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OUR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICEPastor Tom SteersChrist the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto OPENING HYMN 368 “Angels We Have Heard on High”Lutheran Service BookOur Prayer This Evening:Heavenly Father, on this holy Eve, we praise you for the great wonders you have sent us: for the shining star and the angel's song, for the infant's cry in the lowly manger. Father, we exalt and thank you for the greatest gift of all, Your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh in a little Child. We behold His glory, and are bathed in its light. Be with us as we sing hymns of praise, and hear and accept our prayers. This Christmas Eve, we remember Your promise fulfilled; Christ our Saviour has come. Hallelujah! Amen.HYMN OF PRAISE: 387 “Joy to the Word” CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184-185 of Hymnal OUR BIBLE READINGS:First Reading: Isaiah 9: 2-7 Psalm 100 Epistle Reading: 1st John 4: 7-16 Our Gospel Reading: Luke 2: 1-20 THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192 HYMN OF THE DAY: 383 “A Great and Mighty Wonder”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6NXeX7P5Io&list=RDu6NXeX7P5Io&start_radio=1 THE SERMON –“Unto You Is Born This Day a Saviour”Brothers & sisters, peace, grace, and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.Today, we hear, again, the words that are so familiar, that we have heard since childhood.“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.”We know the Biblical account well, and its place in documented human history.We know the shepherds, angels, the manger, and the song of Heaven.And yet, the Holy Spirit would have us hear this Gospel not as a charming memory, but as a living, present truth.For this story was first spoken into a world that was afraid, divided, and weary.And it is spoken again this afternoon into our world, our city, and another time of darkness.Toronto is a beautiful city, but it is also a wounded one.Violence has touched neighborhoods and families.Economic strain presses hard on many households.Anxiety, loneliness, and uncertainty weigh heavily on hearts.Many are tired not only in body, but in soul.For the faithful, the night can feel long, and hope can seem fragile.Yet, it is into such a night, some 2,000 years ago, that God chooses to act.Not with thunder.Not with armies.Not with the power of Caesar or the wealth of Rome.But with a Child.Luke tells us that while an emperor issues decrees and history marches on, God is quietly keeping His promise.The virgin gives birth.Mary wraps her Son in swaddling clothing.She places Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.Already, we see the way of our God.The Saviour doesn’t enter this world demanding a palace.He comes into poverty, rejection, and vulnerability.He enters into the ordinary and the overlooked.This is not an accident.This is grace.The One who made all things humbles Himself to be made dependent on His own creation.The eternal Word becomes flesh.The Light of the world is laid in the darkness of a stable.And then the angels appear.Not to kings.Not to the priests in the Jerusalem temple.But to poor shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night.Men accustomed to danger.Who knew what it meant to live with uncertainty and risk.Men whose nights were long and whose work was hard.To them, the glory of the Lord shines around, and they are filled with fear.And rightly so.For sinners cannot stand before the holiness of God on our own.But hear the first word the angel speaks:“Fear not.”That word isn’t advice.It is Gospel.‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.’Not just for the deserving.Not only for the secular and powerful.For all people.“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”Unto you, and we can all place our name there.Not merely unto the world in general, but to you personally.For you who are weary.Who might be afraid.For you who may be burdened by guilt, illness, regret, or grief.For you who lie awake at night, wondering what tomorrow will bring.This Child is born for you.He is a Saviour, because we all need saving.He is Christ, the Anointed One, promised long ago.He is the Lord, though He comes hidden in humility.The Prophet Isaiah foresaw this night when he proclaimed, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”Not a small light.Not a flickering candle.The greatest, the true light.“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”Notice again the language of gift.Unto us is givenChristmas is not first about what we give to God.It is about what God has provided to us.A Child.A Saviour.Peace that the world cannot manufacture.Hope that does not depend on circumstances.The angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”This peace is not the absence of conflict.It is reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ.It is peace grounded in the forgiveness of sins.Peace established not by treaties, but by a cross that already casts its shadow over the manger.The shepherds go with haste.They see.They believe.They make known what had been told them.And they return, glorifying and praising God.Nothing about their external circumstances has changed.The sheep still need tending.The night remains cold.The Roman occupation still rules.But they have seen their Saviour.And that changes everything.Dear friends, the same is true for us this day.We, too, are sent back into our vocations.Back into homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and challenges that remain unfinished.But we do not go back alone.Christmas doesn’t deny the darkness in our world.It enters it.It does not pretend that violence, hardship, illness, and sorrow are illusions.It declares that God Himself has stepped into this world to redeem us.The Apostle John writes, “God is love.”Not merely that God shows love, but that He is love.And this love was made manifest among us, “that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”Christmas is God saying, “I will not remain distant.”“I won’t leave you alone.”“I will come to you.”This love doesn’t wait for us to ‘improve’ ourselves.It meets us as we are.It forgives us.Claims us.Abides with us.Psalm 100 invites us to “enter his gates with thanksgiving.”This evening those gates stand open, not because we are worthy, but because Christ has opened them with His own holy flesh and blood.The manger points us forward to the altar.Here, the same Lord who lay in Bethlehem gives Himself to us in Communion for the forgiveness of sins, just as He promised.The swaddling cloths point us to the grave clothes.Yet the empty tomb assures us that the darkness will not have the final word.Beloved, tonight we are not asked to fix the world.We’re not asked to carry the weight of the future on our shoulders.You are invited to receive a gift.To hear again the angel’s proclamation.To trust that God is faithful.To know that the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.In this city, in our times, we hear the Good News.Christ is born, for you. Thanks be to God. Amen. THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 THE LORD’S PRAYER Page 196 THE WORDS OF OUR LORD Page 197 THE DISTRIBUTION POST COMMUNION COLLECT (Left-hand column) Page 201 BENEDICTION Page 202 CLOSING HYMN: 363 “Silent Night, Holy Night”