Wednesday, December 24, 2025
The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Eve)
Text: Isaiah 9:2-7
Sermon Audio
“The people who walked in darkness…” There’s no torture quite like fixing a strand of Christmas lights. Last January you were in a rush to get the lights in the box when it was freezing out and you forgot about the lights until November. You pull them out and what do you find? A dead strand. You take out the tester, and you test each bulb to find out that each bulb works. What do you do now?
God bless the volunteers at Rotary Lights who repair all the lights. There’s got to be a learning curve and you get faster with time, but there’s also just got to be a certain level of patience and fiddling that happens as they repair those strands. Because I’ve helped with take down after Rotary Lights, and I’ve seen some of those Christmas lights, and some of them are more electrical tape than the original plastic insulation. How many light bulbs can you replace before it becomes a different strand of lights entirely? There’s no torture quite like debugging a strand of Christmas lights.
“The people who walked in darkness…” These first five words of our Old Testament Text from the book of Isaiah describe the human condition. We are a people who walk in darkness.
Now, I don’t mean physical darkness. Thomas Edison was right when he said, “We will make electric light so cheap that only the wealthy can afford to burn candles.” I mean darkness of the soul. A home could have a more impressive display of Christmas lights than Rotary Lights, but there could still be deep darkness of the souls who live in that home.
I recently read Martin Luther on Mental Health by psychologist Stephen Saunders. In fact, he came to visit this church just last year. Dr. Saunders reported that in a room of 100 people, 20 people have had a mental illness in the past year. 40 people have had a mental illness at some point in their life. One in three Americans have reported being a victim of domestic abuse in their lifetime. In a November report, Bank of America estimated that 1 in 4 households live from paycheck to paycheck.
“The people who walked in darkness…” In this very room gather people for whom it may be the first Christmas without a loved one. Each year we leave behind former coworkers, family members, friends, and church friends who passed away in the past year. In this season of joy and cheer, we may still mourn the death of those so close to us.
We know all this. We know we have a problem. We see the strand of lights is out, so we get the test kit, and there we are in the basement, testing one bulb after the other, but each one doesn’t fix the problem.
We test the bulb of alcohol, and it seems to work fine, but then the bottle runs out. We test the bulb of sports, and that can give us cheer and camaraderie, but then the team loses. We test the bulb of Hollywood, and a good movie can make our worries go away for a bit, but then the movie ends.
“The people who walked in darkness…” We test one bulb after another, and even if it seems like we’re onto something with the latest remedy, we’re ultimately left alone in the dark in the basement, grumbling to ourselves, in just as poor of shape as when we started. 3. Apart from Christ, we are walking in darkness.
Let’s circle back to the broken light strand. After testing all the bulbs to see that each of the bulbs does in deed work, most people would wave the white flag and recycle the lights, but no, you’re not going to be outsmarted by copper. You take out the digital voltmeter and test each socket to see where the fault is, and you finally find where the wire snapped and use electrical tape to fuse together the wire that broke. How could it have been so simple? Of course, the lights won’t shine if the wire snapped. You finally plug the light back in, and eureka, the light is back on. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
With God, how could it have been so simple? Of course, the lights won’t shine if we snapped the wire. There’s no light with no electricity. God sent His Son Jesus to this Earth to reunite what had been split and to mend that which has been broken. With two wires mended back together, the light shines more beautifully than Rotary lights. What light shines?
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Tonight even in the midst of sorrow and darkness, we rejoice because Jesus Christ the Light of the World has been born of the Virgin Mary. He is the great light who shines upon us.
The Father sent Jesus into this world to take on the darkness that dwells so deeply in you. He was born in humble circumstances, raised in obscurity, and He took on your sins on the cross. The light of the world hung in darkness until He died and completed the payment for our sins. What glory and light there was as He rose again and ascended to heaven wherein, He still reigns as both God and human who understands us and intercedes for us.
Maybe things are so dark because we’re the ones who severed ties. The lights refuse to shine because we’ve strayed from God. But the good news is that Jesus has come to this Earth to unite Himself to you, and He fills you with His light.
Tonight, I know each and every one of you is facing darkness and I don’t want you to leave this church without hearing this. Tonight, a savior is born to you—to you. Jesus died on the cross for you. For you Jesus rose from the dead. For you there is a light in the darkness. For you, no matter what that darkness is, no matter how tangled up the Christmas lights are, Jesus is not afraid of the dark, and He can fix even the most broken of situations.
Can Jesus Christ—the wonderful counselor, who comforted His disciples and cast out demons—can He shine the light even in our mental illness? Yes, He can!
Can Jesus Christ—the Mighty God, who faced torture and death on the cross—can He relate to those who suffer domestic abuse? Can He strengthen you to seek help in a broken relationship? Yes, He can!
Can Jesus Christ—the Son of the Everlasting Father who was born in a lowly manger—can He see you through financial hardships and woes? Can He provide for you and grant you wisdom on how to manage finances well? Yes, He can!
Can Jesus Christ—the Prince of Peace who comforted friends at the death of His friend Lazarus—can He give you light in the darkness so that you can have peace even in the face of missing loved ones who have passed? Yes, He can!
Alcohol, sports, and movies can all be great gifts of God when used properly, but just as Christmas lights only work when the electricity is flowing through them, it is through Christ alone that we can appreciate these good gifts in moderation and for what they are. 2. Christ’s birth lightens our lives.
What a beautiful thing it is to go downtown to see the Rotary Lights, and to admire over 3 million lights at Riverside Park. It’s worth the blood, sweat, and tears of the countless volunteers who make it happen. In this season of lights, our neighborhoods are all mini Rotary Lights with Christmas light displays, and even as the nights are long and the days are short, we can still enjoy the beauty of some light even in the darkness.
What makes Rotary Lights even more beautiful is it is for a cause. The La Crosse community comes together to raise funds and collect food for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Jesus Christ this light of the world, true God and true man, came into this world for a purpose, to save us from our sins, but also to reflect that light. ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” In the birth of Jesus Christ, The Lord God has reconnected with us, and once the wire is reconnected, the light flows through to the world around us.
In a dark world, you have the privilege of being a light to others. In an insane world, you can share the love of Christ. In a violent world, you can share the peace of God. In a broke world, you can share the abundance of Christ’s mercy. 1. We reflect this light to others.
This Christ child empowers us to reflect this light to others, so that we too can share this hope of eternal salvation. What a great gift for me and for you! CHRIST’S BIRTH SHINES IN THE DARKNESS TO CALL US TO REFLECT IT.