(Note: Jason Harris will also be leading our ONLINE ONLY service on December 26 focusing on “Christmas Expectations.” Be sure to tune in online on Sunday morning!)
Many of us have great memories of Christmas when we were young.
Of family gatherings, presents, and amazing food. The carols in church and the songs on the radio evoke a feeling of warmth. Even now, for many of us the Christmas season is one we look forward to because of the joy and hope it brings.
And we long for hope.
Because in this same season our schools are receiving threats of violence. Inflation is elevating financial fears faster than we can react. We are 18+ months into a global pandemic. Many of us are at the very least annoyed and frustrated at our circumstances. And for some, each new dilemma seems to add another weight to an already burdensome year. How often have I heard and felt these stories over this past year, both inside and outside of our church walls.
Yet in this season — in the midst of the darkness — we must remember and cling to our true hope in Jesus Christ. Our Light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
John 1:9
It’s important to notice that life for most people in Bethlehem wasn’t radically different the day after Jesus’ birth. Caesar was still in power. The Jewish people were still under Roman rule. The marketplace opened on time the next day. The trials, struggles, and darkness for many on that first Christmas Eve remained on Christmas Day.
But some, like the shepherds, were filled with a new hope.
Their jobs were the same. Their financial situation hadn’t improved. This Light in the darkness didn’t exactly alter the details of their daily living.
But instead the Light revealed to them life through a whole new lens. God had delivered His answer. His promise for salvation had come. They experienced hope.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
On Christmas we celebrate, remember, and worship the Savior of the world. But for many in our neighborhoods and community, life doesn’t look different. They live in the same troublesome world as we do, but don’t yet know and cling to the hope of Jesus Christ.
If we desire to love our neighbors and desire to care for community, we need to share the good news of Christmas. Jesus Christ is our light and our hope!
This is the reason we held our Christmas Blast in partnership with the Town of Penfield — leaving our campus and going out into our community… celebrating with hundreds of families. It’s the reason many of us partnered with Rochester Family Mission over this season — to share the love and hope of Jesus across our city.
And now we have another amazing opportunity before us.
As we prepare for Christmas Eve, my prayer is first that you will remember and celebrate the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. A light in the darkness. New life. And a new lens from which to experience the world and our daily life.
But my prayer is also that God would increase a burden in us for our family, neighbors, and friends who don’t have this hope.
For Christ has come. God’s salvation is here.
And this Light is worth sharing.
