The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN
Christmas Day
December 25, 2025
I said last night that we should remember that God has made things different for us. That God has broken into this world to accompany us on the way... To share the joys and the struggles… And that we are to remember that God is there with us.
The prologue that opens the Gospel of John sets the stage for a whole new order of life, forged in the beginning of Creation with the presence of the Word “the o Logos”... The Word that spoke creation into existence, the word that was there with the prophets of old…
And the Word that is near now, that Word is made flesh and dwells among us, full of grace and truth. Once in a while, we actually get a glimpse of what God is doing among us. And once in a while, we get a glimpse of the light shining so brightly in the darkness that the darkness becomes less scary and easier to handle. Once in a while, we feel this upwelling joy in our hearts, and we don’t even know where it comes from.
These next 12 days – this season of Christmas is our chance to celebrate... to celebrate, re-order and perhaps re-shape and re-frame our lives... Focus on the joy so that we can be different... So that we can live differently… Not because it’s time for us to make our New Year resolutions, but the church chisled out an intended period to celebrate how Jesus came to live among us to show us the way.
As 2025 comes to a close, we can think about everything that has happened and is happening around us. About how the world stage is changing drastically… Many of the safeguards that we rely on for our security have all but vanished. So, in the midst of our lowliness… in the time of our anxiety… Jesus appears among us. God enters our hearts with a love that cannot be extinguished. God offers us a guide to our faith and salvation that none of society’s problems can erode or cheapen. God takes our confusion and our failures and redeems them with new insight.
If the light truly shines in the darkness, then where have we been living? I think some would say we have chosen the darkness over the light. We have chosen to live beyond our means as a nation and a people. We have forgotten that there is always a price to pay for pride and greed... a price to be paid by all of us.
And if we were honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that deep down... But in that darkness comes the great light, and the Word was made flesh and lived among us. And in the darkness, you can always find the seeds of light. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.
So, how is it with you? Are you simply waiting to see when the other shoe will drop? Are you waiting on the sidelines for something or someone else to do something big and bold? It’s time for US to go to work, it’s time for US to act like the gifted people God created us to be… It’s time to be about God’s mission in our churches, in our communities, and in our families... the mission of God committed to restoration and redemption, a mission that brings graciousness to everyone's lives. That is what we should be doing... because that is what God has done for us, when God became flesh and dwelt among us.
Welcome to the twelve hallowed days of Christmastide! May you see the Word made flesh scatter the darkness from before your path and empower you to give light to the world and make a difference to others.
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