Isaiah 9:2-7

Tonight, we gather to take heart. We come together to celebrate. We join with millions of other God-loved human beings all over the world, boldly and joyfully declaring an amazing, life-giving, world-changing reality:

Tonight, a light shines from a stable in Bethlehem. Joseph Mohr, in his classic Christmas carol "Silent Night, Holy Night" describes this illumination as "Love's pure light", and it radiates through the face and life of the child held in Mary's arms. What a beautiful image! Hang on to that as we sing the carol in just a few minutes.

But as gentle and touching a sight as it is, the light we celebrate coming from Bethlehem's manger tonight is not intended as just another beautiful Kodak moment to be kept and treasured.

Oh no. This light is more than a pretty sight. It is a sign to us. A sign that the revolution has begun!

The God who brought into life each and every one of us, who - like the father of the Prodigal - watched in pain as his children walked away and tried to be their own gods - has now entered the world in search of his children! The God who created the world in goodness and beauty, who wept as his children rejected him and went their own way, compromising the goodness and marring the beauty of creation, has established a new beach head on earth and is establishing a new Kingdom!

A revolution has begun! And just like our American hero, Paul Revere, looked up from across the Charles River and saw the lights shining from the steeple of Boston's Old North Church, and knew the light meant the British were coming, the prophet Isaiah tells us that, when "unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" we must recognize it as the light signal that God has come!

During the month of December, Direct TV has been airing the spectacular Christmas pageant The Glory of Christmas. As you know, this is a production by Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral, and it is truly magnificent! Angels fly through the sky! Wise men, riding live camels and followed by colorful entourages of people bearing gifts, arrive from the East. The music is fantastic, and the whole experience is brilliantly perfect!

Not at all like the last Christmas pageant I was in at Greendale People's Church. Oh, we did our best, mind you, but we were not Hollywood professionals. We had angels, of course, but we did not dare fly them because, with our luck, we would probably fly them right out the windows. We had wise men, too, and that year I got to be one of them when, at the last minute, Bill Trippi came down with some mysterious illness that kept him from being able to go on and sing his verse of "We Three Kings Of Orient Are". So, at one point in the pageant, I had to slip out of my narrator role, dash in darkness down the stairs to don my wise man costume and cardboard crown, and then run back up the stairs to meet my two colleagues at the front of the sanctuary by the pen where we kept the live sheep and the goats. And I had a firsthand experience of the true humanity of Christmas when, running down the darkened stairs, I passed one of our little angel girls just sitting there on the steps. I thought nothing of the fact that she should have been on stage at that point, and just kept running to the dressing room. I pulled off my shoes, threw on the robes which were once the drapes in Mert Wilmot's house, and scurried back up the stairs. That's when I realized the reason the little angel girl was on the stairs. Just a little stage fright. And an upset stomach. And, in the darkness, I stepped right into it! "Sorry, Marty," she moaned. "Not as sorry as I am, honey," I replied.

But, the show must go on, so I kept running - up the stairs, down the aisle. And I managed to get there - to the front of the sanctuary, by the animal pen with the live sheep and the goats - just in time for the cue to sing my first-ever public solo - the verse that goes: "Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume, Breathes a life of gathering gloom..."

And just as I triumphantly vocalized the last note of my solo, one of the sheep in the pen beside me let out a really loud, flatulent sound. Obviously, a stinging commentary on my singing ability.

Oh, a bit more human and a lot less professional than The Glory of Christmas, I dare say. And yet both pageants shared something in common. Our focus was on a manger, in a stable. At the center was Mary, Joseph, and a baby. All around were angels, shepherds, and wise men from the east.

But strangely absent was any mention about the revolution!

You see, underneath the sights and sounds of the beautiful Christmas story, something of life-changing and earth-shattering consequence quietly unfolds. For when the star of the East fades away, and the angels return to heaven, and the shepherds go back to their fields, and the magi head for home, and Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt, and Bethlehem returns to its normal affairs, one crucial Christmas fact remains.

And this revolution has tremendous practical consequences for each of our lives.

First of all, darkness of every kind and in every place has been invaded by God's light!

You know, some of us come to Christmas this year as people whose lives have been draped in darkness. We have been injured by life's tragic events, wounded by the careless actions of others, bruised by the results of mistakes we ourselves have made. Some of us have lost loved ones. Some have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. Some have experienced family conflict. Some just feel lost and confused and abandoned by life.

You need to know, dear friends, that Christmas is a sign to you. It is a sign in the midst of life as it really is that a revolution has already been started within the very darkness you are experiencing. God is already at work, disarming the inner powers that can hurt and destroy, nullifying the outer powers that try to dominate you, and planting seeds that can grow into new life! There is hope for you tonight! There is wholeness to be found! Tomorrow can be better than today!

In the darkness you are experiencing - whatever it is - a light shines! A light signifying that God cares about you. A light telling you that the darkness will not be forever. A light promising that God has started a quiet revolution in your life. And you can experience its brilliant joy, if you choose to come and join it!

Now, a second practical consequence of God's revolution is that, in the birth of Christ, there has been a quiet, but dramatic shifting of power and authority in the world. Human political, economic and social systems - whether of our own making or belonging to others - have been preempted by an authority of another sort. Isaiah tells us that Christmas is a sign that God has placed the government of the whole world upon the shoulders of the child born to us!

And this challenges each of us to become a student of God's new way of doing things - politically, economically, and socially. We must let Jesus show us how to identify and unravel ourselves from the unjust, dehumanizing, greed-driven systems in which we have been immersed since birth. And we must devote ourselves to learning about the new political, economic and social values by which we can have a role in building a world that is as good as God himself!

Oh, tonight is a sign that God has taken away the ultimate power of the nations, and placed the government of the world on the shoulders of his Son. And you and I can begin to discover and embody this new revolution, if you choose to come and join it!

And then, a third consequence of God's quiet revolution. God has a gift for you tonight!

As you seek the light in whatever darkness you experience, as you join the adventure of embracing God's new government, Isaiah claims that the child born tonight has come to bless your life with all the resources you'll need to face life's challenges.

Did you hear his description of what Jesus will do for you? He will be your wonderful Counselor, guiding you into the beauty of life! He will become your source of divine Might and Power, providing you with strength-beyond-yourself to do the will of God! He will nurture and shape your growth like a faithful Parent who will never let you down! He will be a bridge-builder in your life, showing you the way to make Peace between you and God, between you and others, and giving you peace within!

Oh, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light! They that dwelled in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined! For unto us, a child is born! Unto us a son is given! And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!

And tonight, in the darkness, a light shines. Love's pure light streams into our world.

And the way you join it is simple.

You just come to the light of Jesus! You seek his light within your darkness. You embrace and spread his new government wherever and whenever you can. You turn to him often and rely upon him for Guidance, for Strength, for Parenting, and for Peace.

Dear friends, may God's quiet revolution touch your life tonight!

In the darkness, a light shines - for you!