The author Anne Lamott tells a beautiful story about a fellow church member who had adopted her son through an organization called ASK: Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire, checking yes or no to your willingness to adopt babies that had been born addicted, terminally ill, with physical “defects,” or mental disabilities. She and her husband had checked down the entire list. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Lamott’s pastor said that God is like that too, like an adoptive parent who says, “Sure, I’ll take the kids who are addicted, or terminal. I pick all the (mentally challenged) kids and, of course, the sadists. The selfish ones, the liars… I choose them. I choose the disobedient ones and the terrified ones. The self-indulged ones and the trouble-makers. The damaged ones and the unlovable ones. In love, I choose them all. I will be a parent to them all.”

That depth of love, that expansive love, given for you, is the gift we receive at Christmas.

In the Gospel of John we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”

Let us pray: We remember today that you so love the world that you gave your Son as a light to the world. Break into our lives anew, and help us to notice your unconditional love still at work in our lives and in the world around us. And then, Great God, empower us to be instruments of that same love, light, and grace all year long; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I was listening to a podcast some time ago with the author and educator Adam Robinson, and he was talking about a startling discovery he made. One day he just typed into Google, “How can I learn…”

You probably know how with Google, suggestions will pop up as you type to backfill your query. And these suggestions are based on the most popular searches related to the words you enter…

So he found that if you type into Google, “How can I learn…,” the number one suggested question is: “How can I learn English?” That means a lot of people would like to learn English. A lot of people are making that particular search. Makes sense. Then at number two: “How can I learn Spanish?” Then, “How can I learn to sing?” “How can I learn to code?” But what was astonishing was that the fifth most popular search was: “How can I learn… to love myself?” Which means that millions of people have been searching that… millions of people are struggling to love themselves.

One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be accepted, to be loved, to be valued… In the world, it’s true, we often have to earn that acceptance. We have to earn that value. Sometimes we even feel we have to earn that love. It’s not often just handed to us.

But what our Scriptures teach is that that love and acceptance and grace are at the foundation of our faith.

Sometimes people will say to me, “I don’t believe in God.” And I’ll say, “Well, tell me about this God you don’t believe in.” And nine times out of ten, I’ll say, “I don’t believe in that God either.”

Sometimes we get a skewed idea of who God is—that God is an angry God, a tyrant God, a God who hates, or a God who keeps score… But at Christmas, we see a very different reality.

One of the things Christmas shows us is this: not a God who remains distant or separate, not a God who comes to punish or condemn—but a God who was born in a stable, a God who loves us so much that he would step into this world in the person of Jesus to walk alongside us, to heal us, to save us…

On this Christmas Day, my prayer for each of you is that you would accept the ultimate gift of God’s love for you. May you know that love in the very deepest part of your being… And may you share that love with a world desperately in need. May it be so. Amen.

In the Gospels, the Christmas story begins in darkness. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he was born into a country occupied by the Roman Empire. His people faced persecution and oppression. The darkness of despair and resignation was heavy on people’s hearts.

The truth is, we all know about the darkness, don’t we? In one way or another, at one time or another, it has touched all of our lives.

It is interesting—nowhere in Scripture is there an argument that things aren’t as bad as they seem. Rather, our Scriptures affirm that the darkness is real and it is present. But these same Scriptures also affirm that even amid the darkness, there is another reality.

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “people who walk in darkness have seen a great light.” John’s Gospel records: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” And so this season we sing again the words: “Yet, in thy dark street shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

While there is a lot of darkness, if we look closely, there is also great light.

These days I’m always on the lookout for reminders. Even a weed growing up through a crack in the pavement is a reminder to me of the persistence of life. When I see a young family join our congregation, a mother and her two children baptized, I am reminded that even in a very secular world, God is still stirring hearts. When I see the bags and bags of food that our church donated over the last several weeks for people in our community who are in need, I am infused with hope. When I visited a woman recently who was under hospice care, I saw it in her faith. As we held hands to pray, I felt her inner strength and peace. She was confident that death would not have the last word.

These are all reminders that this light still shines in the darkness. And the promise is that this light is not just a temporary glimmer, but an eternal flame. The good news of Christmas is that amid deep darkness there came a light, and the darkness is not able to overcome it. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray: God of Grace, on this Christmas Eve, we remember that you so love the world that you gave your only Son, who came as a light to the nations. On this holy day, break into our lives anew. Help us to notice your unconditional love still at work in our lives and in the world around us. And then, Lord, empower us to be instruments of that same love, light, and grace all year long; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today a special word of thanks to those of you who have supported Dial Hope Financially. Several donors have generously offered to match all gifts dollar for dollar now - through the end of the year.  No limit on the match!  If you are able to participate, please go to our website for donation opportunities: www.dialhope.org.

Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

While it is true that science is important, it is also true that some of the most important things in life are not subject to scientific analysis. A student once said to me, “I believe only in that which can be proved scientifically.” I replied, “Does your mother love you?” “But of course,” he said. “Prove it scientifically,” I answered.

Friend of Dial Hope, you have to have faith; you have to believe. You can’t live without these. Faith and belief are inescapable. We are all believers, even though we may not believe alike.

The first Advent was the coming of Christ in great humility at Christmas. Phillips Brooks described it so beautifully in his hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem:

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive Him,
Still the dear Christ enters in.

Let us pray: God of all time, come into our time and make us whole. As you entered time in Jesus the Christ, be born in us today and lead us to the light of your love. Through the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.

When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she will give birth to the Savior, her response was, “Here I am, a servant. Let it be to me according to your word.”

When I stop and think about it, this is a breathtaking response!

In his book The Jesus Way, Presbyterian pastor/scholar Eugene Peterson writes, “I am going to make a huge guess right here: I am guessing that this prayer was not only formative for Mary, but also Jesus. I can imagine a Jewish mother handing this prayer on to her son because on the eve of his death, he prays nearly an identical prayer in the garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will but thy will be done.”

Not my will, but thy will. Here I am, your servant. Let it be with me according to your will.

My friend Tasha was telling me about her nephew years ago, trying to learn the Lord’s Prayer. The family would say it together each night before dinner. He would pray, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. My kingdom come, my will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”

Tasha said, “I fully understand how he could make the mistake! I know I have often prayed that God’s will would be done, but in my heart, I want my own will to be done.”

Robbie tells me that her father would often end his prayer time with the Lord’s Prayer—but also with his own addition. He would pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And let it begin with me…”

Here I am, Lord, your servant.

What would it look like if we made that our prayer? If we were steeped in it? What would it look like to understand our deepest identity as God’s servants? How might this affect not only our daily decisions but even our deepest dreams and ambitions? What if we were able to pray each morning, “Here I am, Lord, your servant…” I wonder what opportunities God might put in front of us…

In this holy season of Advent, may Mary’s prayer become your prayer: “Here I am, Lord. Your servant. I’m willing. I’m open. I’m available. Give me eyes to see and a heart to feel. Let it be to me according to your word.”

Let us pray: God of Grace, we celebrate that through Jesus, you are bringing salvation, hope, love, peace, and joy to a world that is desperately in need. And as we receive these gifts, as they fill our lives, may they also be passed on through us—his servants. Amen.