12/24/2025 ~ Nativity of the Christ, Known in Some Traditions as the Feast of the Incarnation, Known in other Traditions as the Feast of the Birth of the Messiah, Commonly Known as Christmas Eve Proper I ~ Christmas Eve, Morn, or Mid-Day ~ Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14, (15-20) ~ Proper II ~ Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20 ~ Proper III ~ Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14 ~ HARPSWELL TV VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzANdnbrjvQ

The Glory of God

“An angel of God suddenly stood before them and the glory of God shone around them— and they were terrified.” — Luke 2:9.

Benjamin did not really know his father or his mother. He had been left on the street when he was young, simply abandoned. His parents were never present to him.

He did not even know who named him Benjamin. A couple in the town tried to look after him as much they could but that happened less and less as time went by. By the time he was nine somehow he was on his own, living on the streets of Bethlehem. By the time he was ten he was part of a gang, hoodlums.

By the time he was eleven he was adept at stealing fruit off carts at the bazaar without being noticed. By the time he was twelve, he could easily climb a fence, pick up a chicken, keep it from squawking, be back over the fence and be off in moments. Often it would be hours before anyone noticed the count of hens was off.

Many people knew exactly who he was, knew each member of the gang and looked on them with scorn. But the gang was family to Benjamin. As family they looked out for one another, offered care, protection, food, shelter. They lived together in tents set up in a field, not far from town.

Occasionally authorities would come from the town, burn the tents to the ground, scatter whatever else they found. Then the gang would rally, rebuild their tents further out from the City of David into the hills. (Slight pause.)

At seventeen Benjamin moved into a position of leadership in the gang. He realized the problem with being a crook is the profession relies on opportunity. An opportunistic profession is always feast or famine.

When you steal a chicken or fruit, it’s feast. But days might pass before another opportunity presented itself— famine.

But the gang, having made peace with the farmers whose land was scattered over the hills further away from the town, moved there, out to that farmland. That peace had developed because they had started to tend sheep for the farmers.

Benjamin’s rag-tag crew may have been hoodlums, brigands, the lowest of the low, looked on with scorn in town. But in the hills they were just what the farmers needed— shepherds. (Long pause.)

Benjamin once had a conversation with a friendly Rabbi who told him that in life it was important to have ritual and prayer. So as their leader, Benjamin had developed a ritual they followed before turning in each night.

They stood in a circle. They held hands. They prayed. They felt mutual support. They felt energy transfer from hand to hand to hand to hand. They were… family. But one night was different. Benjamin was unsure what had happened as they prayed. No one in the gang could explain what happened, either.

They did know this: the moon was full and the sky was filled with stars. Then suddenly the sky was dark. The moon and stars were gone. Darkness surrounded them.

They were family, so they tightly held onto each other’s hands. Despite or perhaps because of that— holding on to one another, it felt as if they were they were levitating. Their feet no longer touched the ground.

Then there was a light. Or was it light? It felt like light, but it could not really be seen. It was more like a presence— like the Hebrew word kabod— glory, glory— the presence of God. That was as close as any of them could come to describing it.

Whatever it was, it was not seen. It was felt. And then there was something they heard. It sounded like a voice. But it was not really heard. It was felt. It reverberated through their bodies. It was as if the presence of God was close. (Pause.)

Then suddenly they were again all standing around the fire, present to each other. The full moon and stars were there in the sky. But something had changed. They felt at peace. They did not know what to make of it. (Slight pause.)

Confused, unsure as to why, together they started to go toward the town. On the outskirts, they wandered toward a barn. There they found a man, a woman, a newborn.

They formed a circle. They held hands. They prayed. They felt that same kind of presence— kabod— glory— they had felt earlier. Was it because of the child?

Benjamin looked around and saw… family. He had not known his father or his mother. His parents were never present to him. But he sensed this child was present to him, present to them all. It felt… peaceful, safe.

The child seemed somehow to be present to everyone in the circle, present to his family. He did not feel abandoned. Was that possible? Could a child have that kind of presence— that kind of kabod— a sense of glory?

He squeezed the hands of the shepherd on either side of him. They all let go. In unison they nodded to the man. They nodded to the woman. They bowed to the child. They headed back toward the hills.

As they walked Benjamin had but one thought— kabod— a sense of the presence of God. Was it real? Was it possible? Can even lowly shepherds be so blessed as to experience the real presence of God? (Slight pause.)

Maybe that’s what the glory of God is about— God Who is present, real to all people, no matter who they are. (Slight pause.)

As they wandered back toward the hills Benjamin realized kabod, presence, was what he felt when he looked at the child. And that was when Benjamin also realized there was something he had to do.

He had to tell everyone he met that God is real, that God is present for everyone, to everyone, that we all belong to the family of God. He felt he had to tell everyone he met that God was present in the child. Amen.

12/24/2025 ~ Christmas Eve
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Here’s a reminder: the Deacons’ Fund baskets are at the door. Now, I hope the story about Benjamin offered some reality to the Christmas story. We live in a secular world that likes to concentrate more on fantasy when it comes to Christmas. Indeed, just saying ‘Merry Christmas’ contributes to that fantasy. So if somebody says‘Merry Christmas,’ to me— and I just did this today— I say ‘Christ is with us.’ That’s the Christian sentiment, the reality that Christ is with us.”

BENEDICTION: Let us be present to one another as we go from this place for the peace, the presence of God is with us. Let us go in hope for God reveals to us, daily, that we are a part of God’s new creation. Let us go in joy for God knows every fiber of our being. Let us go in love, for we rest assured, by Christ, Jesus, Whose birth we celebrate is a light to the world that God, Who is steadfast, has shared with us. Amen.