day is an adventure, the lights and colors, the music and the joy are not outside; they are inside of us forever us. May the spirit of Christmas be with you all.