And yet, on a night like this one 2000 years ago, God brought his people from deep darkness to daylight in one action: the birth of a child. “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” And despite Satan's ongoing efforts, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
We have been given the gift of a great light tonight – the light that cannot be extinguished. This light comes from the Word of God, the Word of God that became flesh and lives among us - Jesus Christ, God's only son. God has given us this greatest gift so that the darkness cannot overcome us, so that no matter how dark the night seems, we know that we have light within us, and so we always have hope. We have hope that Jesus our Prince of Peace will guide us past our own acts of injustice, and then bring us to the place where no thieves can steal. We have hope that Jesus our Wonderful Counselor will break us free from our self-destructive and sinful habits, with the power we cannot muster for ourselves, and then bring us to the place where our urge for self-destruction is itself destroyed. We have hope that Jesus our Mighty God will use us to confront darkness, and multiply light in the world and create a community – the eternal family of all God's children - as we share the gift that we have received. And we have hope that our Everlasting Father will take us to live with him forever once we are finished here, to continue the loving relationship he restored with us with the sacrifice of Jesus' death on the cross. We have a great light, and darkness cannot overcome us. Thanks be to God! Amen.