John 1:14; 16-17
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. … Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Christmas Eve has always been my favorite day of the year. It’s magical. I know that Jesus Christ wasn’t born at the stroke of midnight, or even on December 25th, but Christmas Eve represents that moment in history when everything changed. And it’s magical. At First United Presbyterian Church, as at many churches, “Silent Night” is the last hymn sung as the Christmas Eve service draws to a close. Each worshipper holds a small candle, and as the hymn is sung, the candles are lit on each pew, one by one, as each neighbor lights the next candle from a larger candle on the aisle. The lights are dimmed, and then extinguished, as voices join in song, and faces are lit by flickering flames. It’s always magical.
But one year it was even more special. For many years, we had a Christmas Eve service that began at 11:00 pm, so that it ended at midnight as Christmas morning began. That year, as we sang “Silent Night,” we made our way to the doors out to the courtyard so that we would blow out our candles right at the door and put them in baskets. As people exited the sanctuary, rather than making their way to their cars, everyone silently gathered in the courtyard, looking up to the cross on top of the steeply pitched roof. It’s impossible to describe what we saw, or what we felt, other than to say it was magical. There was a glow—perhaps from the light shining on the cross reflecting off moisture in the air, or from frozen particles, or perhaps it was the moon, or a special star in the sky. But the sky was lit with a special light that seemed to come from heaven, like God’s glory. No one wanted to leave. No one wanted to break the magical spell of the moment. We whispered to one another rather than breaking the holiness of the night with the sound of our voices.
I don’t remember how we finally broke away. I guess it became time to go home. But I will never forget the magic of that night. It was as though God had given it to us as a precious gift. It wasn’t just magical. It was grace.
Contributed by Leslie Reeves