Reflection for Christmas Eve

My favorite part of Christmas Eve has always been the candlelight service. Always, it is the same: same rendition of Silent Night, same little candle, same flimsy piece of paper failing to prevent burnt fingers. The room is initially dark, holding its breath, waiting for that first spark of light.

The first candle is lit - you can see the wavering flame from across the room. And then the second - and the third. Suddenly, the whole room looks like the night sky, filled with flickering stars.

Friends and family members stand close by. The light from the candle illuminates their face, making them look as if they hold a great mystery. Yet, they are at the same time familiar and dear to you.

And the lyrics of Silent Night echo throughout the room - “Silent night, holy night. All is calm all is bright.” It is fitting.

It is a powerful thing we have invited into our sanctuary - something that can consume entire buildings, even cities. But here, in this moment, it is close and comforting and small - even a child holds it in his hands, watched closely by his parents.

I find it interesting that throughout the Bible, God is described as a fire. He came to Moses in the burning bush. He led the Israelites as a pillar of fire. His holy flame consumed the sons of Aaron when they offered unauthorized incense. The imagery continues into the New Testament as Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

God as a consuming fire is a picture of His complete holiness, his otherness. Just as it is bright and beautiful, it is dangerous. Like a fire, God destroys the wicked, executing his perfect and holy judgment. We cannot draw near, for to do so is to be consumed. God’s holiness cannot coexist with our evil. We cannot be in His presence.

But outside of His presence, it is dark and cold. God knew this, and so He sent His Son.

God spoke to the prophet Isaiah, giving His people hope that they would not always be outside of the presence of God, cut off from the light. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Immanuel - God with us.

In the greatest contradiction in history, God did not come as a consuming fire; He came as a baby. I imagine that Mary looked much like the churchgoers at the candlelight service as she looked on baby Jesus’s face - awestruck by the wonderous mystery of holding the powerful Almighty, who raises up and destroys kingdoms, in her arms as a baby.

The God who created man, become man. The One who sustains all things, unable to sustain Himself. The God who created the universe with His words, speechless. The Almighty Consuming Fire made Himself small, so that we could draw near to His light.

John described this beautifully in the first chapter of his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

God Almighty, Consuming Fire, come near.

As the candlelight service ends, the candles are blown out. But the picture remains branded in my mind, as the light from the candle lingers behind my eyelids. God drew near to be with me. He made Himself a baby, He grew and learned and became a man. And then He died on the cross, tore the curtain, so that we could draw near to God’s fire, be in His warmth and light, and not be consumed. God’s wrath fell on Jesus; He bore God’s consuming fire. The light went out. Darkness had overcome.

But then He rose again, His work completed. And now, Immanuel dwells within us. We carry His light everywhere we go, and it shines in the darkness.

The light that we carry is an invitation - come and see God made flesh, the Eternal made mortal, for you. We can draw near to His holy, purifying fire - the light of man.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (John 1:9).

And the light has come.

Amen.

Silent Night (verse 3)

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.