Christmas Eve 2024: What Child Is This?

We wonder at the miracle of the incarnation and we ask the most important question we can: What Child Is This? 

This is the child of humility, who shows us that God meets us in our lowliest moments. 

This is the child of light, who overcomes the darkness and calls us to be light-bearers. 

This is the child of peace, who reconciles us to God and one another. 

This is the child of hope, who assures us that God’s promises are true.

This child is Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. 

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme
For more information, visit www.graymumc.org

Transcript

Rev Beth Demme (00:01):

Tonight we've gathered to celebrate one of the most beautiful and profound mysteries of our faith, the birth of Christ. This story so familiar to us is also deeply surprising. God doesn't come to us in the ways we might expect through power, wealth, or grandeur. The things that the world values rather God comes in the simplicity of a manger, the vulnerability of a child, and the quiet persistence of light breaking into darkness. Tonight we gather to celebrate a story that is as timeless as it is transformative. It's a story we revisit every year, not because it changes, but because we are changed by it. Tonight, we wonder at the miracle of the incarnation, and we ask the most important question we can ask. What child is this? This question has echoed through the ages asked by shepherds, trembling under the light of the angels, whispered by Mary as she cradled her newborn and pondered by all who encounter the Christ child.
(01:14)
What child is this? A child of? Humility. Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem because of a government decree. The Roman empire was an oppressive occupying power. Mary heavily pregnant, made the journey of approximately 90 miles, not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice. When she and Joseph finally arrived in Bethlehem, there was no safe place for them, and so the savior of the world was born in a humble, stable, and laid in a feeding trough. What child is this? This is a child born into poverty. A child whose first breath was taken among animals. A child whose cries were heard by shepherds, the marginalized laborers of their laborers of their day.
(02:15)
This is a child born into poverty, a child whose first breath was taken among animals. A child whose cries were heard by shepherds, the marginalized laborers of their day. This is child who identifies with the least, the lost and the lowly from the moment of his birth. Jesus' life proclaims that God's love is for everyone, especially the people the world tends to overlook. What does this mean for us tonight? It means that no matter where we come from, no matter our status or struggles, God comes to us in humility. God meets us not in palaces, but in stables, not in power, but in our vulnerability. This child, he invites us to embrace humility, to open our hearts to God's presence in unexpected places. What child is this? A child of light. In John's gospel, we hear a cosmic declaration. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God.
(03:31)
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. What child is this? This is the child who is the light of the world. John's gospel reminds us that the birth of Jesus is not just a local event in Bethlehem. It's a cosmic event. The word through whom all things were made has become flesh and dwelt among us. The light shines in the darkness, not just the literal darkness of the night, but the darkness of human fear. Sin and despair consider the darkness in our world today. We see it in the pain of war, the cries of the oppressed, the isolation of the lonely. Yet John's gospel declares that this darkness cannot overcome the light of Christ. The light that began in a manger radiates across time and space offering hope to all who walk in shadow. This child invites us to become bearers of his light.
(04:43)
When we show kindness to a stranger, advocate for justice for others, or extend love to someone in need, we reflect the light of Christ. Tonight, let us remember that we are called to carry this light into the world. What child is this? A child of peace. The angel's proclamation to the shepherds was simple, yet profound, glory to God and the highest heaven and on earth, peace among those whom he favors. What child is this? This is the child who comes to bring the peace of God. The peace of God is not a tru or a ceasefire. It's not merely the absence of conflict. It is a profound state of assurance rooted in God's presence and promises. The peace of God doesn't ignore our pain or deny the challenges we face. Instead, it enters into our struggles. God's peace enters into our struggles and offers a calm that defies explanation.
(05:56)
God's peace is shalom, wholeness, reconciliation, and the flourishing of all creation. The shepherds, like Mary and Joseph, lived under Roman occupation. They knew the absence of peace, yet they were the first to hear the good news of God's peace breaking into the world, and they ran to the man their hearts filled with wonder and they returned Glorifying God and our world. Peace can feel elusive. We experience divisions in our families, our communities, and our nation. Yet the child in the manger calls us to be peacemakers. He teaches us to forgive, tells us to love our enemies, shows us how to work for justice on this holy night. Let us commit ourselves to the way of peace, trusting that the Prince of Peace walks with us. What child is this? A child of hope. The birth of Jesus is a story of hope. Mary and Joseph, despite their challenges trusted in God's promises, the shepherds, despite their lowly status, they were entrusted with a divine message and the angels proclaimed a future where God's glory and peace would reign.
(07:25)
What child is this? This is the child who embodies hope. Hope for a broken world, hope for weary souls hope that God's kingdom is drawing near this hope is not naive optimism. It's a deep assurance that God is at work even when we can't see it. Hope is what allows us to sing tonight, even in the midst of life's challenges. Hope is what allows us to look at the child in the manger and see not just a baby, but the savior of the world. Hope is what transforms us, calling us to live as people who trust in God's promises. What child is this? This is the child of humility who shows us that God meets us in our lowliest moments. This child is the child of light who overcomes the darkness and calls us to be light bearers. This is the child of peace who reconciles us to God and one another.
(08:35)
This is the child of hope who assures us that God's promises are true. This is Jesus, Emmanuel. God with us tonight as we sing, what child is this? Let us remember that this question is not merely rhetorical. It is an invitation to wonder, to worship and to respond. The answer to this question changes everything. The child in the manger is the one who changes the world and he changes us to may. We leave this place transformed by his love, ready to share the good news of his birth with a world in need. Glory to God and the highest and on earth. Peace. Amen.