A God with Skin On
A God With Skin On: Sermon for Christmas Eve 2024
What comes to mind when I say the word “God”? Does the childhood image of an old man with a beard linger somewhere in your imagination? Do you view God as somewhat distant and judgemental? Or do you delight in God as the Creator of the Universe? Perhaps you have another name for God? A quick search through google tells me that God is known by 967 names and titles. Some refer to “a higher power” which is a good description as God cannot be fully known or accurately named. All our attempts to understand and know God are partial at best. But somewhere deep within us is the desire to now and be known by God, by whatever name or image we know them by.
A little boy was having difficulty settling down for the night. He kept getting up and asking for another story, a drink of water, one more goodnight hug. He said he was lonely, and his parents told him that they were just down the hallway and God was with him all the time. He replied: “But I need a God with skin on!”
We all need a God with skin on and that is exactly what we celebrate tonight, that the Creator of the universe became a human being; God with skin on. Jesus came to show us what God is like; not far away and distant, but very close to us. Not an unforgiving judge, but a compassionate lover who understands our human struggles and meets us at the place of our deepest need.
God could have come in any form, and indeed his coming was foretold by the prophets. And the people expected a king, a person of strength and power. Instead, God came as a powerless baby, totally dependent on other human beings. And as he grew, he remained humble and didn’t look for earthly power or recognition but depended on God to guide him. And he came for those who were in darkness for whatever reason: for those who are dealing with loss of any kind through bereavement or health issues, those suffering from addictions, for the unhoused and the hungry, for refugees trying to adapt to another culture, for families who for whatever reason are estranged from one another.
As we gather to light candles and sing carols tonight, we are reminded of people who have "walked in darkness", then and now. We read from Isaiah a hopeful message of a child being born into a situation of darkness: an unmarried teenage mother and her confused fiancé, a country in major upheaval, and an angry King who was not one bit happy with the prophecy that a child would be born who would possibly displace him. Some things haven’t changed. You will notice that the picture on the front of our bulletin tonight shows a Palestinian baby swaddled in the rubble among the destruction of war.
The good news that we celebrate at Christmas is that the powers of darkness do not have the last word: there is hope for the world. To those who know what it is to live in darkness, to live with pain and suffering and loss, this passage is about hope, it is about a light that cannot be extinguished. There is a darkness in the world that we dare not deny. Darkness touches the lives of everyone. It is to this darkness that the words of Isaiah speak. He calls us not to a passive acceptance of the present realities around us. He calls us to embrace the God of new possibilities, who can and will bring light into the darkness.
Isaiah’s message, heard in the context of our world’s darkness -- our darkness -- is that God has not abandoned the world to wait for some future in which to come and fix it all. God is the God of present history coming into the darkness of 2024 to bring light. The light of Christ which we celebrate with candles and carols. Jesus was not only born 2000 years ago, in that limited time, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, he is born again and again wherever people live in the light and do their best to bring that light to others.
Isaiah’s call to us is to live positively as God’s people, as people who have seen the light, who have experienced the light, and who have allowed that light to transform who we are. The good news of this Holy night, is that Jesus took on human flesh and understands all of our human experience. Tonight, we are called, like Mary, to be “God Bearers”, bringers of light. This is indeed a reason to be joyful and celebrate, for as we share our light with all around us, the world becomes a brighter and more hopeful place.
Whatever we are dealing with in our lives and in our world, we still have much to celebrate tonight. In the words of Rev. Ellen Clark-King: “ May the mysterious depth of divine love and the beautiful silliness of human celebrations bring you comfort and joy this Christmastide”.
Amen