Pastor's Blog: Glad Bethlehem’s Living Light
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Until I went to seminary, I naturally assumed that Jesus must have been born on December 25. No one ever told me otherwise. But after a class or two in church history, I was made aware of the fact that only God knows the precise date when Jesus was born. In fact, for the first 500 years of the Christian era, there was a vigorous debate around Jesus’ nativity. January 6, March 25, and December 25 were all the primary choices of church theologians, though there were some, notably Origen, one of the most prominent of the church’s early theologians, who argued vociferously that Christians shouldn’t be celebrating Jesus’ birthday at all, sniffing around “as if he were a king Pharaoh.”
So, how did believers land on December 25? That was the date observed by pagan Romans as a feast day related to the sun, and because Christians were in the minority in their earliest days, it made sense to them to be celebrating the birth of Jesus, whom they saw as the Light of the World. Moreover, as people everywhere recognized how the winter solstice falls on December 21 or 22, when the days begin to be longer with daily increase of light and decrease of darkness, Christians gravitated toward the December 25 date as an acceptable feast day for celebrating Jesus’ nativity. Soon, four Sundays were set aside prior to December 25 as the Season of Advent. Thus the Christmas season has morphed over the last two thousand years to become what it is today – a time to rejoice over God’s light coming into the world in the person of Jesus.
But how does Advent play into all of this celebration? Someone once said that Advent is a bit like the organ prelude before the service, at least to many people’s way of thinking. They see it as “waiting music” and not to be taken seriously. It fills up time and space as we wait for the “real worship” to begin. However, as many serious worshipers know from experience, when we look upon the worship prelude in that way, we miss much and our souls too often become worse for the wear. And of course, the same is true with Advent. Advent is a season to watch and wait and listen, even and especially in a time when the shadows lengthen and darkness seems to have won the day.
Over the next four Sundays, we’ll gather in worship around the theme, “Glad Bethlehem’s Living Light.” That phrase comes from an old Christmas carol, “The Light of Bethlehem,” in which the author, John Tabb, writes: “A mystery deeper still folds the wondering hosts of light. Till, lo, with holy reverence pale, that dims each diadem, the Lordliest earthward bending, hail the living light of Bethlehem. Glad Bethlehem’s living light, the holy Christmas light, Glad Bethlehem’s light, the living light.” I’m drawn to the phrase because of our present weariness with all of the waiting we’ve been forced to do. We’re not certain that we can do any more. But if we can see and claim the difference that Jesus brings to a darkened world, then when Christmas comes, what Jesus brings will be more than worth the wait.
So, on those Sundays when our Advent worship will include a sermon, we’ll consider the following texts and themes. I look forward to seeing you either in-person or online as we once again prepare to celebrate the arrival of glad Bethlehem’s living light…and ours as well.
November 29 - Hope
Genesis 1:1-5 | “Let There Be Light”
December 6 - Peace
Psalm 27:1 | “My Light and My Salvation”
December 13 - Joy
Isaiah 9:1-3 | “Come to the Light”
December 20 - Love
Isaiah 60:1-2 | “Rise and Shine”
December 24 - Christmas Eve
John 1:1-5 | “A Light No Darkness Can Overcome”