Today is Christmas Day, and by now the presents have been unwrapped, signifying the end of the commercialized aspect of Christmas. Our 2020 Christmas and Christmas shopping experience has been a very different one, in fact a very challenging one. Which reminds me, Did you find what you were looking for? You have likely heard this question uttered many times, over the years, as you did your Christmas shopping marathon. Of course this year, perhaps not so much since our traditional Christmas shopping routines have been so different, and most of us have resorted to the online shopping world. None the less, did you find what you were looking for? Most of the time, you likely answered, “Yes, thank you.” Or for those online orders, perhaps you looked for hours, putting more thought than usual into those Christmas lists. Leading to mental exhaustion’s. The truth of the matter is that this year, we had to put more thought into those gifts we bought. Unlike years past where we would purchase something and really didn’t put much thought in the answer, beyond the immediate transaction. But today on Christmas Day, let’s consider the question again: “Did you find what you were looking for?” On this day we once again hear the old familiar story of an unwed teenage mother to be named Mary and her fiancé Joseph making the trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem under orders to be enrolled from their Roman overloaded. The birth of Mary’s son happened, and we hear that a messenger from God appears to shepherds who get the initial report of the birth of the Messiah. The messenger gives them a sign by which they will find the baby, and a great number of the heavenly host appear to glorify God. The shepherds decide to go check this out, and they find things just as the angel had reported to them. They found what they were looking for! Friends we know this story, don’t we? Even if all we know of it is hearing Linus deliver its strains in the King James English as a monologue in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ we know this story. We know the shepherds found what they were looking for: the baby Messiah, the Annointed One. What they perhaps did not know and could not fully comprehend in that moment over 2000 years ago is what this child would mean for them-and for us. While Luke tells us the events of Christ’s birth, in essence, answering the ‘what happened?’ Question, we are left with another question: “Why did it happen?” Why did God out of His great glory choose to come to us and live as one of us? And die for us? Part of the answer is found in the three short verses from today’s reading from the Letter to Titus: “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy..so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” This passage is paraphrased to clarify the point of the author: The birth of Christ happened to save us. It happened precisely because we could not save ourselves from the mess of living life on our own terms, our sinful terms. If we could have done so, we would have, right? But human history has proven time and time again that we can’t do it -in and of ourselves. So God out of great love for us, took the initiative and set about this saving work, not because we earned it in any way, but solely because of who God is-full of mercy, grace, love. What a radical idea this is-especially in light of our capitalistic merit earned-based culture. What I mean here, is that we did not earn to be in the presence of God in Christ. Nor did we earn this gift of salvation, in fact no matter what we do in thoughts words and deeds, we can never earn it because of our sinful nature. God’s greatest gift of His Son was freely given to us by His grace. God’s Grace that is unmerited, that is this unearned love that He has for all of creation. In other words, His great love for us is already here! The letter goes on to say that this grace “ justifies” us, which means it makes our relationship with Him right and balanced.This it makes us worthy to stand in His presence and serve Him! It is our Heavenly Father who initiatesmaking the relationship with us right. Make no mistake, we have the obligation to respond to this invitation and participate in a right relationship; however, we are not the initiators of that action-God our Heavenly Father is! It’s important to remember that God acts by coming to us, as He did as a babe on Christmas. It is out of response that we go out and share Him with others. The cross reminds us that sharing the Gospel is a team effort! It’s not a Jesus and me thing! And the reason the Father makes this relationship right is so that we might become heirs, as children of God, with a hope of eternal life. Eternal life is an often- misunderstood concept and often posited as “going to heaven when you die” which sadly turns into some kind of celestial evacuation plan. But that isn’t what the scriptures mean by the term eternal life. Eternal life is living fully and freely in the present now, loving God and each other. This lifetime of loving presence happens right here and now and continues for eternity. So when we think about the birth of Christ beyond the story of what happened and consider why it happened, it leads us back to the question, “Did you find what you were looking for?” Perhaps you haven’t considered that question in this context before, but please do so for just a moment. You have made the decision to join us online today, Christmas Day. Why did you join? You didn’t have to join in, you know. Nobody forced you to join us. Certainly Pastor Terry and I would never force you to. And for this year, it’s easier to just sleep in. Nobody would know if you went to church. It’s also easier to hide behind the tv or computer screen. And for sure, some will give a nod to attending church on Christmas Day as being part of a family tradition we can keep during covidtide, or maybe it was to appease parents or grandparents,who you know will be callingas soon as this Services is done and asking you what Pastor preached on today. And yet for some, you are accustomed to regularly attending church-even in the midst of this pandemic. Regardless of why you think you are here, we are glad you are here. And while you’re here, I invite you to ponder in your heart for a moment “what you are really seeking?” Because perhaps something deeper, something much bigger brought you here. If we are honest, we all have a deep longing-a sense of something missing in our lives. Some call this the “hole in our soul.” It is the nagging feeling that we are incomplete and lacking. We humans are consciously aware of our fragility, our finitude, our faults and our failings. It is a fearful thing to acknowledge this truth. Most of us spend our lives running away from this stark reality by attempting to fill this hole in our soul with anything that promises to fulfill or fix us, or bring us joy. And the commercials on tv certainly promise to fill this hole with their products. But, they don’t. They never do! And try as we might, we cannot ever fill this hole ourselves because it was placed there by God when we were breathed into existence. It was placed there for a purpose: to draw us to say “yes” to His free gift of love in Christ Jesus. And on this very Christmas Day is the proclamation that God our Father spoke an eternal ‘yes’ to us by slipping through the back door of history as a helpless baby, to grow up and live with us, die for us, and be raised from the dead to prove once and for all that our fragility, finitude, faults and failings are not the last word. Never again! Christ is renewing, redeeming, and giving life to us-all of us, no exceptions. And so my brothers and sisters, I know that these last few weeks and months have not been easy for any of us. There are so many who are with us todaywho are deeply grieving, who this will be their first Christmas without their loved ones. Maybe you are lonely, or dealing with anxiety and depression. Who have lost jobs, who can’t see their loved ones in the nursing homes, hospitals, or in their own homes. No matter what your life circumstances are this day, God called you here to speak a word of eternal life and love to you and your loved ones. A love that you didn’t have to earn or prove yourself worthy to receive. For out of great love He came to us and He is for us, and He walks with us. The birth of His Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ proves this! This is how much He loves us. This love is mystical, and it is the only enduring and life-giving way to fill the hole in your soul. It comes to us through His most Holy Word and Sacrament, and it is present through our community. Nothing can stop it, not even a pandemic, and not even death. God’s love shown to us in the birth of Jesus Christ is stronger than anything this world can throw at it! And that love is available for you and for me each and everyday. God is inviting us to come here today and you will indeed find what you are deeply and truly looking for. May you, like the shepherds, be filled with exceeding joy when you have found what you have been looking for-Jesus the Messiah born this day. And may you be the Shepherds and go sharing that joy and Good News to all. “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” May the joy of Christ’s birth fill you, your family, and friends with hope, peace, joy, and love this day and always. Amen